They say that there is nothing more surreal than marrying your childhood sweetheart. And the story of Ritu and Avinash truly proves that!

When you fall in love early or find your soulmate early in life, you learn the meaning and value of love early. Turning this loving relationship into marriage only seems natural to many, at some point. Ritu and Avinash are one such couple, who've not only spent a good portion of their life together but are ready to spend the rest of their lives together from now on. Being childhood sweethearts, their story is full of all sorts of romantic elements! And even though the couple had planned to celebrate their lifelong relationship in the grandest way possible, their wedding plans hit a snag because of the global pandemic. 

Yet, the couple's love prevailed and they finally held an intimate wedding at the bride's ancestral home - covered in gorgeous decor with lush green grass and deep-hued marigolds everywhere! Scroll down to check out their intimate wedding at home!

Introducing Ritu & Avinash's Intimate Home Wedding

"We studied in the same school and pre-school," Ritu recounts to us, "We started dating when we were 13 but we're both extremely shy and would mostly talk to each other over MSN Messenger or at our friend's birthday parties."

However, after 10th grade, Avinash went ahead to study at an extremely strict boarding school. And so, the duo was only able to keep in touch with each other through letters, which was probably the reason why the couple grew fonder of each other since Ritu would wait for a letter from him every Thursday! 

"After studying in college together, we were once again put into a long-distance situation for a year as I went abroad to do my masters," Ritu says, "I've wanted to marry him since I was 13. And then on June 12th 2020, our dreams of marrying each other finally came true!"

Ritu and Avinash had planned a big fat wedding in December. However, due to Avinash's father's critical health, the couple decided to move the timeline of their wedding up, since his blessings and presence were of utmost importance to them. Within a short span of time, the couple planned an intimate wedding amidst the pandemic - an idea which seemed like a bane at first but turned out to be the ultimate boon for the couple. 

The venue for every function was Ritu's ancestral home, the house that her grandparent's had built. This was the house where her father had grown up, the home where her mother prayed in. This was the home where Ritu and her sister had grown up to become talented young women. So, having the wedding in their home with an intimate setting with just their friends and family felt right, "We were fortunate to have had the wedding in time, as sadly, Avi's father passed away 6 days after the wedding. Honestly, it meant the world to us that he fought for his life to see us getting married," Ritu recalled as she finished the initial retelling of her story. 

The Mehendi With STUNNING Floral Backdrop

Taking place at the bride's ancestral home, the Mehendi ceremony was a gorgeous and intimate affair. Ritu wore a stunning yellow lehenga with a floral pattern, with minimal jewellery. For most of her portrait shots, Ritu occupied a background of colourful flowers on a bush-like wall with pots of flowers dotting the entire garden area. 

Sweet & Simple Haldi Ceremony

For the haldi, Ritu chose to keep it simple, for she was to be covered in haldi. She looked beautiful in an off white sleeveless suit with dainty floral jewellery.

Beautiful Varpooja & Muhurtham Ceremonies

The Varpooja and Muhurtham was an event for which the bride dressed up in a scintillating red and gold saree with a nakashi based statement necklace, jhumkas, kamabandh and a unique maangtikka. 

An Intimate Wedding Drenched In Red & Gold Colour

Covered in gorgeous silhouettes of greens, marigolds and carnations, the wedding ceremony was a sight to see indeed. Ritu walked out to the mandap in a beautiful gold saree paired with an intricately designed ensemble of temple jewellery and a very light makeup look. Avinash matched his bride in a gold kurta with a traditional red turban, as he danced down the aisle, into his bride's home, ready to marry her. Both the bride and groom chose to wear face masks that matched the respective counterpart's clothing from their friend's brand! 

Wedding Vendor Reviews 

Makeup Artist

Makeup by Anurita Chandrappa

Anu is like family to us. When she did the makeup for my sister's wedding, I was smitten by the looks she created. Her work is so neat that I would have hired her blindly even if I didn't know her personally (Fortunately we do :P). I kept pestering her with references months before the dates were even finalised. She kept all that in mind and completely outdid herself.  

Wedding Photographer

Roma Ganesh Photography

Roma is my sister and hands down the best photographer! I would have wanted her to cover the entire event but since she had to be more involved in the wedding, she concentrated on predominantly couple and makeup shots. So I had to search for another talent and came across Lightbucket Production and really liked their work and so they covered our other photography requirements. 

Wedding Decorator

With Love Nilma

Nilma was my first choice when I decided to get married. I had been in love with her work for a long time. So we got in touch with her and from day one she was extremely professional. I used to send her references and text her probably more than Avi at the time :P.  She worked around the concept of our house being a traditional antique South Indian Bungalow. We did not know what to expect from the references but the final result was magic. Me being a very particular person, her attention to detail allowed me to close my eyes and blindly trust her. 

Wedding Vendors 

Wedding Photographers: Roma Ganesh Photography; LightBucket Productions | Makeup Artist: Makeup by Anurita Chandrappa | Wedding Decoration: With Love Nilma, Mandala Decor | Bridal Outfits: Anushree Reddy (Mehendi); Angadi Galleria (Muhurtham and Var Puj); Aditi Lal Couture (Masks) | Mehendi Artist: Shubh Muhurat Mehndi | Groom's Outfit: Ethnx The Kurta Store

Wasn't this just the most magical wedding? Leave your thoughts in the comments!

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