Ultimate wedding & party destination since 2009

Indian style California wedding: Ben + Divya

September 26, 2011

We have the absolute pinworthy wedding to share with you today – the wedding of Ben (co-founder of Pinterest) + Divya (Facebook employee &  Ben’s favorite #1 Pinner). It all began with a little pinboard titled, “So it turns out we’re getting married”. Deep reds, intricate mehndi designs, bright orange marigolds, and lots of pretty shoes were pinned across the many months leading up to their celebration. Looking at the stunning images from Bonnie Tsang now, it’s easy to see that Ben + Divya pulled off exactly what they had envisioned. Modern, yet steeped in Indian traditions, their wedding, held in the lush Nestldown retreat in Los Gatos, is unlike any Indian wedding you’ve ever seen. But, of course, nothing steals the show like the glowing bride in her saree!

indian style san francisco wedding

It’s so fun to see the pin that inspired Divya’s ornamented mehndi, applied by Threads Beauty Bar.

indian style san francisco wedding indian style san francisco wedding

Our good friend, Andres Montaño designed our invitations. We loved Andres’ fun & whimsical design style and were super excited when he agreed to help design our invitations. He was incredibly patient and took a lot of care to make sure we were happy with the final product. We wanted something that was personal and fun, and couldn’t be happier with what he designed! We liked his font choices and art so much, that we used it for all the other paper goods in the wedding: table cards, decorations for the welcome table, table numbers, etc. 

indian style san francisco wedding indian style san francisco wedding indian style san francisco wedding

We knew we wanted to do an outside wedding, because one of our favorite things about California is just how much natural beauty there is. We were also excited to incorporate personal traditions. For me, this meant picking some of my favorite Hindu traditions, like lighting a special lamp, having the parents exchange garlands, and taking 7 steps around a holy fire. For Ben, it was more about picking some of his favorite food and music. In the end, we felt it was the perfect marriage of both tradition + bits of our personalities. 

indian style san francisco wedding indian style san francisco wedding

Together with her parents, Divya walked down the aisle to, You’re So Cool by The City Of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra.

Listen to it here:

indian style san francisco wedding indian style san francisco wedding indian style san francisco wedding

We love how they found creative ways to reuse certain flower arrangements (considering flowers can hike up your wedding costs pretty fast) in different areas. The marigolds you see hanging during the ceremony were later used as garlands for their families to wear, and the bridesmaids bouquets were reused (also, after the ceremony) as their centerpieces!

indian style san francisco wedding indian style san francisco wedding

Divya’s Mom brought handfuls of Indian paper kites (reminiscent to what lots of kids in India grow up flying) back from India to give out as favors.

indian style san francisco wedding

They danced their first dance as Mr. & Mrs. Silbermann to California Stars by Wilco.

indian style san francisco wedding indian style san francisco wedding

We can’t thank Ben + Divya enough for allowing us to share their personal and beautiful wedding with us. We wish them the very best!

Photography: Bonnie Tsang / Wedding Coordinator: Christy Daly from Trisha Dean Events / Catering: Cafe Primavera (American) and The Mynt (for Indian) / Flowers: Flower Divas / Invitation design: Andres Montaño / Hair & Make up: Farzana Fazam from “Beauty by Farzana” / Music: Big Fun DJ’s / Cake: / Glass Slipper Gourmet / Henna: Threads Beauty Bar / Bride’s dress: Amy Kuschel – Saree from Chennai, India / Bride’s shoes: Kate Spade / Bridesmaids dresses: WeddingtonWay / Groom’s suit: Banana Republic