Kaavya & Avish | LJ Lovers
Congratulations on your beautiful wedding, we are over the moon for you both! Can you tell us a little more about your special day?
Thank you! We are very excited for this next chapter in our lives. When we first got engaged, it was toward the end of the pandemic when travel restrictions still applied. We have a lot of extended family overseas in the US, London, India and Dubai that we had not seen in quite a few years. We both knew we wanted our closest family & friends to celebrate our day with us, especially our ageing grandparents. Naturally, we decided to get married in Kerala, India where my (Kaavya's) family is from, thinking it would be a good middle ground for our families from all over the world to meet.
Our families are from two different Indian cultures and we have differing wedding traditions. To honour and respect both our families we incorporated both cultures into our celebrations. First, we got married in my grandparent's home town at a famous temple in Kerala. This ceremony was prompt at just under three minutes, but it felt like we were frozen in time. There were many tears and cheers as we stepped through the temple for the first time as a married couple. This was an experience that we will never forget, and we were so happy to share and celebrate this moment with our family and closest friends.
To follow this, we had the second part of our wedding ceremony later in the day at the venue where we held our pre-wedding celebrations. This was quite different to the early morning ceremony at the temple as this time we honoured the Gujarati traditions of Avish’s culture with a priest who married us around a sacred fire. Again, there were many tears, cheers and endless photos as we were married for the second time in a just a few hours,
It is safe to say we were both exhausted after two ceremonies, however after a quick nap and outfit change, we launched into our reception wedding festivities in Kerala where we partied the night away with our friends and family into the early hours of the next morning. But this is not to say our celebrations ended here.
Our series of ceremonies became a bit of a running joke within our families as we decided to hold one final celebration at home in Melbourne at the beautiful Bramleigh Estate. This felt like we were getting married for a third time, however the stress and chaos of planning these events was well worth it. It was so special to celebrate with those who weren’t able to make the journey to India, we both agree if we could do it all again, there would be no hesitation.
How did you start your love story, when did you meet?
Our love story began on the April 12th, 2017 at a university event. We were both studying optometry at the University of Melbourne, Avish was in his final year and I was in my first year. We had just competed in an ‘Amazing Race’ around the city, and it was at the post-race BBQ where we first crossed paths. Avish added me on Facebook and from that day onward we have spoken every single day. We bonded over our love of good food, movies and sarcasm. We made it official a few months later on the 13th of September. The rest is history!
It was such a pleasure co-creating your rings, can you tell us a little about the styles you chose and why?
When I first saw Louise Jean’s Amira Ring, I fell in love with how unique and dainty it was and I sent it to Avish as a not-so-subtle hint! I always knew I wanted rose gold as it feels modern and beautiful. Av & the LJ team nailed it! When choosing my wedding ring I wanted to highlight the beauty of the Amira ring so I chose a very complimenting Shimmer Ring.
Avish chose his classic Cuff Ring in gold with a brushed finish as it suited him the best when LJ very conveniently visited Melbourne with one of their trunk shows. We both chose to customise our wedding bands with a Hidden Sapphire Inlay (the birthstone of the month September), to commemorate the month we started dating.
Were there any family traditions that influenced the celebration?
We had a lot of family traditions, including the pre-wedding events. Indian weddings are always a family affair, which we love because we are both quite close with our family. We had a Mehndi, where the bride and the ladies on both sides of the family come together and have their henna done. It’s a fun, relaxed vibe with colourful outfits and decorations. The same night we had a ‘Sangeet’ night where both sides of the family showcased dances and put on a show! It’s just another way to celebrate the two families coming together.
Almost everyone in my family, including my parents, grandparents and cousins get married at the same temple in Kerala. So it was very important to us to honour this tradition. Similarly, Avish’s cultural traditions were honoured with our afternoon wedding. When Avish entered the venue, he was brought in by music and dance with his family known as the Baraat. I could hear all the commotion and it built up a lot of excitement and anticipation while I was waiting to see him.
Do you have any specific highlights from your wedding day?
Many! The moment we saw each other in our wedding attire was so special. The build up was quite dramatic, because in Avish’s culture, the groom waits behind a veiled cloth while the bride walks down the aisle. The veil is then removed to reveal us to each other! The music, commotion and anticipation added to a very emotional moment.
At our Melbourne reception, our cousins & family performed a special surprise dance for us. It was so full of energy and fun and we didn’t expect they would come through with something so amazing. The amount of effort that they went through warmed our hearts.
Finally, all our amazing guests dancing away on the dance floor during all our events will always be a highlight in our minds.
What was your favourite detail from your special day?
For us our favourite detail was the food! In India we served our guests a traditional meal, presented on a banana leaf. We found this was a big hit and everyone couldn’t stop talking about how good the meal was!
Another special memory for us was how incredibly supportive our bridal party was. They kept us laughing the entire day to ease the stress of it all. We will always be grateful to have them be a close part of our celebrations.
Did you plan any special surprises for your guests?
Not really a surprise, just a personal touch we wanted to add. At our Melbourne reception, we set film cameras on a few tables to make the rounds. We recently got the film back and it was so fun to see photos of our guests making memories.
Did you have any post-wedding celebrations?
At our celebration in India there was a post-event afterparty in one of the hotel rooms and even though some of our guests had to catch an early morning flight we partied the night away, it was a fun and memorable way to get to say thank you and goodbye to everyone.
What’s next for your journey as a couple?
We went to the Maldives straight after the wedding and it was the most relaxing & stunning honeymoon. We are currently enjoying living together in Melbourne and hoping to continue travelling the world in the years to come!
