As of Saturday, December 1st, Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra are officially married and both off the market. I think many of our 13-year-old selves are just a little bit jealous of Priyanka and very heartbroken at the fact that the youngest member of the Jonas Brothers has gone and tied the knot. It’s hard to think that the “Burnin Up” singers are now all grown up and married, with the exception of Joe who’s currently engaged right now. This wedding was the ultimate fusion of typical Western and traditional Indian culture, and extravagant in every way possible. This article will have everything you need to know about the beautiful and breathtaking event, and how this couple has changed the game of standards in our constrictive dating culture.
The Wedding Party
Nick of course had all of his brothers (Kevin, Joe and Frankie) as his groomsmen, along with Chopra’s brother Siddharth. Other groomsmen included Jonas’ Kingdom costar Jonathan Tucker, his manager Phil McIntyre, and a few other close family friends. The bridesmaids included Joe’s fiancée Sophie Turner, Kevin’s wife Danielle Jonas, Chopra’s cousin Parineeti Chopra, Chopra’s manager Anjula Acharia, and several more of Chopra’s close friends.
The Pre-Wedding Festivities
The couple’s wedding festivities started on Wednesday, November 28th, with a puja ceremony at Chopra’s family home in Mumbai to spiritually celebrate the upcoming event. Friday, November 30th was when the true celebration festivities began. First they had the Mehendi ceremony, which is the application of henna on the bride’s hands and feet. It was a very important and indispensable part of the wedding celebrations. Followed after the Mehendi was the Sangeet. The Sangeet is the musical performance part of the evening, and a pre-wedding ritual. It is where both families performed elaborate musical numbers with choreography and costumes, and it can often last days depending on the wedding and family.
The Ceremonies
What makes their wedding so different and distinct is that the couple did two ceremonies: a traditional Indian one and a Western one. On the Saturday, they married for the first time in a Western ceremony on the lawn of the Umaid Bhawan Palace in Jodhpur, in front of 225 guests. For the Western ceremony both of them wore Ralph Lauren. This is significant because they both wore Ralph Lauren to 2017 Met Gala, which they attended together but weren’t actually dating yet. Ralph Lauren has only designed three other wedding dresses before Priyanka’s, and all three were for close family members. Priyanka wore a stunning 75 foot veil and her dress was beyond elegant, with so many intricate details involved. The couple was married in the Western ceremony by the singer’s father, Paul Kevin Jonas Sr., and exchanged rings designed by famed jewelry house Chopard. Chopra was escorted down the aisle by her mother Madhu (her father Ashok died of cancer in 2013). On the Sunday, the two exchanged vows again in a lavish Hindu wedding, where Chopra wore a traditional red lehenga. They concluded the weekend with a Bidaai, a bridal ritual where Chopra’s family blessed her new life with Nick.
The Reception
After their two extravagant ceremonies on Saturday and Sunday, the couple held their reception in Delhi on Tuesday, December 4th, and continued the party there. Priyanka went back to her traditional roots for her outfit at the reception. She looked stunning in her Falguni Shane Peacock lehenga, which is a traditional long, embroidered skirt with a matching long-sleeved cropped blouse, draped with a dupatta shawl. Nick wore a navy tux. The newlyweds posed for many photos throughout the night with Jonas’ parents and grandmother, as well Chopra’s mother Madhu.
Breaking Standards & New Traditions
As someone who has mixed parents, I think it’s greatly important and valuable for people to see that it’s acceptable and possible to have both cultures be celebrated in a wedding and a marriage. My parents had a Chinese reception with a more traditional dinner to celebrate my dad’s side, but also made their own tradition of having a small beach wedding on a separate day. Love and relationships are a beautiful thing, and it’s time for the belief that you absolutely have to marry someone of the same ethnic background as you to stop. The priority should be loving who you love and following what you really want for yourself, and that’s what Nick and Priyanka have shown us so wonderfully. Though Nick and Priyanka are definitely not the first interracial multi-faith couple out there, there are a lot of things to love about these two specifically. Their wedding didn’t feel like a compromise; it felt like this ultimate celebration of cultures mashed up all together into one. It’s important for young people to see successful mixed faith and culture relationships like this one, as it changes the societal norms of who we feel like we can and cannot date. For this, I appreciate Nick and Priyanka so much more.
For more on Nick and Priyanka’s special day, you can check out their wedding video exclusive. It gives plenty of behind the scenes on their wedding, the preparation details and the history of their relationship. The newlywed couple truly do look so in love, and it definitely looked like one of the best weddings of the year. Nick and Priyanka gave us the ultimate fusion of Western and Indian, and not only made it successful, they made it legendary. Their wedding and relationship has hopefully inspired more people to broaden their horizons outside of their personal cultural boundaries when looking for the one.