A Personal Journey
As the founder of MyShaadiDreams, my connection to South Asian wedding traditions runs deep. Growing up immersed in the rich cultural tapestry of Indian weddings, I always appreciated the meticulous details, vibrant colors, and meaningful rituals that make these celebrations so special.
However, it wasn't until I experienced the challenges of planning South Asian weddings in North America firsthand that I truly understood the unique difficulties faced by couples living abroad. Through my involvement in two particularly challenging weddings - my son Kaval and April's wedding in the USA and my son Karan and Sonal's destination wedding in Cancun, Mexico - the seed for MyShaadiDreams was planted.
Our passion is simple: to help couples create authentic South Asian wedding experiences without the stress, expense, and logistical nightmares of international travel. Every service we offer was born from real challenges we faced, and every solution we provide comes from lessons we learned the hard way.
Kaval and April's Wedding
The Challenge of Authenticity
When my son Kaval decided to marry April, we were immediately faced with a dilemma: how to create an authentic Indian wedding thousands of miles away from India. Finding vendors who truly understood South Asian wedding traditions was our first major hurdle.
The Shopping Adventure
April's bridal lehenga became a family-wide project. After countless disappointing visits to local Indian stores with limited selections and inflated prices, we sourced her beautiful lehenga from Vadodara. We also arranged custom-made outfits with hand embroidery from India for both Kaval and April.
The Emotional Journey
What should have been a joyous planning experience became a source of immense stress. While April's American friends enjoyed bridal boutique experiences with champagne and tears of joy, her wedding shopping involved international phone calls, video approvals, and anxious waiting for packages.
Karan and Sonal's Destination Wedding in Cancun
The Triple Language Barrier
My son Karan and Sonal's decision to hold their wedding at a resort in Cancun, Mexico created an entirely new set of challenges. We faced a triple language barrier—explaining Indian wedding traditions to Mexican resort staff through English. Concepts like mandap requirements, haldi ceremony space needs, and baraat procession logistics were nearly impossible to communicate effectively.
The Vendor Coordination Experience
While the resort's vendors understood Indian weddings, their pricing was extraordinarily high for their services. At the same time, the resort imposed hefty fees for bringing in outside vendors, creating a challenging financial situation. We had to carefully negotiate and make strategic decisions about which elements to prioritize within our budget constraints.
We took two of our small dogs to Mexico for Karan and Sonal's wedding and had matching outfits custom-made for them for all ceremonies. We understand how important your pets are to your family, and we can help you plan your wedding with their presence, including custom outfits for your furry family members.
The Lightbulb Moment
The evening after Karan and Sonal's reception in Cancun, exhausted from weeks of troubleshooting and compromise, I sat on the beach with my sister-in-law. She mentioned her daughter's upcoming wedding and immediately expressed dread about the logistical challenges ahead.
"I wish there was a service that could just handle all the Indian wedding elements without us having to fly back and forth to Delhi," she said casually. In that moment, everything clicked. The struggles we'd faced with Kaval and Karan's weddings weren't unique—they were systemic challenges faced by South Asian couples planning weddings abroad.
I realized that with my network of contacts in India, understanding of wedding traditions, and firsthand experience with the challenges, I could create a bridge between worlds. I could help couples access authentic South Asian wedding elements without the travel, stress, and expense that had plagued our family celebrations.
MyShaadiDreams was born that night—a vision to let couples skip the trip to India while still honoring every meaningful tradition. Within months, I was laying the groundwork for a service I wished had existed for Kaval and Karan.
Dhan & Christina
"Working with MyShaadiDreams made our wedding planning process so much easier. They helped us source beautiful custom-made outfits with hand embroidery from India, perfectly matching our vision without requiring us to travel. Their guidance on traditional elements while accommodating our personal style was invaluable."
Charly & Viola
"MyShaadiDreams helped us coordinate everything from Charly's sherwani with matching shoes to our bridesmaids' outfits. The hand-embroidered custom pieces from India were beyond our expectations. Their attention to detail and understanding of both traditional and modern elements made our fusion wedding truly special."
Shincy
"Even though I traveled to Bangalore from the USA for my wedding, MyShaadiDreams was instrumental in helping me source my engagement lehenga from Delhi and coordinating my bridesmaids' outfits. Their knowledge of regional styles and ability to manage logistics across India saved me so much time and stress."
