Tell us a little about yourselves!
Our love story began May 12th, 2018. I (Meera) was studying to become a Periodontist at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, PA in the United States where I am from. I was planning my friend’s birthday dinner for months and two days before I got a phone call from my co-resident asking me if I could add two more people to the dinner reservation, because his best friends from Spain visited him by surprise. Before the dinner, my friends suggested that I talk to one of the guys from Spain and I truly thought they were out of their minds! We laughed that it’s hard to make relationships work even when the person lives only 5 miles away. I was also in a time when I was purely interested in dating myself. Of course, the minute I saw Xavi when I entered the restaurant I felt an energy. I tried to turn my back to him the entire night but eventually when I got cold coming back from a Cuban club he lent me his jacket. In the process of thanking him, we finally started to talk.
Against all odds, we found ourselves falling in love in a long distance relationship from America to Spain. In July of 2019, Xavi did the unthinkable and moved across the Atlantic Ocean. Covid happened and he wasn’t allowed to visit Spain for one year. After returning from his first trip to Barcelona after the pandemic, Xavi asked me to marry him after a long bike ride in nature and we got engaged in October of 2020.
Why did you decide to get married where you did?
My parents are from Punjab, India and Xavi is from Barcelona, Spain. We wanted to create an authentic cultural experience and so we gravitated to doing a destination wedding in either Delhi or Sitges. Sitges, Spain happened to be where me and Xavi had so many memories during our years of long distance. Just a thirty minute ride from Barcelona, Sitges is a romantic, artistic town facing the Mediterranean Sea. It was the perfect escape for him and I during those short trips I would make to see him every two months when we were long distance. It only felt right to honor the small city that fostered the early stage of our connection and hold our ceremony and celebration at Casa Del Mar.
How many guests did you have?
180.
Tell us about your outfits.
The fashion for our wedding was a labor of love spearheaded by our stylist Susmita Patel of Style by Susmita. Conventionally, Indian brides and grooms will dress their families in different colors so there is a distinction between the two sides. For our wedding, we really wanted to hone in on the concept of oneness. We decided to dress our families in the same color and utilize their attire to display scenes and icons of ancient Indian wedding ceremonies. These customs outfits were hand embroidered by artisans from Susmita’s brand, Teri Sakhi , based out of India. Meera’s mom wore a Lehenga with the image of Meera being carried in a Dholi. Xavi’s mom wore a similar piece except with a figure of him on a horse in a traditional Baraat. Each member of our collective family had an outfit we gave a lot of thought to. For our personal look, we wanted to evoke something original. Indian brides and grooms often wear red, or light ivory shades and pinks. We wanted to draw from Ancient Indian fashion and envisioned one another as a Marwari bride and groom. I was able to find the perfect Lehenga from an up and coming brand called Marwar Couture. Xavi wore an Indian Sherwani made by Shantanu + Nikhil that their team custom dyed to match my outfit.
For our Indian reception and Sangeet look, we changed into a completely and totally new look that was modern, colorful, wild and free. I wore a Suneet Verma Lehenga and Xavi wore a custom Rohit Bal Bundi. We loved channeling two different styles for our day versus night look and that’s the incredible versatility of Indian fashion.
What was the most important aspect for you, in terms of planning your wedding?
It was also critical to work with a wedding planner who was skilled in not only destination weddings but, also bi-cultural weddings. Indira Anzola of D-Pleis Events was just that. She is one of the only wedding planners that has a long history of doing Middle Eastern and South Asian weddings in Spain. She embraced all of our Indian customs, already had a great relationship with many Indian suppliers in Spain, and managed any unforeseen issues before, during and even after the wedding.
Spain, India and America. Each country has its own uniqueness and yet we are all bound by a love for universal things such as music, food, and entertainment. Unifying Xavi’s guests and mine was the most important aspect of wedding planning. From our master of ceremony, Dj Kucha, teaching the Spaniards how to dance Bhangra in the Baraat (an Indian groom’s wedding procession typically involving him on a horse going towards his bride to be) to providing detailed lists of where to shop for Indian clothes in Barcelona, everyone had an incredible sense of oneness and this created an unforgettable explosion of energy.
