A Catholic-Punjabi wedding in New Delhi where the haldi and roce became one shared ceremony

Even before Leah Ann Mehrotra and Shorye Chopra settled on Singapore for their first international holiday together, Chopra knew it would be where he proposed. He enlisted photographers to disguise the proposal as a complimentary couples’ photoshoot, convinced that Mehrotra would never suspect a thing.

Mehrotra believed every word. “I’m the master of finding deals,” laughs Chopra, who told her they had won a gift voucher redeemable only at eight o’clock in the morning. The photographers chatted throughout the drive while Chopra, trying to contain his nerves, said very little. On an empty stretch of lawn overlooking Marina Bay Sands and Gardens by the Bay, they asked Mehrotra to face away for one final photograph. When she turned around, Chopra was already on one knee, reading from a note he had written while she was getting ready that morning. “She just kept hugging me,” he recalls. “Eventually, I had to remind her to answer the question.”

Later that evening, what Mehrotra believed would be a celebratory dinner became another reveal when both their families appeared to bless the engagement. “To go from one of the most meaningful moments of our lives straight into celebrating with the people we love most was incredibly emotional,” she says.

Mehrotra, a chartered accountant working in finance, grew up in a close-knit Catholic family where faith and community were central to everyday life. Chopra, a lead software engineer, was born in Panchkula before spending much of his childhood in Dubai. Both later moved to Melbourne to study at the University of Melbourne, where mutual friends introduced them at a university party.

A few conversations later, basketball became the unlikely excuse to meet again. “She was an ace show-off about her non-existent basketball skills,” Chopra jokes, though Mehrotra points out that she had been her school’s basketball captain. Mehrotra talks about it as meeting someone whose confidence and humour made even ordinary afternoons memorable. Chopra recalls her as a straight shooter whose warmth made him feel comfortable from the beginning. Their casual meetings soon became a relationship, and they found themselves navigating early adulthood together, far from their families. “Being with Shorye felt safe, exciting and comforting all at once,” says Mehrotra.

When it came time to plan the wedding, the couple wanted one destination where approximately 240 guests travelling from overseas could spend an entire weekend together. The Tivoli in Chattarpur, New Delhi, allowed them to hold the celebrations in one location and was close enough to Chopra’s parents for them to be involved in the preparations. Their priorities were straightforward–excellent food, generous hospitality and photographs they could revisit for years. It was equally important that the ceremonies reflected both families and cultures.

Much of Mehrotra’s Indian wedding wardrobe came together during a four-day shopping trip to Delhi. Her mother travelled ahead to shortlist designers and styles, allowing them to source the outfits and much of the jewellery within four days. Several pieces were also designed by her mother. “The wedding felt like the perfect opportunity to embrace something bold and special,” says Mehrotra, whose choices departed from what she would ordinarily wear.