The wedding that crossed borders

You say good morning, when it’s midnight,

I wake up, to your sunset, it’s drivin’ me mad,

I miss you so bad...

The lyrics to Simple Plan’s Jet Lag couldn’t be truer for Megan O’Grady and Dhruv Chawla. That’s sort of how the past four years were for them as they kept in touch – one in Dubai and the other in Canada. The college sweethearts went the distance – and time difference – after Dhruv, an Indian expat born and raised in Dubai, moved back to the emirate from Ottawa after graduating while Megan, a Canadian citizen, stayed on.

‘We met in our first year of university in 2010,’ Megan, 26, says. ‘We were in the same residence and one night I overheard him talking about a mechanics assignment. I bragged I’d already completed it and if he wanted we could review.’

From that moment, the two became friends and study partners, working together to earn a degree in mechanical engineering.

Eight years on, the couple got hitched in Dubai, merging their cultures in an event that included both a romantic English ceremony and the fanfare and festivities of an Indian wedding. ‘Our wedding was a perfect collaboration between two cultures,’ Megan says. ‘As my mom said at the end of all the events: this should be what weddings are all about, not just the joining of a couple, but of a faith, culture, shared respect and a sharing of family.’

When Dhruv popped the question, both families were cheering as they’d been expecting the happy news for a long time, having known about the couple’s courtship over the years.

‘They were very thrilled and supportive, especially since this was the first wedding in both sides of the family,’ Megan says.

But while the couple’s engagement was no surprise, Dhruv’s romantic proposal did catch Megan a bit off-guard.

‘It was November 11, 2017 – a day I will never forget,’ Megan recalls. ‘It was one of the coldest days of the year so far. Dhruv had made plans with my best friend to go for a walk along the riverside.

When we got to the riverside, my friend wasn’t there, so he suggested we walk down a bit. As we crossed over a bridge, I saw my best friend and Dhruv’s sister standing with flowers.’

Strung along the side of the bridge was a tribute to their love in the form of pictures of her and Dhruv, along with meaningful handwritten notes from him. ‘I read each note, one by one, and the final read: ‘Will you marry me?’. Turning around I saw Dhruv on one knee with a dozen roses and a ring. Of course, I said yes.’

Both sides of the family were excitedly involved in the Indian rituals and English traditions.

‘Dhruv’s parents who live in Dubai did a lot of the venue-searching, food-tasting and all additional preparations involved,’ Megan says. ‘My parents were involved in a lot of the planning for the English wedding. Brothers, sisters and cousins from both sides of the family spent long hours over Skype. And Dhruv’s sister Anchal even taught them all the surprise dances for the Sangeet function.’ A traditional prayer ceremony was followed by an English wedding, leading to an Indo-Western themed Sangeet, a Hindu wedding and a reception.

‘We got to include other aspects of my culture, so we had a ‘Hen do’ (bachelorette party) the night before the English wedding,’ ‘Alongside we also planned an Indian Pooja (blessing ceremony).’

Family and friends came from the UK, India, the US and New Zealand to bless the couple and celebrate with them. ‘So not only was it a collaboration between cultures, it was a collaboration between countries and families,’ Megan says, adding that Dubai is the perfect location to bring together people from across the globe. ‘Organising a wedding in Dubai is lovely and because of the beautiful locations, many people from abroad come here to do a destination wedding,’ she says.

The hardest task, however, the couple says, was selecting the venues.

‘There are so many beautiful venues to choose from,’ Megan says. ‘In addition to being spoilt for choice, it’s also time consuming to see all of them and make sure everything is organised to perfection,’ which is why the couple handed the reins over to their wedding planners Preeti and Menka.

While Megan bought her white wedding dress in Canada, the emirate was also the perfect shopping destination for her Indian wedding ensembles.

‘There are many stores in Dubai’s Meena Bazaar to purchase wedding clothes for the Indian events and to get them tailored,’ she says.

‘My wedding dress for the English ceremony was the first dress I tried on. When looking for outfits for the Indian functions, Pinterest and Instagram were a huge help. I could view ideas and determine what I liked and what I didn’t like. And with the help of my new family, it was easy to pick out outfits that would match the events and make me look gorgeous.’

Sharing tips for brides-to-be, Megan adds: ‘Always listen to your makeup and hair artists because they know how to make you look your best.’

Most importantly, she says, ‘enjoy each moment’ and ‘ensure you eat and specifically make sure you get to enjoy your wedding cake’.

Looking back, Megan says, she knew Dhruv was the one after a couple of years of dating. But after Dhruv moved back to Dubai, the test of long distance is what really drew them closer and cemented their togetherness.

‘I would wake up each morning to a good morning text and would want to tell him all about my day,’ she says. ‘He would take time to make sure we would talk, even if he had other commitments. He would also love to plan trips and do little things that make me happy.’

Dhruv adds: ‘I can’t say there was a specific moment when I realised that she was the one. It was more through our initial dating in university, which was followed by long distance relationship for four years. The distance helped us talk about everything under the sun and we laughed a lot together. At that point it just felt so right.’

MATA KI CHOWKI (PRAYER CEREMONY)

» Venue: Metropolitan Hotel, Shaikh Zayed Road

» Dress code: Indian

ENGLISH WEDDING

» Venue: The Palace Downtown

» Dress code: English/Western

» Vendor: Love Details Events

SANGEET

» Venue: H hotel

» Dress code: Indo-western theme (Blue and Gold)

» Vendor: Love Details Events

» Music: DJ Nodde

HINDU WEDDING AND RECEPTION

» Venue: St.Regis Al Habtoor Polo Resort

» Dress code: Indian/Western (Blue and Pink)

» Vendor: Love Details Events

» Music: DJ Nodde

Bride’s outfit(s):

» English wedding dress: Hadley by Maggie from Kleinfelds, » Toronto, Canada

» Sangeet outfit: From India

» Indian wedding and reception outfit: Shoab, Meena Bazaar, Dubai