How to Have an Authentic Indian Wedding in Texas Hill Country
Table of Contents
Quick Tips for Wedding Planning
Venue
Wedding Favor Ideas
Wedding Program
Day 0: Bridal Henna
Day 1: Mehndi and Haldi
Day 2: Morning & Lunch
Wedding Itinerary
Day 2: Evening
Vendors
Food and Catering
Hair and Makeup
Henna Artists
DJ
Wedding Planners
Bridal Clothes and Outfits
Flower Garlands and Decorator
Priest and Pastor
Photographer and Videographer
Livestream
Bonus: Baraat horse and Alpacas
Venue
Wedding Favor Ideas
Wedding Program
Day 0: Bridal Henna
Day 1: Mehndi and Haldi
Day 2: Morning & Lunch
Wedding Itinerary
Day 2: Evening
Vendors
Food and Catering
Hair and Makeup
Henna Artists
DJ
Wedding Planners
Bridal Clothes and Outfits
Flower Garlands and Decorator
Priest and Pastor
Photographer and Videographer
Livestream
Bonus: Baraat horse and Alpacas
When my boyfriend (now husband!) proposed to me in February 2021- on our vacation in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee - I immediately knew I wanted to get married in my favorite town: New Braunfels, Texas!
I visited New Braunfels in 2012 and moved here in 2014 to open my first restaurant — Bonjour Texas — while that has become a wholesale company, I opened New Braunfels’ first Indian & Mediterranean restaurant, 7Monk's Café!
We celebrated an Indian-style engagement with our families at the Fredericksburg Log Cabin!
We celebrated an Indian-style engagement with our families at the Fredericksburg Log Cabin!
Fast forward to June of 2021, I was ready to venue shop and plan the perfect wedding! For anyone planning an Indian wedding, finding vendors that can perform traditional rituals, venues that allow for Saat Phereas, etc. can be daunting - especially in a small town!
In addition, we had lots of out-of-town guests, and most guests were Americans (my husband-to-be included!) who had never experienced an Indian wedding. I wanted to make sure that everyone felt comfortable & had a fantastic time
In addition, we had lots of out-of-town guests, and most guests were Americans (my husband-to-be included!) who had never experienced an Indian wedding. I wanted to make sure that everyone felt comfortable & had a fantastic time
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QUICK TIPS FOR WEDDING PLANNING:
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VENUE:
Gruene Homestead Inn & Fiddlers in Gruene, Texas We booked Gruene Homestead Inn for 2 nights & the adjacent wedding venue (Fiddlers in Gruene) for the wedding day! The cottages at Gruene Homestead Inn were fantastic! All our families enjoyed having their privacy for both nights, while still being part of the rustic Texas Charm! The entire team at the B&B worked with us on the breakfast menu since we had vegan, vegetarians, gluten-free, etc. guests. Some of the rooms are pet-friendly so all families with pets were able to bring their pets! This was huge for us because our pet, Missy, was an absolute delight & a must-have at our wedding. |
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Two days before the start of the wedding, I dropped off goody bags at the front desk. They were kind enough to place them in each room! We thought it would be a nice surprise for our guests who had traveled to be with us.
These goodies bags had some of our favorite things:
- Bag designed & made by Featherinacap
- Bottle of Wine from Vezer Winery
- Custom Mints by NotedPaperBoutique
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We had 3 main events for our wedding:
DAY 0: Bridal Mehndi & Mehndi for Bride’s mom & immediately family DAY 1:
The big day!
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Day 0: Bridal Henna
We elected to do the bridal henna a day before so I could enjoy dancing at my Haldi & Welcome dinner! What is Mehndi? Mehndi (or mehendi or henna) is an ancient form of body art, originating in India and across South Asia and the Middle East. A Mehndi party is the pre-wedding celebration in Hindu culture when the bride has the red-orange mehndi "stain" applied to her palms, back of hands, and feet. Typically held the day before the wedding, the event often has a lounge feel, with colorful pillows. Tradition says the deeper the color of the bride's mehndi, the happier the bride and groom's marriage will be. Designs symbolize various blessings, luck, joy, and love. Things to know The bridal henna is usually a day prior because it's very intricate and takes a long time: mine was about 5 hours from start to finish! Make sure you're in a comfortable spot and make arrangements for someone (your future husband perhaps!) to feed you as your mobility is limited during the periods where the henna is drying. Five hours sounds like a long time to sit being painted, but it's not really 5 solid hours of just being painted, as much of the time consists of waiting for the mehendi to dry. During each wait, our artist applied mehendi to some other family members. It’s a lengthy process for sure, but we took the opportunity to order some pizzas and have a casual evening with close family before the chaos of the wedding ceremonies to come. |
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Day 1: Haldi and Welcome Dinner
A traditional Indian wedding will have the Haldi ritual performed while a traditional American ceremony would have a formal rehearsal dinner for the bridal party the night before the wedding. We elected to put our own spin on this and merge the ceremonies into a combined pre-wedding celebration with friends and both sides of our family. We were able to hold this event at the pool area of the resort. |
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What is Haldi?
