After a starry proposal, when it came to getting married it was important for Priyanka Rana and Naman Bhasin to celebrate their culture and reflect the values they share.
Engineer Naman Bhasin and Priyanka Rana, a project manager and fashion designer who also runs the label Workshop37 on the side, were destined to be together after stars aligned when they met through the dating app Bumble.
A brief conversation graduated into a real-life connection after they met for coffee in Mount Eden’s Fraser’s Cafe. Having just visited the Stardome Observatory Planetarium, Priyanka was impressed by Naman’s astrophotography, and two years later under the stars at Piha, Naman proposed.
The pair were wed in March 2024 in a relaxed setting, with a ceremony that married Hindu traditions with a modern lifestyle.
THE VISION
Priyanka and Naman: We really wanted to just have one big party on the day, filled with food, laughter, and dancing. It was important for us to celebrate our culture and personalise the traditions to reflect the values we share together. We were late on the planning to start and only really had about four months to get everything but the venue and photographer sorted. So hustle we did and ended up getting about 80% of the planning done. The rest worked out as it did on the day itself and we decided the closer we got to the wedding the less we should sweat the small stuff.
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Priyanka and Naman: As most people would know, Indian weddings are long and big. It was no easy feat to try to get the wedding list to under 90 people but it was another to make it shorter. We had three pre-wedding events kicking it off with a havan (fire ceremony), sangeet night (welcome party with dance, food and henna) and the haldi event (where the bride and groom are blessed by friends and family). All of which were joyous and filled with affection from family and friends. Thankfully, we were able to use Naman’s parents’ house as the location for all the events. Pri’s family comes from a food background and Naman’s mum is an exceptional cook, so together they were able to cater for a large portion of these events with delicious homemade Indian food.
THE CEREMONY
Priyanka and Naman: We had the ceremony and reception at the same location for ease. Naman built the mandap (pergola) from scratch in the months leading up to the wedding, with help from friends and family of course. While this saved heaps in terms of wedding costs, it did require more Bunnings trips than we’d like to admit – and a couple of stressful nights when things weren’t going to plan – but it was so worth it seeing it up on the day.
Naman and a few friends went to the venue on the morning of the wedding and built it on site – and it was all dressed up and ready to go with their, and Pri’s friends’ help. (Side note – it was a windy day and Naman was keeping a close eye on the Mandap – thankfully the ridiculous number of screws we put in held on.)
Priyanka walked down the aisle with her dad, before a traditional Hindu wedding ceremony took place – don’t worry we cut it shorter than normal (hehe).
A fire was lit, vows were exchanged, sindoor was applied and papers were signed. Before long, we were officially married.
There are no personal vows built into a traditional Indian wedding but we really wanted to do this privately shortly after the wedding. Unfortunately, this big-ticket item didn’t make it past the to-do list, so one week later, we finally put aside time to write and share this with one another.
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THE LOCATION
Naman: Priyanka really wanted a backyard-style wedding. Something casual, relaxed, where nature was abundant and there was a spot to sit inside, to sip on a glass of wine. When we walked into Vin Alto, the penny dropped and we were immediately locked into a contract. Vin Alto is run by the sweetest woman, Hayley, who went above and beyond to accommodate all our needs. It’s a secluded spot, hidden in the hills of Clevedon, but is a fully functioning restaurant housing a courtyard with trees and farmland all around. On a beautiful summery feeling day, it truly felt like we were outside of Auckland, in our very own paradise.
THE PLANNING
Priyanka and Naman: We planned most if not all the wedding ourselves but when they say it takes a village… We had so much help from our friends and family, that it truly made each and every thing so special during the day. The floral arrangements were done by Priyanka’s girlfriends, Naman’s friends helped with the heavy lifting, our parents organised food for the pre-wedding events, and close friends and families committed to the choreographed dances.
THE RINGS
Naman: For Priyanka’s engagement ring, I (or Priyanka) didn’t want to take any risks. So in came a Pinterest board with inspiration and suggested styles in rings. I looked everywhere and couldn’t find the perfect something. That’s when I found Arieas Jewellers in Mt Eden, a small family-run jeweller who were able to guide me through a custom ring route. They were absolutely amazing and made the process a breeze, from gem selection, shaping and moulding (they even made a ring out of wax so I could hold it and see it in person), and ring care. Priyanka couldn’t be more delighted with the ring, so I was happy to make the right choice!
THE DRESS
Priyanka: The bridal range for Indian wedding wear in New Zealand is limited so initially I thought it was going to take a while to find the one. I tried on the first full bridal look at a local Indian shop Roop Darshan on a whim, in front of Naman and his entire family, and one week later went back and secured the goods. I guess when you know, you know.
