Kari and Avinder, Kitchener Sikh Temple, Brampton, Ontario, Canada
They deal with numbers and formulas, but Canada-based couple Avinder and Kari's relationship and wedding festivities were straight out of a romantic fairytale.
They studied in the same university, but never met till their last semester. Finance professionals Avinder and Kari believe their relationship was a sum of their collective destinies and gave their marriage a hashtag inspired by their professions – #akmerger2017. Check out their wedding highlights below as shared by bride Kari.
How We Met
“Avinder (Avi) and I met during our last semester at the Wilfrid Laurier University, in Ontario, Canada. We had mutual friends but the two of us never actually talked to or ran into each other during the first three years at the university. What’s even crazier is that Avi and I were in the same business program and still never had classes together. To make up for that, during our final semester, we had every class together! We became great friends very quickly, and after we graduated, we started dating with which began my greatest adventure. I believe that when something is meant to be, it will be. I guess it was fate that wanted us to meet in our very last semester of university. Avi and I were meant to meet, just not right away. We both pursued our CPA and CA designation and went on to work in finance roles after. This is what led us to come up with the hashtag “akmerger2017″ for our wedding.”
Proposal
“After almost five years of dating, we decided to take a trip to Disney World since we had never been there. After a few days there, we drove to Miami, where on Avi surprised me with a private yacht cruise on our second night there. On the yacht, we had our captain, a private chef, and just the two of us. He proposed on the deck, and we spent the entire day sailing. It was the best day ever!”
Wedding Functions
Sangeet
“Our sangeet was held at the Lionhead Golf Course and the theme for the evening was ‘Streets of Delhi’, complete with fusion street food in the form of hors-d’oeuvres. Our menu included Amritsari Fish Tacos, Butter Chicken Spring Rolls, Keema quesadillas, Bhel Puri, Chaat Papdi, Pav Bhaji, Hazelnut Mouse, Gulab Jamun, and Chocolate Dipped Strawberries. The décor for this function was a riot of colors. We had street art, a rickshaw, and even an artist that did live portraits. This was a huge hit with kids that attended the party! Instead of displaying pictures of Avi and me, we displayed photographs of the streets of New Delhi to match our theme. My friends and I performed a medley of a few dances to hit tracks including ‘Ambarsariya,’ ‘Prem Ratan Dhan Payo,’ and ‘Can’t Stop the Feeling’ by Justin Timberlake.”
Mehndi
“This was an intimate function which is why we decided that my parent’s home would be an ideal venue. Our close family and friends had a great time at this event.”
Wedding
“The wedding ceremony was held at the Kitchener, Waterloo Sikh Temple. We wanted this to be more intimate than our wedding reception, so we had about 100 guests. Avi and I decided to write letters to each other that we read on the morning of our ceremony. We also had a balloon release after our ceremony, and I had my version of a ‘baraat’ (a groom’s procession) with a traditional drummer and color bombs. I thought it would be fun to do something a little unconventional and our guests loved the idea of a ‘Bride’s Baraat.’ Grooms shouldn’t have all the fun anyway!”
Reception
“Our theme for the reception was ‘Modern Elegance,’ and this event was held at the Vaughan. We had fresh flowers as our backdrop and centerpieces. We kept the theme white with lush greenery for a pop of color. The entertainment aspect of this event was very important to us, so we had a saxophone player during the cocktail hour, a bhangra performance as well as salsa performers. Avi and I also didn’t have the typical first dance! We started off dancing to ‘Fly Me To The Moon’ by Frank Sinatra, and then did a medley of songs including ‘Baby Doll’ and ‘Watch Me Whip!'”
Wedding Makers
Venue: Lionhead Golf Club (Sangeet), Kitchener, Waterloo (Wedding), Vaughan (Reception), Canada
Wedding Planner: Fusion Events
Décor: LUX Decors (Toronto)
Food & Beverages: Peter & Pauls (Sangeet), The Host & San Remo Bakery (Reception)
Wedding Invitation: By Design Invitations (Toronto)
Photographer: Midnight Media (Toronto)
Videographer: Beautiful Life Studios (Toronto)