The Haldi ceremony is where the bride and groom are covered in turmeric paste. A paste prepared with turmeric (Haldi), sandalwood, and curd, and then this is rubbed upon the bride and groom before a ceremonial bath.
Hindus have always believed that the color yellow is auspicious as per rituals & traditions. It is also believed that this bright and vibrant color, when applied to the bride & groom before they start a new chapter in their life, will bring them good luck and prosperity. For more info: Click here
The Ritual
Our families and friends lined up to smear haldi on both of our faces! Expect to get super messy, but it’s a great time!
The Haldi ceremony is where the bride and groom are covered in turmeric paste. A paste prepared with turmeric (Haldi), sandalwood, and curd, and then this is rubbed upon the bride and groom before a ceremonial bath.
Hindus have always believed that the color yellow is auspicious as per rituals & traditions. It is also believed that this bright and vibrant color, when applied to the bride & groom before they start a new chapter in their life, will bring them good luck and prosperity. For more info: Click here
The Ritual
Our families and friends lined up to smear haldi on both of our faces! Expect to get super messy, but it’s a great time!
Mehndi
We had henna artists at the venue for the evening that did henna for any guests that wanted to get their hands painted in preparation for the wedding.
We had henna artists at the venue for the evening that did henna for any guests that wanted to get their hands painted in preparation for the wedding.
Welcome Dinner & Dancing
Once Haldi was done, we began the welcome dinner. We chose to have a Welcome Dinner as a more casual alternative to a rehearsal dinner that was open to a broader audience than a traditional rehearsal dinner.
We wanted our out-of-town guests to experience our favorite type of food, so had dinner catered from Chuys Tex-Mex, along with Margaritas (Matt’s Favorite) & Mexican Martinis (Rashmi’s favorite). Everyone mingled and was able to come and go at their leisure - having on-site lodging for the wedding party and many of the guests made this easy. Our DJ played some tunes and we had an impromptu dance party!
Once Haldi was done, we began the welcome dinner. We chose to have a Welcome Dinner as a more casual alternative to a rehearsal dinner that was open to a broader audience than a traditional rehearsal dinner.
We wanted our out-of-town guests to experience our favorite type of food, so had dinner catered from Chuys Tex-Mex, along with Margaritas (Matt’s Favorite) & Mexican Martinis (Rashmi’s favorite). Everyone mingled and was able to come and go at their leisure - having on-site lodging for the wedding party and many of the guests made this easy. Our DJ played some tunes and we had an impromptu dance party!
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DAY 2: Morning & Lunch
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Here is our wedding itinerary:
BARAAT
The event opened with the Baraat ceremony. Baraat is an Indian wedding tradition where the groom is accompanied by his family and friends who dance all the way to the wedding venue!
Matt hopped on a very well-dressed horse at the entry to the venue and they trotted toward the stage while everyone danced and our DJ played some upbeat Bollywood hits - everyone had a great time!
After Baraat, both sets of parents joined Matt on the stage. Traditionally the ceremony would’ve been performed under a mandap (decorated wedding gazebo); however, since the stage was already covered we opted to have the stage decorated in the style of a mandap instead of renting/building one.
ANTAR PATT & KANYA AAGMAN
Next up was Rashmi’s entry. An Antar Patt (a small curtain) is raised in front of Matt during Rashmi’s entry - he isn’t allowed to see her yet! This signifies the separate lives of Matt & Rashmi, which will soon end with their union.
Rashmi proceeded towards the stage as part of the traditional bridal entry (Kanya Aagman). The Antar Patt was dropped and Matt and Rashmi were allowed to see each other.
