Neha + Bryan

Neha grew up in Mumbai, India until she was 21 years old and then came to the United States for school.  After completing her education, Neha met Bryan and they immediately hit it off.  They like living in the San Francisco Bay Area and Neha works for Joint Genome Institute, which is operated by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and advances genomics in support of clean energy generation.

For Neha and Bryan’s wedding, Neha’s parents had a Hindu bishop and priests come in to officiate all of the ceremonies and rituals.  Despite the day being filled with many Indian wedding customs, Bryan was very involved with the wedding planning and even did all the floral arrangements.  The day started with Neha getting dressed in her wedding ceremony saree with her mother, aunts and many female cousins.  After everyone was dressed, one of the priests presided over the dakshanan, which is a ceremony where Neha was blessed and gave thanks to each of her aunts, uncles and then her parents.

The group then departed for the wedding ceremony at Asbury United Methodist Church, which was closely located to the reception site, Palm Event Center in Pleasanton, Calif.  Neha’s favorite part of the ceremony was when she and Bryan had the chains tied around their necks, symbolizing their unity in marriage.

After the ceremony, everyone headed over to the Palm Event Center for the reception.  Neha changed sarees, from a white one to a vibrant red one, called mantaragodi, for the reception.  Once again the priest and bishops gave blessings for the couple, and then the mothers of the bride and groom gave blessings followed by the sweet ceremony.

The night was filled with many toasts and dancing in celebration of the couple.