Swati & Matt’s Wedding at Stanford Memorial Church and Hotel Nia

We’re still in a daze from what was surely our most intense, action-packed wedding of the year. Swati & Matt’s wedding day was a wonderful whirlwind of tradition, excitement, and love, and reliving the day through these photos has been so much fun for us. We’re so excited to share the highlights!

The day started off at Hotel Nia in Menlo Park, where the bride & groom, along with their bridesmaids & groomsmen, got ready early in the morning. After a short & sweet first look in the courtyard, Swati attended a calm, quiet Puja with her parents, while Matt mounted a horse for the Baraat parade, an energetic march just outside the walls of the hotel, stopping every now and then for dancing — quite the juxtaposition!

A Hindu ceremony followed, with traditional elements like washing of the feet, and although (if we’re being perfectly honest here) we didn’t understand the words being said, it was quite lovely to see all the traditions and especially two very happy sets of parents. Towards the end, there was a ritual of the bride & groom sprinkling a bit of rice on each other’s head three times in succession, and you’ll see Swati quickly taking the initiative to generously gift Matt’s head with the rest of her bowl, and then Matt returning the favor in the spirit of true love. They both leaked a trail rice for quite some time afterwards!

In the afternoon, we all headed over to Stanford Memorial Church for the official church ceremony. The Stanford chapel never ceases to amaze us with its incredible architecture and grand aura, and its artwork is one of a kind. We also got a chance to catch a bit of portrait time in the main quad, which served not only to get some lovely photos for them alone, but was also a short break from all the action that I’m sure Swati & Matt needed!

Back at Hotel Nia, the space had been flipped to the most incredible reception ballroom we had ever seen. The room had been turned into a lush garden, with the most gorgeous flowers everywhere, even hanging from the ceiling! The best part is how much fun Matt & Swati had the entire night, never stopping to take a break. Their energy was just so infectious, and even as I’m looking back a month later at the photos, I just want to get up and dance! I hope you’ll feel the same when looking through these!