Refreshments and logistics
One thing we had to keep in mind was the fact that most of the audience were used to a relatively short ceremony in typical American weddings while the most traditional of Indian ceremonies can take multiple hours! We set a goal of keeping the ceremony to around an hour to have a good balance of performing traditional wedding elements while not forcing our guests to wait too long for lunch. We made some appetizers and beverages available to the audience so they wouldn’t get too hungry or thirsty while the bride and groom were on stage. Most of our audience got up at least once during the ceremony to get a glass of tea or an appetizer - this is okay! Breaks like this are typical in an Indian wedding.
Indian Ceremony
As mentioned above, we tried to keep the Indian part of the ceremony to under an hour. We started with a list of rituals that were traditional in my mother and father’s families and tried to see if we could adapt them to fitting within this time frame and allow them to be performed on stage (for example, we had a small flame for the 7 Rounds instead of a full fire pit). We worked with our priest to finalize this.
Our pandit (Indian priest) was, of course, key to the ceremony being performed the way we dreamed of. Most of the audience were unfamiliar with these rituals so we wanted to make sure they were explained - this was especially important for Matt and his parents as they were part of the ceremony (and even as an Indian this was helpful - there’s a lot of steps to keep track of!). Pandit Saagar did an excellent job explaining the importance of each step in the process and even injected some humor into the proceedings! We went through each ritual, finally completing the 7 Circles and concluding the ceremony.
The event opened with the Baraat ceremony. Baraat is an Indian wedding tradition where the groom is accompanied by his family and friends who dance all the way to the wedding venue!
Matt hopped on a very well-dressed horse at the entry to the venue and they trotted toward the stage while everyone danced and our DJ played some upbeat Bollywood hits - everyone had a great time!
After Baraat, both sets of parents joined Matt on the stage. Traditionally the ceremony would’ve been performed under a mandap (decorated wedding gazebo); however, since the stage was already covered we opted to have the stage decorated in the style of a mandap instead of renting/building one.
ANTAR PATT & KANYA AAGMAN
Next up was Rashmi’s entry. An Antar Patt (a small curtain) is raised in front of Matt during Rashmi’s entry - he isn’t allowed to see her yet! This signifies the separate lives of Matt & Rashmi, which will soon end with their union.
Rashmi proceeded towards the stage as part of the traditional bridal entry (Kanya Aagman). The Antar Patt was dropped and Matt and Rashmi were allowed to see each other.
Refreshments and logistics
One thing we had to keep in mind was the fact that most of the audience were used to a relatively short ceremony in typical American weddings while the most traditional of Indian ceremonies can take multiple hours! We set a goal of keeping the ceremony to around an hour to have a good balance of performing traditional wedding elements while not forcing our guests to wait too long for lunch. We made some appetizers and beverages available to the audience so they wouldn’t get too hungry or thirsty while the bride and groom were on stage. Most of our audience got up at least once during the ceremony to get a glass of tea or an appetizer - this is okay! Breaks like this are typical in an Indian wedding.
Indian Ceremony
As mentioned above, we tried to keep the Indian part of the ceremony to under an hour. We started with a list of rituals that were traditional in my mother and father’s families and tried to see if we could adapt them to fitting within this time frame and allow them to be performed on stage (for example, we had a small flame for the 7 Rounds instead of a full fire pit). We worked with our priest to finalize this.
Our pandit (Indian priest) was, of course, key to the ceremony being performed the way we dreamed of. Most of the audience were unfamiliar with these rituals so we wanted to make sure they were explained - this was especially important for Matt and his parents as they were part of the ceremony (and even as an Indian this was helpful - there’s a lot of steps to keep track of!). Pandit Saagar did an excellent job explaining the importance of each step in the process and even injected some humor into the proceedings! We went through each ritual, finally completing the 7 Circles and concluding the ceremony.
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American Ceremony
Next, we held the American ceremony - while we were already married in Indian terms, we still wanted our community to hear us say “I do”! We opted to do this on stage immediately after the Indian ceremony to minimize the total time required - we were advised early on by our wedding advisor that a costume change could easily add hours to the whole process and we knew we’d be too eager to get to the cake to delay any further! (As a nice bonus, avoiding a traditional American wedding dress helped us keep the wedding closer to our target budget).