Were there any elements that were important for you to incorporate?
In our Indian celebration, we wanted to feel like we were in Meera’s Delhi home. We knew that finding the right venue was essential in recreating this experience. The villa at Casa Del Mar that we chose had an incredible winding road that gave a lifelike feeling of being in the streets of Punjab - especially during the Baraat, as Xavi rode on his horse with his family and friends by his side, as he got ready to greet me in what felt like my own home.
The villa also was the perfect place to celebrate our story in nature and achieved our mutual dream of being married under the sun and moon and by the sea. We wanted to honor these natural elements because during our time doing long distance we could reminisce on how we were looking at the same sun and moon and shared an ocean between us.
Any tips for couples getting married?
Never forget the way you felt the day or months when you first met the person that you are marrying. That thrill of new love and not knowing if it could work out but hoping that it would is what grounds you in a sense of gratitude, when it comes to the hard parts of wedding planning and life planning at large. In terms of creating a wedding that combines two unique cultures, it is so valuable to remember that you and your loved one have already created an amalgamation of the two cultures you both come from by simply choosing to love and honor one another. Remember that culture of your love. Focus on the similarities of your two worlds and not the differences. When in doubt, find peace in compromise. Love with passion and love with strength. Before, during and after your wedding, see nothing else other than your husband or wife.
Are there any vendors that you would like to tell us a little more about?
Our wedding was undoubtedly elevated by the remarkable team we were lucky to work with. In choosing vendors for our wedding we were blessed to work with people who chose to treat our love story like it was their own. To begin, Jimena, and her incredible team at Volvoreta Photography, transcended our concept of what documentation is. Her innate ability to capture candid moments in unpredictable angles allowed us to be authentic and the end result were photos that tell a story. Our photo team, Volvoreta, along with our video team, Maru Films, gave each other the space to execute each of their own unique visions for our 4 day celebration. They also collaborated with our incredible wedding planner, Indira Anzola (D-Pleis Events), our stylelist, Susmita Patel (Style by Susmita), and our master of ceremony Dj Kucha, to challenge the norms of wedding photography and video. This explosion of collaboration was the secret sauce to the creative energy that poured from every angle on our wedding days.
Photographer : Volvoreta @volvoreta | Videographer : Maru Films @marufilms | Ceremony + Reception Location : Casa Del Mar, Sitges, Barcelona @Masiacasadelmar | Entertainment : Dj Shraii (DJ) @djshraii | Entertainment : Pavan Verma (Saxophonist)@pavanverma | Entertainment : Dj Kucha (MC/DJ) @djkucha | Entertainment : Drummers Delight (Drummes/Dhol Players) @thedrummersdelight | Styling : Style by Susmita @stylebysusmita | Planner + Floral Design : D-Pleis Events @dpleis_events | Floral Production : Mi Pimienta Negra | Mandap : Driftwood Barcelona @driftwoodbarcelona | HMUA : Style by Susmita @stylebysusmita | Catering + Beverages : Tandoor Barcelona (Chef Ivan Surinder) @tandoorbarcelona @ivan_surinder | Stationery : De Plumas y Letras @deplumayletras | Bharat Horse : La Granja De Sitges | Groom’s Wedding Ceremony Outfit : Shantanu + Nikhil (custom) @shantanunikhil | Bride’s Wedding Lehenga : Marwar Couture (custom) @marwarcouture | Bridal Party Outfits: Teri Sakhi @_terisakhi_ | Engagement + Wedding Rings : AINA Barcelona @aina.barcelona | Groom’s Wedding Shoes : Shantanu + Nikhil (custom) @shantanunikhil | Groom’s Sangeet/Indian Reception Shoes : Rohit Bal (custom) @rohitbalofficial | Bride’s Ceremony + Reception Shoes : Valentino @maisonvalentino | Bride’s Custom Jewelry and Headpiece: Teri Sakhi @_terisakhi_ | Groom’s Sangeet/Indian Reception Outfit: Rohit Bal (custom) @rohitbalofficial | Bride’s Sangeet/Indian Reception Outfit: Suneet Verma @suneetvarmaofficial