The celebrations began with a welcome night at Manarai Beach House. Named Adomania, the event introduced guests to Bali through traditional fire dancers and an entirely Indonesian menu. Gopalan wore a custom ivory off-shoulder gown by Evable Designs, styled with a cathedral-length dupatta that trailed behind her as she walked. Koppu’s look, custom-designed by his uncle Ashwin Mawle and Hassan Khan, included a white wrap-style blazer, a sheer asymmetric top and a vintage bee brooch–the first appearance of the motif that would return throughout the weekend.
At the Haldi, named Watashiato, the couple turned to the first stanza of the poem, which follows the seed as it begins to sprout. The event honoured family, culture and ancestral memory. Guests arrived to a five-metre sapling sculpture, terracotta backdrops, marigolds and kalamkari textiles. Gopalan and Koppu wore vermillion red kalamkari pieces by Aindhri by Mahitha. “The pieces were hand-painted in the Andhra kalamkari style with imagery of Lord Krishna, Radha and Krishna’s cattle.” For the couple, both trained in Bharatanatyam, the event also became a return to their earliest dance years. They surprised their families with a semi-classical dance to Telugu and Tamil songs, a moment Koppu’s mother had long hoped to see.
Later that night, the Sangeet, named Scabulous, moved from terracotta and kalamkari into neon, mushrooms and surrealist art. The couple entered through a neon-lit tunnel to Manali trance, into the psychedelic setting. Gopalan and Koppu wore custom BoboCalcutta looks inspired by the designer’s Forest of Illusion collection. Gopalan wore a halter-neck blouse and colourful lehenga, while Koppu wore a statement blazer and black shimmer shirt covered in the same artwork.
For the wedding ceremony, the couple moved to Sofitel Bali Nusa Dua. The event was named Aftersome, after the word they had discussed on their first date. The mandap drew from the stone-cut architecture of Mahabalipuram temples, with sand-coloured pillars, banana leaf plants and a purple wisteria tree rising behind it. At the entrance, moss-covered monoliths carried lines from the poem, while small bee details hidden through the decor nodded to the stanza in Koppu’s poem where the sapling, now a blossoming tree, is visited by a bee.
For the ceremony, the couple drew from Gopalan’s Tamil heritage and Koppu’s Telugu lineage, after months spent researching which rituals still felt meaningful to them. They kept the blessings, Sanskrit chanting, turmeric, fire and movement, while leaving out practices they felt came from social hierarchy rather than the marriage ritual itself. They flew in Dr Raja Gopal Bhattar, an officiant whose ceremonies centre feminist, queer and socially conscious perspectives. As Bhattar put it, “Our ceremonies are so rich with symbolism and history. My responsibility is to honour the values while reimagining our rituals to support the diverse world in which we live today.” The ceremony was conducted in two languages–English and Sanskrit–allowing guests to understand the significance of each ritual as it happened.
