New Jersey has been known to have some of the more splashy and ostentatious weddings around, but the celebration of Amit Shah and Aditya Madiraju’s union was an entirely different kind of affair. These two smolderingly handsome men not only wanted a traditional Hindu ceremony, but their sharp eye for detail, as well as the distinctly vibrant imagery in their pictures, has given the world a look at a truly unique love affair.
First some detail (courtesy of their equally stunning profile in Vogue earlier this year). After meeting three years ago in a small Lower East Side bar for a friend’s birthday, they found themselves together virtually since that meeting. When Madiraju and Shah, who first tied the knot in a small ceremony at New York City Hall in 2018, decided they wanted another ceremony, they knew exactly what they wanted. A proper Indian celebration that would encompass all of their nearest and dearest, which they were able to schedule this summer, which was happening in tandem with a visit from Madiraju’s parents to the United States from India that had already been planned
.
On July 18, the couple hosted a traditional mehndi party in their own backyard, which was followed by a traditional ceremony at a Hindu temple in New Jersey the following day. Several days later they wrapped up the weekend with a sangeet-style reception at Pondicheri cafe in New York City. For their low-key mehndi event, they wore linen kurtas by Bohame.
“In the midst of planning, we didn’t realize that having a same-sex wedding at a temple would be groundbreaking,” Madiraju told Huffpost“. We were fortunate enough to have the opportunity to do it. And now looking back, especially after the attention our wedding has received, it’s evident that what we were able to do will change the scope for LGBTQ couples in the future.”
Shah, the founder of award-winning dance company Aatma Performing Arts and Madiraju, who works for a risk management company, may not have realized that their wedding would be groundbreaking, but break ground (and barriers) it has; their pictures have appeared in countless publications, giving the public at large a gorgeous perspective on love & commitment that they may not get to see very often.
The couple’s wedding photographer, Charmi Patel Peña, summed it up perfectly, also in Huffpost, stating that the Hindu community “still has a lot of growing to do when it comes to gay marriage.” “So it’s been really, really amazing for us to see how the [couples has] been embraced by the temple and the community which allowed them to marry there,” she added.
