Amrit Kapai and Nicholas Kouchoukos’s Three-Day Hindu-Christian Wedding in Georgia

Amrit Kapai and Nicholas Kouchoukos built their Georgia wedding around two traditions, a close-knit family gathering and details that felt personal to them. Their three-day celebration moved from a colorful sangeet and sunny rooftop mehndi to a combined Hindu-Christian ceremony and a greenery-themed reception. Their dog, Theo, even joined them for the seven phere on the mandap.

A relationship shaped by honesty and family

The couple met in Chicago in late December 2011, after Nicholas recognized Amrit from an online dating profile at a nightclub. They danced and talked, but Nicholas entered his contact details incorrectly in Amrit’s phone. Amrit later tracked him down on Facebook, and their relationship began.

 

Meeting Nicholas helped Amrit imagine what an open and proud life could look like. When they met, Amrit had only recently become honest with himself and his family about being gay. By summer 2020, he was ready to propose, but first wanted to speak with his 93-year-old Nani, who was born in Karachi before Partition. With her blessing, he asked Nicholas to marry him in November 2020. They wed 16 months later.

 

Making room for both families

Before the wedding, each man had spoken with his parents in detail about the other’s family. Nicholas’s parents weren’t ready to meet Amrit’s parents until the wedding, Amrit says, because they felt overwhelmed by the unknowns of having a gay son. He describes the families’ first gathering, just before the three-day festivities began, as a smooth and loving exchange. The parents gave one another handmade and thoughtfully chosen gifts.

The relationship between the families continued to grow after the celebration. Nicholas’s parents later spent three weeks in Miami visiting Amrit’s parents and extended family. Their experience offers a reminder that there’s no single timetable for relatives to get to know one another; a wedding gathering can be one step in that process.

Three events, three distinct moods

At Colletta, the sangeet and welcome dinner set an energetic tone. Reds, oranges and violets gave the evening its color, while fairy lights illuminated the venue. Nicholas surprised the guests with his dancing, and Amrit joined loved ones in cheering him on. For couples planning several events, a strong palette and a few memorable shared moments can give each gathering a clear identity without requiring every event to look alike.

The mehndi offered a softer daytime contrast. Guests wore off-white, blush and pink, and the rooftop setting let everyone enjoy the sunshine while Amrit and Nicholas had henna patterns applied to their palms. Colorful flowers carried the cheerful mood into the décor. The couple held the mehndi at Hotel at Avalon, the same venue used for the wedding and reception.

 

 

A mandap that brought the outdoors inside

For the ceremony, the couple paired their bespoke sage green and hunter green sherwanis with a mandap designed around greenery. Their planner helped bring the outdoor feeling into the indoor venue. White blooms, lush foliage, delicate lanterns and baby’s breath completed the setting, which supported the combined Hindu-Christian ceremony without losing the natural look they wanted.

The seven phere gave Theo a role in the ceremony: the couple’s dog walked with them around the mandap. That personal detail sat alongside the family blessings and the traditions that mattered to them, making the ritual feel distinctly theirs.

 

 

The celebration continued at the reception

Greenery carried through to the reception, where ambient lighting and guests’ elegant cocktail attire created a sleek feel. Amrit and Nicholas spent the evening dancing. The shift from the ceremony’s floral mandap to a polished party kept a visual thread running through the day while giving the reception its own atmosphere.

Wedding makers

Venues: Colletta (sangeet); Hotel at Avalon (mehndi, wedding and reception)
Wedding planner: Amina Events
Décor: Weddings InStyle Inc.
Grooms’ outfits: Rivesse by Ishan Sanghvi (mehndi and reception); Nazraana (sangeet)
Lighting: WeGoDisco Entertainment
Entertainment: Dholi P
Wedding priest: Purple Pundit Project
DJ: WeGoDisco Entertainment, Rohit B
Emcee: Kishan Patel
Moss wall photo backdrop: Kate the Earthling
Cake: Cake’d up by Chandani
Photography: PTaufiq Photography

Amrit and Nicholas’s celebration shows how a multi-day wedding can hold distinct moods while staying connected through shared colors, family participation and meaningful rituals. Their choices—especially the indoor greenery, the blended ceremony and Theo’s walk around the mandap—offer practical inspiration for couples shaping a celebration around the people and traditions closest to them.