A pastor friend of ours joined us on stage to marry us. We kept this fairly short and sweet, with a scripture reading, reciting the traditional vows to each other, and finally had our first kiss to complete the American ceremony
Next, we held the American ceremony - while we were already married in Indian terms, we still wanted our community to hear us say “I do”! We opted to do this on stage immediately after the Indian ceremony to minimize the total time required - we were advised early on by our wedding advisor that a costume change could easily add hours to the whole process and we knew we’d be too eager to get to the cake to delay any further! (As a nice bonus, avoiding a traditional American wedding dress helped us keep the wedding closer to our target budget).
A pastor friend of ours joined us on stage to marry us. We kept this fairly short and sweet, with a scripture reading, reciting the traditional vows to each other, and finally had our first kiss to complete the American ceremony
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Lunch
With the ceremonies completed, we allowed the audience to break for lunch and opened the bar. We had both Mediterranean and Indian food vendors on-site so that everyone would have food they were comfortable eating.
Dancing
Our DJ played a playlist of bollywood and American dance hits. As weddings tend to do, the timeline went a bit longer than originally predicted, leaving less time for dancing than intended. Everyone that stuck around to dance still had a great time - and we’d go on to have more dancing at our New Year’s Eve party!
Alpacas
A bit of a late addition to our wedding were the wedding alpacas. Our dear friend, Lora, recommended we have some alpacas at our wedding. We got them thinking the kids would have fun petting them while the adults were enjoying cocktail hour; funnily enough, every single guest at the venue enjoyed the Alpacas! Forget the bride and groom - every guest seemed to want a photo op with the fluffy couple! They were the sweetest creatures and even came dressed for the occasion.
With the ceremonies completed, we allowed the audience to break for lunch and opened the bar. We had both Mediterranean and Indian food vendors on-site so that everyone would have food they were comfortable eating.
Dancing
Our DJ played a playlist of bollywood and American dance hits. As weddings tend to do, the timeline went a bit longer than originally predicted, leaving less time for dancing than intended. Everyone that stuck around to dance still had a great time - and we’d go on to have more dancing at our New Year’s Eve party!
Alpacas
A bit of a late addition to our wedding were the wedding alpacas. Our dear friend, Lora, recommended we have some alpacas at our wedding. We got them thinking the kids would have fun petting them while the adults were enjoying cocktail hour; funnily enough, every single guest at the venue enjoyed the Alpacas! Forget the bride and groom - every guest seemed to want a photo op with the fluffy couple! They were the sweetest creatures and even came dressed for the occasion.
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DAY 2 - Evening
No New Year’s Eve wedding could be complete without throwing a New Years Party! However, we chose to add a break to the day’s festivities from 4-9pm to allow our NYE guests some time to have dinner, clean up, and get a nap. Matt and I took the opportunity to get some alone time together and dip our feet in the pool. |
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Vendors
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FOOD:
Our guests are still raving about how good the food was for every event we had, so here are all of our vendors! Welcome dinner catered by: Chuy's Website: Chuy's Contact Info: +1 512-473-2783 Gayatri Catering Contact 7 Monks Catering for more info on Idli, Sambar etc. Laxmi Farsan & Catering Website: Laxmi Farsan & Catering Contact Info: [email protected] Wedding Catering Laxmi Farsan & Catering Website: Laxmi Farsan & Catering Contact Info: [email protected] Pasha Mediterranean Grill Website: Pasha Mediterranean Grill Phone: +1 (210) 561-5858 New Years Eve Party: 7 Monks Cafe Website: 7 Monks Cafe Contact Info: +1 830-387-4053 |
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HAIR AND MAKEUP:
Los Cristales Contact Info: +1 830-625-8800 The ladies at Los Cristales are phenomenal! They did both my bridal makeup & hair, along with my Haldi makeup & hair. They also did my mom’s hair & makeup on both days, along with makeup & hair for all family 7 cousins. |
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BRIDAL HENNA:
Henna Creations
Website: Henna Creations
Contact Info: [email protected]
Dhara was fantastic! She was able to drive over the day before the ceremonies started & get my bridal henna done the evening before. She was also able to do my mom & aunts & cousins.
We elected to do the bridal henna a day before so I could enjoy dancing at my Haldi & Welcome dinner!
Henna Creations
Website: Henna Creations
Contact Info: [email protected]
Dhara was fantastic! She was able to drive over the day before the ceremonies started & get my bridal henna done the evening before. She was also able to do my mom & aunts & cousins.
