Saaheba Bedi, who tied the knot with her childhood sweetheart Nausher Walia in Jaipur, wore her mum’s attire for her jaimala ceremony after giving it a makeover
Bride Saaheba Bedi and groom Nausher Walia grew up in the same social circles as their Punjabi Sikh families often met at gatherings. “Nausher and I have known each other forever, our dads were friends even before we were born. We witnessed each other in our awkward teenage phase, but it wasn’t until we were in our twenties that our love story truly began,” shares Bedi.
Despite knowing each other for so long, Walia slid into Bedi’s DMs, inviting her to a party at his house. There, he challenged her to a game of basketball in his backyard with the condition that if he won, he would get a chance to take her on a date. “It felt very Love and Basketball. Nausher won, and a week later, we went to a Los Angeles Lakers game together. His confidence and effortless charm won me over instantly. The rest is history,” she reminisces. After a romantic proposal at the Joshua Tree desert over a John Mayer song, the couple decided to plan their dream wedding.
They chose Jaipur, keeping its history, architectural beauty, and warm hospitality in mind. Says Bedi, “Nausher had always dreamed of having a destination wedding, and for me, India always felt like a second home.” With six functions spread over three days at Fairmont Jaipur, both families were deeply involved in planning each aspect of the wedding as Diya Walia of her eponymous events company brought their vision to life.
The celebration began with a welcome lunch where Bedi wore a green-hued Nidhi Tholia Indian attire, and Walia donned a navy kurta vest set by Arjun Dugal. He added a pocket watch with the outfit as a way of honouring his maternal grandfather. “His nana was incredibly stylish, and Nausher draws much of his fashion inspiration from the way he used to dress,” adds Bedi. Picking another shade of green for her sangeet function, Bedi changed into a short kurti paired with a lehenga by Abhinav Mishra. Covered in mirror work, the outfit let her dance freely as singer Gurdeep Mehndi belted out high-energy numbers. She let her hair down, styled by Gaurav Chawla of Gaurav Chawla Hairextension, and completed the look with a teal-winged liner and pink lip gloss. Walia opted for an ethnic Seema Gujral outfit with a matching turban and mirror work.
For their vatna or haldi ceremony, the couple decided to host a Holi celebration for their guests to ring in the festival that was right around the corner. The fun-filled affair saw a colourful display as they smeared gulal on one another. “We also wanted to honour our Punjabi culture, so we brought in the Raunaki Girls, a group of folk singers, to perform traditional haldi and mehndi songs,” says Bedi.
In the evening, the families gathered for the baraat and jaimala ceremonies as Walia made an entrance on horseback. He cut a dapper figure in a custom sherwani by Frontier Heritage and a peach turban. The details featured nine lions embroidered on the outfit, along with Bedi’s late father’s initials on the sleeve of his kurta.
The bride repurposed her mother’s sangeet outfit by turning the lehenga into a sharara and adding a new chunni and kurta with heavier gold embroidery. The orange, pink and gold tissue fabric lent a glam yet traditional touch to her look. “I went all out with kajal, a red bindi, fresh gajra, and hair chains—basically the quintessential Indian bride. I walked out with my brothers, holding my mom’s wedding chunni over me. This outfit was by far the most sentimental to me,” she reveals. The celebration was made grander as Quawwal Niazi Nizami Brothers performed that evening.
The couple chose Sabyasachi for their sacred Anand Karaj ceremony. Dressed in an ivory lehenga and sherwani, they went for a cohesive and sophisticated look for their special day. “I wanted to feel like a princess, and this lehenga was ethereal. Nausher’s outfit had a classic, sophisticated silhouette,” she adds. Bedi accessorised her outfit with a maang tikka, nath, and classic gold kaleeras and chooda, along with a polki set with rubies. She complemented her look with elegant, feminine makeup by Sneha Chowdhary.
The festivities concluded with a reception dinner where the bride wore a striking red Seema Gujral lehenga, and the groom opted for a white-and-black tuxedo by Rohit Gandhi and Rahul Khanna paired with Christian Louboutin loafers. “We danced until 5 am as Manj Musik performed live. Our wedding felt like a fusion between California’s Hollywood glam vibes with a traditional Punjabi flavour in Jaipur,” signs off Bedi.
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