Parambir & Kaz

For me, one of the things I love most about writing about weddings each and every day is the immersion in different cultures. In watching how traditions unfold, how heritage is honoured and how special details are curated. The bright and colourful Sydney Indian wedding of Parambir & Kaz was captured by Dan Cartwright. Spanning an entire week, the wedding had everything – a henna ceremony, Bollywood style dancing, music-filled processional down the streets and beautiful photos by the harbour. For this lover of culture and colour, what more could I want?

It was a grand proposal when Kaz asked Parambir to marry him. The bride reminisces “Kaz proposed on a hot air balloon – it was pretty amazing! We were subject to the elements though…thunderstorms and thick fog meant we took off the third time (which I’m sure Kaz was feeling pretty nervous about!)”

The decor was a highlight of the planning for the bride, Parambir notes “We loved selecting the floral arrangements and the décor for the different events we had (inspired by some serious Pinterest-ing)! I love decorating with fresh flowers so getting up early to get to the flower market and then making the arrangements for some of the home events with my sister-in-law and friends was also pretty fun.”

The bride was dressed in traditional attire purchased in India. She tells “My flight to Delhi got delayed twice, so the three days I was supposed to have to find my wedding outfit got cut down to half a day. I had my mum and aunty in Delhi trying to shortlist some outfits for me once I landed. In the 5 or so hours I had, I chose my wedding and reception day outfit. Frantic but it all worked out in the end!”

The time before the ceremony the bride shared with her parents, remains one of her favourite memories. She tells “The week was filled with so many traditional events and details, but sitting in the wedding car with my mum and dad was a nice moment. Between the hectic-ness of the wedding morning and arriving at the ceremony, it was nice to sit with my two incredible parents.”

The official ceremony kicked off at the Glenwood Sikh Temple. The newlyweds explained “We wanted it to be as personal as possible (which is hard with 400 or so guests!) but we did try. My grandmother read a poem at the end which was really touching.”

The bride remembers “There were so many favourite moments. But my favourite would have to be the ‘laava’ which is when we walk around our religious scripture four times. For us, this is similar to the vows of a white wedding.”

Of her favourite photo, the bride explains “There were so many amazing photos throughout the week but there was one which was taken at the Armoury in front of this plain cement wall. We’re both laughing having a good time. I think that captures the essence of the day pretty well.”

The beautiful bright details continued to the flowers, the bride remarking “I wanted my bouquet to not be a traditional bouquet – but to have some fun with the type of flowers and the colours. I opted for tones of red and mustard, with a messy/wild touch.”

The groom chose to have no groomsmen, the bride, however, chose five of her closest friends – including long time friends from nappies and primary school! 

The couple kicked off the day after their wedding with photographs on the harbour. They celebrated with brunch, before photographs and then heading to their reception celebration.  

Of their photographer, the bride tells “Dan was amazing! He went above and beyond at every event. We wanted natural photos of us and our guests and we couldn’t be happier. His jokes kept us smiling and that certainly helps when there’s a lens constantly facing your direction!”

Guest gathered for the evening at Oatlands House noting “We absolutely loved the gardens and the way the main ballroom looked out onto the beautiful outdoor space. That was definitely a definite choice as soon as we saw it.”

The couple gifted their guests boxes of chocolates, telling “We made 320 individual chocolate boxes stamped with our initial. It was nice to get the cousins and friends around to create a bit of a production line!”

Having our closest family and friends with us to share the day with us. These are the people that have seen us grow up and guided us along the way, so that was really nice that they could be there for our biggest day. In particular, Kaz’s grandad who is unfortunately no longer here with us today.”

The first dance was a hard choice says the bride. “We danced to ‘Magic’ by Coldplay. Despite my attempts for Ed Sheeran’s ‘Tenerife Sea’, we landed on Magic because it was a band we both loved and the song meant something to the both of us.”

 

The groom remembers “There was this one moment on the night of the reception, the dance floor was packed and we sat down to have a drink at the bridal table while everyone else was dancing away. It was kind of cool for 10 minutes to sit back and watch our wedding and everyone having a good time.”

Congratulations  Parambir and Kaz! Thank you for sharing your beautiful day with us. Thank you also to Dan Cartwright for sharing this stunning celebration.