These mixed-faith Spanish and Indian brides tied the knot in a beautiful ceremony in Los Angeles

17 February 2023

Mili Ghosh

Inside Avni Patel and Lauren Rios’ wedding celebrations in Los Angeles

It was fate that brought Spanish and Indian brides Lauren Rios and Avni Patel together. How else do you explain two California natives — who grew up a mere 45-minute drive from each other — only crossing paths about 3,000 miles away in Boston? At least that’s how Patel, a psychiatrist, views her love story. A last-minute interview at Harvard University for a psychiatry residency program made her feel an inexplicable pull towards the city. Ultimately, it’s where she met her now-wife, social worker Rios, who had been working with children and families on the east coast for a few years then.

The two serendipitously encountered each other at a bar one night. “It was Avni who approached me. We went on to talk about everything from love and dreams to the universe and black holes that night! Admittedly, I didn’t have much to contribute to that conversation but I was smitten, to say the least,” reveals Rios. Their lives have been intertwined ever since. It was Patel who proposed first — with a picnic on the edge of Charles River as an ode to the city where they met. Rios popped the question a month later in Palm Springs — on the last night of a 14-day cross-country road trip from Boston to California.

Once they set a date for the big day, they set out planning it themselves, so that every element felt personal and intentional. They designed everything from the save the date to the wedding website themselves. But they did bring Claudia Casanova of One Darling Day on board to coordinate the details. The December-end celebrations last year started with an intimate at-home mehendi, followed by a welcome dinner at Arts District Brewing Company in downtown LA the next day. For the wedding on New Year’s Eve, they fell in love with erstwhile liver-and-warehouse-turned-event-venue Millwick. “We were instantly drawn to its industrial, tropical and intimate vibe as it aligned with our vision,” explains Patel.

The theme for the big night was TV show Black Mirror season 3, episode 4 ‘San Junipero’! “It’s an ’80s-inspired love story about two women who meet in a dance club, searching for each other through the decades. We loved this episode so much, and we both have an affinity for the ’80s, so it just felt right,” elaborates Patel. “We wanted to create a mashup of tropical disco meets New Year’s Eve with vibrant colours, a splash of neon and lots of disco balls,” Rios adds. So the Spanish and Indian brides set about designing backlit welcome movie posters, background images and acrylic place cards themselves. The table names were based on songs that resonated with the couple for their guests, with a corresponding LED seating chart that read ‘Find Your Track’. They even had a live art portrait station by Jaclyn Florencio of Yellow & Lace which was a big hit with the attendees. Fundamental Catering was roped in for the food, and Cali Craft Cocktails for the drinks. Something Meetha created the dessert table. Kelly Zhang and Emily Kim were in charge of the bridal hair and make-up. For their wedding portraits shot outside the iconic Walt Disney Concert Hall and The Broad, they worked with make-up artist Alisa Yasuda and hairstylist Phil Saunders.

The brides spent months searching for their outfits. Patel wanted something feminine with a masculine touch. She finally found the perfect design at Milla Nova, who agreed to make it for her even though the piece was no longer in production. She wore this with ear cuffs from Mam, and rings collected over the years. Rios matched her wife in a beaded mermaid gown with a detachable tulle overskirt by Olympia Sposa. For the reception, Patel wore a fierce lehenga from JJ Valaya with Peter Do shoes. The jewellery was from a mix of labels like Alexis Bittar, Catori Life, Zozi and Jaypore. Rios choose a sequinned lehenga and jacket set from Sawan Gandhi for the occasion. Jewellery from her mother-in-law complemented both her looks.

Patel is of Indian descent while Rios has Spanish roots. But the couple wanted to have a spiritual ceremony with an emphasis on their vows. They were officiated by a friend, who did perform a variation of the Granthi Bandhanam, or tying of the sacred knot, to bring in a meaningful traditional Indian moment to the ceremony. They recall how it was raining very hard for the first half of the outdoor ceremony. “But the strangest thing was happening — it wasn’t raining on us! It was only raining around both of us, which created a vision neither of us can quite describe. There happened to be a huge leaf from the tree above us protecting us,” recounts Patel. Of course, it collapsed somewhere between our vows and the tying ritual, but when it started raining on us, we both felt nothing less than pure joy,” she reminisces. Rios adds: “For the days leading up to the wedding, Avni was so worried about the rain. But when splash came to shove, it was just perfect!”