The Wedding Story of... Madhuri & Amardeep Grewal

Madhuri (Madhu) Singh and Amardeep (Sonny) Grewal lived in the same place for seven years – but they had never met.  As Madhu was starting her freshman year of college at the University of Michigan, Sonny was beginning his sophomore year, also at U-M. Four years later, in 2007, Madhu began her first year of law school and Sonny was finishing up his third and final year, this time, both of them at American University in Washington, D.C. The two had mutual friends and even attended the same social events, but had never officially been introduced. 

 

Finally, in May 2009, Madhu grabbed brunch with a group of friends at a local tavern where she was introduced to Sonny.  The two immediately hit it off and quickly realized that there was something special between them.

 

 

 

 

As their relationship continued to grow, Sonny and Madhu informally discussed the topic of marriage. After accidentally catching a glimpse of an email from a ring website in Sonny’s email, Madhu was given a heads up that a proposal might be in their future.  “Since Sonny and I met and fell in love in D.C., I was hoping he would propose in D.C. before we moved,” Madhu said.

 

Shortly before Madhu’s discovery, she was given a job opportunity in California that was hard to resist. “She asked me if I would be interested in moving and I said, ’Of course!’” Sonny said.

 

With only a few weeks left in D.C., Sonny tricked Madhu into thinking he was having friends over to play poker on a Thursday night. Madhu realized that she had left a few of her things at Sonny’s place and asked him if she could swing by his apartment and pick them up. What Madhu later learned was that Sonny had no intention of playing poker, but instead had arranged an elaborate and romantic proposal.

 

“When I walked into his apartment I saw framed pictures of us, candles, flowers, and in the middle of everything, a fruit, chocolate fondue and champagne picnic.” Sonny then got down on one knee and proposed and the two celebrated the next day with dinner and a play at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

 

 

 

 

As long-distance planning began, the couple decided to return to Fort Wayne, Madhu’s home town, for their wedding celebration. “It was definitely a challenge, but after returning home for Christmas in 2011, we were able to secure the majority of the vendors for our wedding,” Madhu explained. 

 

A few months before the wedding, the couple faced another challenge as Sonny accepted an offer for his dream job, forcing him to move back to D.C. With 2,700 miles between the bride and groom, the couple worked with Madhu’s parents in Fort Wayne and Sonny’s parents in New York to help finalize last-minute details.

 

 

 

 

 

With most Hindu weddings, celebrations can last an entire week.  For simplicity, Madhu’s immediate family commenced the celebrations on Tuesday, the week of the wedding, with a simple but important religious ritual called a Puja, which is performed by the priest to bless the bride and her immediate family.  “Wednesday consisted of a small Haldi ceremony, and on Thursday, mendhi (henna) was painted on my hands and feet and on the palms of a few female relatives.” 

 

A Sangeet, a night of singing and dancing, took place on Friday and included Sonny and Madhu’s families and closest friends. After a song and few choreographed dances were performed by the couple’s friends, Sonny’s female relatives surprised everyone with a jago dance.  During the jago, the women balanced colorfully-decorated jugs with candles in them on their heads. 

 

The wedding ceremony began on Saturday with a Baraat (groom’s procession). Sonny, who was on horseback, was accompanied by wedding guests,who danced down the block to the beat of music. Madhu’s family and friends then welcomed them at the entrance of the Grand Wayne Center. Madhu and Sonny then exchanged vows under a mandap, a sanctified Hindu wedding altar, and were pronounced husband and wife.  “For our guests who were not Indian, but wanted to wear traditional South Asian clothing to our wedding, Sonny and I worked with a few online rental stores to accommodate them at a discount,” Madhu said.

 

Celebrations continued with a cocktail hour and an evening reception complete with bright and vibrant colors and a choreographed dance by Madhu’s cousin and a giant group Bollywood dance that Madhu and Sonny’s friends from all over the country had coordinated through YouTube.  Sonny said, ”I surprised Madhu by jumping into the dance and was thrown on the shoulders of one of my friends during a bhangra song!”

 

On Sunday morning, celebrations concluded with one final religious ceremony at the local gurudwara (a Sikh temple), so the couple could receive blessings from a Sikh elder.  

 

After thanking their families for everything they had done to make the wedding celebrations a success, Sonny and Madhu were off to a romantic honeymoon in Phuket, Thailand!