A Colorful Indian Summer Wedding at the James J. Hill Center in St. Paul, Minnesota

p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px Arial; color: #232323; -webkit-text-stroke: #232323} span.s1 {font-kerning: none} Hand-drawn maps, a cheery carnation-covered mandap and saffron linens all contributed to Ishanaa Rambachan (29 and a management consultant) and James Anderson’s (31 and a communications manager) “Indian summer” design.

To symbolize Ishanaa and James’s commitment to each other, family members combined water from the Ganges and the Mississippi River. Afterward, everyone chanted together in unison, confirming their support for the marriage.

James looked dapper in a Nehru suit complete with a mandarin collar, which was custom-made during a trip to India.

A festive Hindu ceremony at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum called for bridesmaids in forest green and gold saris, and an afternoon picnic of Indian fare and Norwegian confections. “Instead of a grand exit, we had a picnic and drove ourselves to the reception,” Ishanaa says. “It was a peaceful moment.”

The couple hosted their reception at the James J. Hill Center reference library in St. Paul’s Rice Park. There, guests found their names on small slips of paper carefully arranged on an intricate map of the US. As a nod to the locale, partygoers took home miniature pies shaped like the state of Minnesota.

Ishanaa changed into a tangerine lehenga once the celebration was underway. “It looked as if Belle from Beauty and the Beast met the subcontinent,” she says of her outfit.