Adarshna (Darsh) Shankar says she and Aurnen Mikhaeel defied the odds in their journey to becoming husband and wife.

Darsh, 31, says, on paper, she and Aurnen, 29, couldn’t be more different.

“Our families are both from opposite sides of the world with different cultures and different languages. My husband and I always laugh about how we defied all odds by finally becoming husband and wife,” she says.

Darsh is a Hindu Fijian Indian and Aurnen is Catholic Assyrian.

“Combining our two worlds together couldn’t be done in just one wedding,” Darsh says of their elegant wedding celebrations.

“Our first wedding was a traditional Hindu wedding decked out with colours and music. My husband’s family had never been to a Hindu wedding before so every little detail was new to them.”

A week later, April 30, 2016, the couple held another celebration at St Brigid’s Catholic Church in Melbourne’s Fitzroy North in front of 280 friends and family.

“Now this was my family’s turn to be out of their depth. My family had never been part of a Catholic wedding before, let alone one with Assyrian tradition,” Darsh says.

Celebrations continued at the San Remo Ballroom in Carlton, which provided a glamorous end to the evening.

“With our two cultures so different, our reception night was when both of our families finally got to let loose and party to Assyrian/Hindi/English music,” Darsh says.

Photos courtesy of Ferndara Creative.

Darsh wore  traditional Indian dress for the couple’s first ceremony, held at the Springvale Town Hall.

“Walking down the aisle with my sisters by each side of me and looking up to my soon-to-be Assyrian husband in his Indian outfit; no words could describe how my heart felt. Every feeling of nervousness left me and all I could do was look up to him and smile,” Darsh says.

Aurnen’s white buttonhole with feather detail added a touch of Asyrrian glamour.

Darsh wore a dramatic ivory gown paired with cream roses from Elegant Occasions.

“My surroundings were completely different stepping into my white gown and walking down the aisle linking arms with my dad, yet the feeling I had was felt exactly the same,” Darsh says of the second celebration.

The couple travelled in style thanks to Triple R Luxury Car Hire.

Jessicakes created an elegant four-tier cake for the celebrations.

 “It was such a mix of culture and it was so heart-warming to see both families completely embracing both traditions and treating it as their own,” Darsh says.

Video by Ferndara Creative.

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