The next day, they wed on the tip of Patina Island, only reachable via boat. “On the boat ride there, I remember feeling a little nervous, but overwhelmingly, it was the calmest I had ever felt. When the boat turned the corner toward the island, it seemed time had stopped,” says Manisha. Family, friends, and Chris—in a suit from Richard James Savile Row—were all waiting for her under a serendipitous rainbow.
The bride wore a custom embroidered chikankari lehenga by Tarun Tahiliani with ivory pearl details. Manisha, who grew up outside India, discovered a newfound appreciation for her heritage during her trips to Tahiliani’s atelier in New Delhi. “The journey to find my wedding dress was very cathartic for me in the end. I learned so much about my culture and Indian craftsmanship. The amount of artisans and thousands of hours that goes into making an Indian wedding dress is something out of this world,” she says. She accessorized her look with a pearl and emerald choker as well as round polki (uncut) emerald earrings from Mehrasons.
She entered the ceremony under a canopy of flowers in accordance with the Indian tradition of phoolon ki chadar. Usually, it is carried by the bride’s brothers—however, Manisha is an only child. So Chris’s siblings stepped in. “It was really emotional for me to see them all decked out in Indian wear, embracing my Indian culture, waiting to walk me to the aisle to their brother. Just before we started walking, they told me to take a deep breath—and that they were here for me,” she says.
The bride walked down the aisle herself as “Book of Love” by Peter Gabriel played. After that, the groom says it all got a little fuzzy. “I don’t remember feeling anything but pure happiness. Everything was perfect and I was just 100% present, soaking in every second of it,” he says. “Manisha had the most touching vows, which I loved.” After they kissed, the two danced back down the aisle to “Gold Digger” by Kanye West. “In bad taste or not—I am not sure!” Manisha says. “But it was great. I could hear Chris laughing hysterically behind me.”
Afterward, the couple held their reception at the Fari Marina Village under a grove of palm trees. The bride changed into an ivory corset dress by Hermione de Paula that she had found and customized a month before the wedding. (“Crazy, I know,” says Manisha, crediting her bridal stylist, Anny Choi, as well as the “nicest, most creative human.”) Then she put her hair into a high half ponytail. “So ’90s, so freaking fun. I loved it!” Manisha says.
Throughout dinner, a string quartet played, only pausing as friends and family gave their speeches. The live band started, then the dancing kicked off and never stopped. “We had an after-party that went until 4 a.m.—despite a light tropical storm—and we all ended up in the pool to finish it off,” says Chris.
Despite being together for well over a decade, Manisha and Chris say their wedding felt like a new start. “It does feel like we are opening a new chapter in the book of life. I am so excited,” says Manisha.