1. Real Weddings

An Elegant Indian Wedding in Newark, Delaware

For Arselie Miller (31 and a marketing manager) and Vikas Dudheker (32 and a sales manager) their wedding was an opportunity to honor the traditions o

For Arselie Miller (31 and a marketing manager) and Vikas Dudheker (32 and a sales manager) their wedding was an opportunity to honor the traditions of both of their families. “The biggest inspiration for our wedding was a combination of cultures,” says Arselie. “I had grown up in a Catholic family outside of Philadelphia and my husband grew up in a Jain family in Southern California. We knew we wanted our marriage to celebrate both cultures and sides of the family so we decided to do a two-day event to honor both traditions appropriately.”
First, the couple had a traditional ceremony at a Catholic church, followed the next day with a Hindu ceremony and celebration at the Deerfield Country Club—to which Vikas arrived via helicopter. “Our guests were stunned,” says Arselie. “From there he got into my late grandfather's convertible Mercedes for the procession and was driven by my cousin. It was an incredible touch to be able to involve my grandfather in our day.” At the peach, pink, and orange-hued reception, the 300 guests sat amongst romantic candlelight and enjoyed a photo booth, a cigar bar and plenty of food—up until the very end of the night. “We added extra appetizers to our hour-and-a-half cocktail hour and also had a Philly cheesesteak food truck at the end of the night to make sure that everyone stayed well fed and happy!” —Carolyn Meers

Arselie worked with Britt from SwellPress Paper Co. to design and create their save the dates and invitations. "Since we were combining cultures there just wasn't anything already in existence that seemed to fit what we were going for," says Arselie. "I was in love with the design Britt created for us on her letterpress—incorporating beautiful hand-drawn henna details, elephants and exactly the coloring to match our wedding motif."
"My lehenga consisted of an embroidered gold top was a greenish blue with pink flower accents and a matching scarf," says Arselie, who changed into a purple velvet lehenga for the reception.
"I was decorated head to toe in the most gorgeous traditional Indian jewelry," says Arselie. "Earrings, bangles, jewels on my fingers, jewels over my eyebrows, and three necklaces—and I loved my headpiece so much I wore it the entire night!"
The groom, Vikas, walked to the Hindu ceremony site in the traditional procession after his grand entrance on a helicopter.
Traditional Hindu elements were included in the wedding ceremony.
Vikas arrived to the Hindu ceremony at the Deerfield Country Club via helicopter. “Our guests were stunned,” says Arselie. “From there he got into my late grandfather's convertible Mercedes for the procession and was driven by my cousin. It was an incredible touch to be able to involve my grandfather in our day.”
The colorful peach, pink and orange-hued outdoor Hindu ceremony was held at the Deerfield Country Club.
Elephants were used as a decorative element throughout the celebrations—and were also part of the couple's invitation suite.
"We wanted our wedding to bring our two sides of the family together so that affected every decision we made," says Arselie. One of those decisions was to have customized programs at both the Catholic and Hindu ceremonies so each side could follow what was happening.
At the Hindu reception, the newlyweds sat on a slightly elevated white couch that overlooked the dance floor—prime seating as the night went on.
At the Hindu reception, simple low floral centerpieces in bronze urns topped each white linen-covered table.
"Our first dance was Find You (the Live in LA version) by ZED," says Arselie. "We knew we wanted a unique song that wasn't played at thousands of other weddings every weekend and this one was just perfect for us."
Arselie and Vikas made their grand exit amidst sparklers held by family and friends.