We elected to do the bridal henna a day before so I could enjoy dancing at my Haldi & Welcome dinner!
HENNA FOR GUESTS:
Noorin’s Bridal Henna
Website: Noorin’s Bridal Henna
Contact Info: [email protected]
Noorin is awesome! She arrived on time & had a great attitude- our guests loved her & she, of course, drew beautiful designs for everyone
FACIALS, BRIDAL EYEBROW THREADING & HENNA FOR GUESTS
BeautyPlex
Website: BeautyPlex
Address: Exit 187 107 c interstate 35 south New Braunfels TX 78130
Contact Info: +1 (830) 620-4544
Naz is truly talented! She did my eyebrow threading for the wedding, along with facials for my mom. On Haldi night, she drew some stunning designs for all our guests!
Noorin’s Bridal Henna
Website: Noorin’s Bridal Henna
Contact Info: [email protected]
Noorin is awesome! She arrived on time & had a great attitude- our guests loved her & she, of course, drew beautiful designs for everyone
FACIALS, BRIDAL EYEBROW THREADING & HENNA FOR GUESTS
BeautyPlex
Website: BeautyPlex
Address: Exit 187 107 c interstate 35 south New Braunfels TX 78130
Contact Info: +1 (830) 620-4544
Naz is truly talented! She did my eyebrow threading for the wedding, along with facials for my mom. On Haldi night, she drew some stunning designs for all our guests!
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DJ:
DJ Syeed Website: DJ Syeed Contact Info: [email protected] If there is one person that stole the show, it has to be Syeed! He is truly incredible! His song selections & music were on point. Additionally, he is a Bollywood choreographer so he was able to teach EVERYONE at the party some really fun & simple dance moves. Highly, highly recommend Syeed! |
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CLOTHES:
CBaazar - Haldi Website: CBaazar - Haldi I ordered my Haldi Outfit online & got rave reviews on it! |
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WEDDING OUTFIT:
MANYAVAR
Website: MANYAVAR
Address: 5912 Hillcroft Street Houston, Texas 77036
Contact Info: +1 (281) 501-9933
This was the first outfit I saw At Manyavaar & fell in love with it!
MANYAVAR
Website: MANYAVAR
Address: 5912 Hillcroft Street Houston, Texas 77036
Contact Info: +1 (281) 501-9933
This was the first outfit I saw At Manyavaar & fell in love with it!
NYE:
Roop Sari
Website: Roop Sari
OUTFITS FOR GUESTS:
Meri Jaan
Website: Meri Jaan
Contact Info: [email protected]
WEDDING JEWELRY & MANGALSUTRA:
WEDDING JEWELRY:
Princess Couture
Website: Princess Couture
Contact Info: [email protected]
MANGALSUTRA & OTHER WEDDING JEWELRY:
Kohinoor Diamonds
Website: Kohinoor Diamonds
Address: 5901 Hillcroft Drive, Suite C-1 Houston, TX 77036
Contact Info: +1 (713) 334-8700
Roop Sari
Website: Roop Sari
OUTFITS FOR GUESTS:
Meri Jaan
Website: Meri Jaan
Contact Info: [email protected]
WEDDING JEWELRY & MANGALSUTRA:
WEDDING JEWELRY:
Princess Couture
Website: Princess Couture
Contact Info: [email protected]
MANGALSUTRA & OTHER WEDDING JEWELRY:
Kohinoor Diamonds
Website: Kohinoor Diamonds
Address: 5901 Hillcroft Drive, Suite C-1 Houston, TX 77036
Contact Info: +1 (713) 334-8700
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PANDIT - INDIAN PRIEST:
Sagar Panditji Website: Sagar Panditji Address: 12370 Alameda Trace Cir #1111, Austin, TX 78727, USA Contact Info: [email protected] PASTOR - AMERICAN CEREMONY: Katy Walters Contact Info: [email protected] |
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PHOTOGRAPHER:
Bella Photography Contact Info: 713 385 5718 VIDEOGRAPHER: Christelle Chalmers Photography Website: Christelle Chalmers Photography |
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BONUS!
Baarat Horse: Fantasica Carriage Website: Fantasica Carriage Contact Info: (512) 914-4966 No Indian wedding is complete without a grand entry for the Groom! We worked with Fantasia Carriage & everyone loved the Baraat! |
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