Wedding of the year

After being in a long-distance relationship for two years, in 2020 my fiancé, Joel and I decided it was time to tie the knot. Unaware of what 2020 had in store, we began our wedding preparations starting with the wedding date and venue, in my hometown – Goa, India.

Then came Covid. The restrictions meant I wasn’t going to see my fiancé and family until life went back to “normal”. Our wedding excitement soon turned to stress and anxiety. Who knew when I’d be able to travel to India for the wedding, and back to New Zealand?

After waiting for about a year and a half for the border restrictions to ease, still uncertain of what the months leading up to the wedding would look like, my fiancé and I (with a very heavy heart) decided to postpone the wedding to December 2022. This meant I wasn’t going to see my loved ones for another year!

During this hard time, everyone at GS helped me in every way possible. The team just made my life so much easier with endless support and encouragement. No matter how busy and hard life gets, when you work for someone who truly appreciates and supports you, it makes all the difference. GS has truly been a blessing in so many ways.

Fast forward to 2022, I hadn’t seen my family and Joel for three long years. With border restrictions easing around the world, I could finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. I decided to visit my family and fiancé in Dubai for a few weeks to spend time with them and together, finally plan the wedding (and of course, shopping!). With GS being so kind and supportive, I had the flexibility to work remotely from any corner of the world. This meant I could get my work done and spend time with my loved ones at the same time. Those four weeks in Dubai were some of the best days I’ve lived over the past few years.

I arrived back in New Zealand, and before I knew it, I was packing my bags again for India. I decided to leave earlier because; one; I hadn’t travelled back home for four years; and two; all communication with the wedding vendors was through text, and I needed to meet everyone personally.

The Wedding Week

The days leading up to the wedding were stressful but also really fun as my entire family travelled to Goa and were finally reunited. The wedding week began with the first tradition which is a must for every Goan wedding – the ‘Chuddo Ceremony’. The Chuddo Ceremony, also known as the bangle ceremony, marks the start of the Catholic Goan wedding celebration. It is a tradition where the bride wears beautiful, coloured bangles. These bangles are usually worn a few weeks before the wedding and can be taken off only the day after the wedding.

The second ceremony is the ‘Roce Ceremony’. ‘Roce’ is basically coconut milk that is poured on the entire bridal party a day or two before the wedding.

20^th December 2022

Joel and I got married in a beautiful church in North Goa. The wedding ceremony was traditional. I had my family, friends, and two beautiful members of my GS family, Yi Ping and Tanya Canty, by my side. After the wedding ceremony, we put on our dancing shoes and headed over to our wedding reception. The wedding reception holds some of the most precious memories. The beautiful and heart-warming toast, the first dance, the photo shoot, the fun, the happiness filling the venue, and simply being surrounded by family and friends. At the end of the day, I was ecstatic that I finally married my best friend.

“Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope.” –  Maya Angelou