The guests wore blue for the welcome party while the couple stepped out in white–Kumar in a Cult Gaia Freya gown with real rattan sewn into it and Kumar in a custom bandhgala. The bride styled her gown with lapis lazuli jewellery from Kashmir, where her parents honeymooned in 1986, and electric-blue Attico heels. The décor included Otomi prints, handmade candles and candelabras. During their speech that night, Kumar surprised Machhar’s family by closing with a few lines in Gujarati.
The sangeet, titled “A Moonlight Convivium”, took its cue from a New Year’s Eve the couple had spent in Isla Holbox, Mexico, during the year they got engaged. That night had fallen on a full moon, an auspicious day for them, and they wanted to bring that memory to Cabo. The setting included custom rattan structures, a laser-cut wood-like stage backdrop, bohemian blooms and fresh copal. Under the open air and a nearly full moon, guests danced garba and raas.
One unexpected guest joined the floor that night. Yaya Diaby, a football player from Machhar’s home team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, happened to be at the property. Machhar’s mother spotted him and invited him to the sangeet.
For the sangeet, Kumar wanted to honour Machhar’s family’s traditions through mirror work, often worn by Gujarati women so the mirrors catch the light as they twirl during garba. She chose Abhinav Mishra, then mixed and matched two lehengas at the designer’s Delhi store. The skirt ended up carrying 17 pounds of real mirror work–Machhar called her his “disco ball.” She paired it with navratna jewellery and Larroudé heels, the only shoes she could dance in while carrying the weight of the outfit. Machhar wore a custom mirror-work sherwani to match.
