A Multicultural Destination Wedding in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico

When Nishant Reddy proposed in September of 2017, Dulce Martinez says she had absolutely no idea it was coming. “We’d just finished diving through caves in Ibiza, and I was laying in the sun thinking that our day couldn’t get any better,” she recalls. That is, until she heard "Naïve Melody" by The Talking Heads, the couple's favorite song, start playing, and Nishant got down on one knee. “We got back to the marina and our friends had decorated our hotel room with flowers and Champagne,” she adds. 

For their wedding, however, they couple looked to another destination: Dulce’s family is from Mexico, so she and Nishant opted to share one of the country’s “Magic Cities” with their 280 guests. "San Miguel de Allende was perfect," she says. "It is an authentic corner of Mexico, and we saw it as an amazing reason to bring our loved ones to a part of the country they might not otherwise see." With their destination decided, the couple set about creating an authentic destination wedding experience for their guests, but they wanted to do so in their own way. “We wanted to honor our Mexican and Hindu traditions and cultures, as well as infuse them with a modern take on how we see the world,” explains the bride. “We wanted our guests to experience each of our cultures through food, sounds, entertainment, and color.”   

The couple did just that over the course of three days (from October 26 to October 28, 2018), hosting an Indian marriage and sangeet, a traditional Mexican callejoneada, and a ceremony and reception full of Mexican traditions. Take a peek at how Dulce and Nishant navigated two cultures, two languages, and hundreds of miles to put together an authentic and exciting weekend full of love, as planned by Daniela Navaro and photographed by Jillian Mitchell, below!  

Dulce and Nishant really wanted to give their guests a taste of San Miguel de Allende, even adding a few last-minute details to bring their wedding weekend together. “The day before guests were set to arrive, I heard an amazing trio playing in a cantina in town and hired them on the spot to play for the welcome reception,” admits the bride.  

For the Indian ceremony, Dulce honored her husband’s heritage in stunning traditional attire. “We were in India and stopped by the Tarun Tahiliani showroom," she says. "I love his work and wanted to see it in person, but wasn’t expecting to find my dress that day!” But when she tried on this maroon-and-gold raw silk ensemble, she knew it was the whole package, describing it as "modern and traditional, Indian and Mexican."  

Nishant wore custom Indian attire in a coordinating floral print, including a maroon-and-gold turban. 

Even the couple’s dog got in on the fun, sporting a vest and ribbon-adorned leash that matched his parents’ outfits.

The Hindu ceremony took place at Instituto Allende, an arts school in San Miguel de Allende. Dulce was carried in on a doti before making her way to meet Nishant, the priest, and her father beneath the mandap.

“My father washed Nishant’s feet, then placed my hand into Nishant’s and poured water over them,” says Dulce. “Nishant and I held hands and walked in circles around a small, enclosed fire before exchanging rings and taking seven steps to symbolize our vows to support one another.” To complete the ceremony, Nishant applied a red powder to the center of Dulce’s forehead and tied a black beaded necklace around her neck.

The second ceremony took place at the 17th-century chapel at Hacienda Puerto de Sosa. “I envisioned a Mexican wedding from the 1940s, and the chapel and villa gave our celebration so much timeless authenticity,” says Dulce.

For this occasion, Dulce wore a deep V-neck gown from Calle Blanche that featured ornate Spanish lace over a blush underlay. “The lace pattern was so unique, and it was such a comfortable style,” she says.

Nishant wore a vibrant blue tuxedo to pop against his groomsmen's all-black looks.

The ceremony was held outside of the chapel, in front of the painted blue door where garlands of greenery and clusters of pampas grass and pink flowers framed the proceedings. “Nishant and I wrote the entire ceremony, incorporating Indian and Mexican traditions and multicultural readings from Pablo Neruda and Kahlil Gibran,” says the bride. The couple also included Mexican wedding traditions.

“The most important part of the entire wedding weekend was how much love and respect there was between our families,” says the bride. "We are so lucky to have married into such loving and warm families and wanted our wedding to be a love letter to the people who are most important to us.” 

“Many people in my family had never had Indian cuisine before, and many of our Indian guests had never enjoyed authentic Mexican food, so it was critical that we honor such a big piece of our respective cultures,” says Dulce. At the Indian reception, they served Aloo Gobi, butter chicken and tamarind-glazed salmon alongside mango lassi, while the Mexican reception featured ribeye molcajete with chile relleno and late-night chilaquiles. 

The couple's custom approach to cuisine continued to the reception, where the couple served Champagne instead of cake. “We had a champagne tower in lovely vintage coups at the Mexican reception, as well as a full spread of desserts that included conchas with chocolate ganache and gourmet churros," Dulce says.

The couple’s DJ kept the dance floor packed until 5 a.m., taking a break only for the surprise mariachi serenade organized by Dulce’s family. “Nishant’s father surprised my family by giving his toast in Spanish. No one knew he’d been taking lessons!” says the bride of the sweet moment.   

Looking back on their big weekend, Dulce and Nishant say they are glad they splurged on two things: a videographer and top-shelf liquor. Says the bride, “You’ll love having the video as a memory, and your guests will appreciate the higher-end booze!”