Naomi and Alex originally planned to have a Fall wedding with 150 of their closest friends and family, but in true 2020 fashion their plans changed. When the pandemic hit, this couple knew that they would have to make some changes and decided to elope. We are obsessed with their outdoor wedding at Austin’s Wildflower center. Naomi chose to wear the KYNAH Chandni Lehenga for her small wedding ceremony, an off-white lehenga with a beaded armored top and an open back, making it the perfect outfit for the elopement. She looked elegant and understated in this off-white Lehenga, and we can’t wait to see how she styles it for a more glam event in the future. Congrats to the lovely couple, we hope your chance for a big wedding in 2021!
2020 was a wild time to plan a wedding. We originally planned an October ceremony for about 150 guests at a hotel in downtown Austin, but as the pandemic hit and we moved into May with things getting worse, we knew our wedding wasn't going to happen. My fiancé and I grappled with whether or not to elope or postpone our wedding. We had already locked down so many of our vendors -- my parents had even traveled to Sri Lanka and spent hours picking out a white sari and red lehenga (with me on FaceTime) that I would wear for my ceremony and reception. After stressing over it for a while, we finally decided that we would postpone our wedding to a safer time in the future TBD, but we wouldn't wait on getting married.
What was your experience like working with KYNAH for your wedding?
After finally decided to move forward with a small ceremony or elopement, I was desperately trying to decide what to wear, while not liking anything I found online. It was still at that point in quarantine where businesses were just beginning to re-open (here in Texas, at least) but there was no way I was going out shopping or traveling from Austin to Houston or Dallas (which are the places to go for South Asian wear.) Since we knew we'd be doing something really small, I wanted something simple and elegant -- the dresses I found didn't feel right and I just couldn't get over wanting to wear a sari or lehenga. Cue to me hazily scrolling through Instagram one day and seeing Radhi Devlukia-Shetty in a video wearing a Kynah lehenga. I scrolled through the Kynah Instagram page, saw the Chandni Lehenga, and knew it was exactly what I wanted. I messaged through Instagram and Aisha was super responsive and helpful in letting me know that we could get the lehenga by the fall, and then she was also super helpful with helping me figure out the sizing. Even with all of the sizing help, I was super nervous it wouldn't fit. There were a couple of delays in shipping (y'all were super responsive throughout), so I ended up getting the Lehenga about 3-weeks before our ceremony. It fit perfectly :)
What attracted you to the Chandni Lehenga?
I love that it's sleek and elegant but not too flashy. It was perfect for an elopement, but I could also see blinging it out for a huge party too.
What was the inspiration behind your wedding theme/aesthetic?
Austin has amazing outdoor views + botanicals, so we definitely wanted something outside. Again, this was during quarantine so we were going by what was still open. When I found the Wildflower center, we visited and fell in love with the ambiance and beautiful scenery. We were only allowed to have seven people in total for the ceremony. Both Alex and I are transplants in Austin, so we didn't have family in town. We do have amazing friends though, and they helped us feel loved and supported the whole time. My friend / boss, Marybeth officiated the ceremony.
Where are you going on your honeymoon?
We did a 2-week road trip spending the first week in the Ozarks and then traveling to NC to see family. We originally wanted to go to Greece, but we figure we've got the rest of our lives to get over there when it's safe to travel :)
Given the chance to do it all again, you would...
We're hoping to do it again in 2021, with family and friends present!