The Royal Wedding

‘Right place, right time’ can sum up Karishma Damani and Jay Thakrar’s love story. “We are from different countries. I’m from India and Jay was born and raised in the United States,” the bride reveals. The couple’s paths first crossed at a common friend’s wedding in Mumbai. “I was the maid of honour and Jay was the best man. At the time, both of us were not looking for a relationship, and only saw each other as friends.” Sparks flew when Damani moved to New York City to pursue her masters degree. “We truly enjoyed each other’s company, and our love for food really brought us together. After dating for a few years, we decided to embark upon the next chapter together, and got engaged in December 2018.”


The venue

With palatial architecture and views of the lake, heritage properties Fateh Garh and Fateh Niwas Palace in Udaipur were finalised as the venues.

The vision

“Since our guests were traveling from various parts of the world, we wanted them to embrace the rich, diverse culture that Udaipur and India has to offer.”

The big day on January 28, 2020, started with a fun-filled baraat, and the groom made his way to the ceremony riding on an elephant. “India, American and UK flags were distributed to the guests to wave during the baraat to representing the coming together of cultures and the countries our families and friends are from.” Post the varmala, the couple got married in a traditional Hindu ceremony with four pheras around the holy fire. “We had printouts with the explanation of the rituals along with a bell placed on each seat for the guests to ring during the ceremony. Pervez Taufiq did not fail to capture every moment of our events. We drove off as Mr & Mrs in a 40-year-old vintage.”


The sangeet
A prior to the wedding, the couple hosted a vibrant sangeet party. As the tradition goes, the wedding party presented a number of dance performances. Our first dance was on the songs, ‘Jadoo Hai Tera Hi Jadoo’ from the film Ghulam and ‘Perfect’ by Ed Sheeran. It was really special for us as we had spent two months practicing,” the bride said. Some other fun activities like bangle making, massages, henna artists were organised for the pre-wedding celebrations.

The reception

As a nod to Thakrar’s upbringing in America, the couple hosted the reception as a black tie event with sit-down dinner, speeches followed by dancing. “We didn’t have table numbers as all our guests were important. We instead had tables named after cities Jay and I travelled together.”


The Bride: Karishma Damani
The Groom: Jay Thakrar
The Venue: Fateh Garh and
Fateh Niwas Palace in Udaipur
Photography: PTaufiq

As seen in Khush Wedding 29. Download this FREE issue here