The second dress I designed and handmade myself. Keeping to the traditional red theme it took a few goes to get the style, fit and fabric right but I managed to get it together in the last couple of weeks leading up to the wedding. Made with silk taffeta, it was able to hold the gathers and the volume created on the drop waist.
THE SUIT
Priyanka and Naman: To match the traditional red Naman wore an off-white Rembrandt suit with a red tie. Naman’s style is pretty subdued so this was the best we were getting out of him (self-proclaimed). Shoes were the hardest part for both of us to figure out. After many trips to every shoe store, we still couldn’t find the right style in the right colour. True to the do-it-yourself theme we had adopted by now, we found a stain that felt right with the suit and proceeded to change Naman’s orange-brown dress shoes to something darker and more fitting.
THE BEAUTY
Priyanka: For the makeup and hair, I really wanted to make sure we had someone who had worked with brown skin and hair previously. In came Naeema from Made-Up By Naeema, the sweetest and most down-to-earth woman who could do it all. The brief was to keep it simple and after doing a trial, we landed on something a little more bold and it worked so much better for the outfits in mind. Neither hair nor face moved the entire wedding day.
THE FLOWERS
Priyanka and Naman: We decided to do our own flowers for the wedding – purchasing from a few wholesalers as well as a few cheeky Facebook Marketplace finds and some well-timed homegrown marigolds from our and our families’ gardens. One of our friends took the lead doing the wedding floral and we spent a lovely afternoon brainstorming and practising arrangements in our living room.
The night before the wedding, a few of us got together and prepped all the flowers. Then on the morning of the wedding day, Pri’s friends got up early, went to the venue, and got them all set up. It was so generous of them to lend a hand and they looked absolutely stunning on the day.
For the vermala (garlands that we wore during the ceremony), Priyanka’s younger sisters handmade them with fresh roses the night before the wedding. These were a small part of the wedding but they were done so well and with so much care – we’ll remember the effort to make them for years to come.
THE FOOD
Priyanka and Naman: For food, we thought the guests would be overloaded with traditional Indian food from all the pre-wedding events (we thought wrong and forgot people REALLY like Indian food). We worked with the chef at Vin Alto to craft the perfect dinner menu for us which was Indian fusion to still reference our ancestral background combined with a medley of modern cuisine.
Traditionally in India, we celebrate good news with Indian sweets. Whether it’s landing your first job, buying your first home, or in our case getting married, we thought it would be nice to keep this tradition going. Pri loves her dad’s cooking, so instead of a traditional cake, we decided to serve Pri’s dad’s gulab jamuns as dessert during the wedding.
THE RECEPTION
Priyanka and Naman: True to our vision, the most memorable thing about the wedding was the dance floor. Never have we seen Naman bust so many moves but the dance and shots never truly ran out the entire night. We can certainly say and as we have been told by some guests, we can’t remember the last time we danced so much.
THE PHOTOS
Priyanka and Naman: We first found Misi Chan through Instagram and were beyond overjoyed when we realised he was free on the day of our wedding. We did a pre-wedding shoot on a rainy day in Auckland. What was supposed to be a short shoot turned into a couple of hours. We loved Misi’s relaxed photography style and his curiosity to try to find beauty in everyday moments (cue the Auckland rain).
On the wedding day, the direction was relaxed and candid. Looking back at the moments he captured gives us so much joy and if we were to do it all over again we would call him first.
THE MOMENTS
Priyanka and Naman: We choreographed and practised our first dance at 12am the night before our wedding. Out of practice and the first dance fast approaching on the day of the wedding, we snuck out for sunset photos and did some more rounds. Somewhere between this, Misi snuck in some photos that we now have framed at home.
During the sunset photos, we walked into an empty paddock. Unbeknownst to us, it was the home of three very large and very curious deers. A few moments later they ran to join us for some photos as we ran to get out of the paddock, to avoid being knocked out. We did get sweet photos with them in the interim.
Finally, after the ceremony and reception were over, the wedding festivities were not. Guests climbed aboard a bus and made their way to the groom’s family home. As Hindu tradition has it, there are a few welcoming ceremonies that must be had when the bride reaches her new extended family home. As a fun extra we also played a few wedding games to conclude who “wears the pants”, in the relationship. True to form, Naman lost all the games.
ANY TIPS?
Priyanka and Naman: Take your time and start early. Get support from friends and family and don’t sweat the small stuff.
Before wedding planning write down what matters to you and why you’re planning a wedding. Revisit this list from time to time to make sure the planning still aligns with your values. There is so much excess in the wedding industry, it’s hard to not get swept up by it.
Also, be kind to each other in the process.
ANYTHING YOU WOULD DO DIFFERENTLY?
Aside from eating more food on the day, not at all!
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