As soon as the Joy team saw Juliann and Thineshan’s adorable cover photo on their Joy wedding website, we knew we had to share their story with the world. On June 2 and June 4, 2016, these two lovebirds held both a traditional Hindu wedding and a Catholic wedding ceremony in Toronto, Canada. One look at the beautiful details of their wedding can tell they are both the perfect mix of logic and creativity (he’s an aerospace engineer, she is a counselor, and both are musicians). And when you read their story, you’ll know that their love story is the real deal as well.
Ready to find out how Juliann and Thineshan planned a Catholic and Hindu wedding in Toronto (with a little help from Joy)? Read on!
HOW DID YOU MEET?
Juliann and Thineshan met in a band, where Juliann played guitar and Thineshan played keyboard. Juli was struck by Thineshan’s kindness and blown away by his musical skills, but also struck by how humble he was. Thineshan says it was Juli’s beauty, caring nature, intelligence and the fact that she was so naturally full of joy (of course we love that) that drew him to her immediately. Being the shy type, Thineshan said no when Juli asked him to be her prom date, “She asked me to prom, I said no. I asked her to marry me, she said yes!” he says. And thank goodness she did. Thineshan went on to say “Any activity I do or memory I make is so much better with her in the picture.”
Captured on Joy
TELL US ABOUT THE PROPOSAL.
Thineshan: I made her believe that I was going to propose to her in 2015. I then surprised her in 2014 with a heart shaped diamond ring. We went on our anniversary date to Webster Falls in Hamilton. I made her sit in front of the falls, put roses all around her, hid a GoPro to record the event, and knelt down. I didn’t know what to ask so I just motioned my head, and she motioned her head yes as response.
Captured with Joy
WHY DID YOU USE JOY?
A friend of mine, who was a groomsman, recommended it. I really trust his judgement when it comes to cool new apps so I immediately gave it a try and loved it!
Captured with Joy
DID JOY HELP THE WEDDING GO MORE SMOOTHLY?
It definitely helped capture the day from everyone’s perspective. Everyone who downloaded the app loved it.
Photo credit: Apayetta Photagraphy
WHAT WAS THE MOST CHALLENGING PART OF WEDDING PLANNING?
The biggest challenge was minimizing cost while carrying out our vision. We met with a lot of vendors. We decided to choose vendors in the order of cost, meaning that we met with vendors who provided services we knew would be the most expensive and worked our way down to the ones that wouldn’t be as costly. This way we ensured that we wouldn’t have to make a decision about an expensive aspect of the wedding in a time crunch.
For example, we knew the reception venue would cost the most so we tackled this first (1.5 years before wedding). This allowed us to get a budget-friendly golf club which in no way was a compromise in our vision. In fact, we think it was the best golf club venue in the greater Toronto area.
Custom kicks captured by Joy
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE STYLE OF YOUR WEDDING?
Simple and elegant.
So meta! Captured with Joy
WHAT WERE YOUR INSPIRATIONS?
Inspiration for Hindu wedding was based on traditional weddings back home in Southern Asia, where weddings take place in the bride or groom’s backyard. We used our backyard for the Hindu wedding – this took all the guests by surprise when they first walked in! In Toronto, members of the South Asian community usually do weddings in banquet halls or other venues, so this concept felt new when in fact, it was just a revival of traditions carried out back home.
For the Catholic wedding and reception, we used Ancient Greece as inspiration. Again, this followed the simple yet elegant vibe we were going for. We even managed to find olive leaves after scouring through 15 stores throughout the greater Toronto area! It was truly different and beautiful and our guests were surprised to see a clean, organized South Asian wedding.
Every wedding detail captured by Joy
WHAT WAS THE MOST UNIQUE ASPECT OF YOUR WEDDING?
We put a lot of thought into each small detail instead of pouring money to make it seem grand. We held our served traditional food on banana leaves, had homemade Greek pillars as centerpieces, used olive leaves for the bouquets, boutonnieres, and cake, held a seated dinner instead of a buffet, and used our personal pictures instead of table numbers to help guests find their table.
Both Juli and I strive to do things differently. So whenever we made any decision, the first question was “How can we do this in a way that has not been done before?”
The first dance captured by Joy
HOW DID YOU DIVIDE WEDDING PLANNING RESPONSIBILITIES?
We did everything together. We truly believe it is because we did everything together that the wedding turned out so amazing. It also made the whole wedding planning more fun as it allowed us to spend a lot of time together.
We like Juli’s style! Captured by Joy
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE OTHER COUPLES PLANNING THEIR WEDDING?
When we heard this, we thought people were just saying it for the sake of saying it. But the truth is, you make a lot of memories while planning a wedding, and you also learn a lot about each other. When things get stressful, go out for dinner or have an ice cream. Enjoy every bit of the planning process. And finally, no matter how the actual day turns out, enjoy it. Nothing will make your guests happier than to see you two smile and having a blast.
Captured by Joy
CREATE YOUR JOY WEDDING
Want to capture every moment the way Juli and Thineshan did? Just create a Joy wedding – it gives you a free wedding website, wedding app, guest management system and more. Juli and Thinesan’s guests shared a ton of photos that will help them remember every detail of their wedding(s) — why don’t you do the same?
DETAILS
Venue/Location: Deer Creek Golf and Banquet Facility
What you wore: Vera Wang Tux, Greek Style Dress.
Photography: Apayetta Photography (Hindu ceremony)
Attendants: 5 bridesmaids, 7 groomsmen. They were people we grew up with and knew for a good chunk of our lives. The men wore a dark grey suits and bridesmaids wore custom olive green dresses.
Music: Live South Indian Drum and Shenai for Hindu Ceremony. String Trio for Catholic Ceremony
Food and drink: South Indian Vegetarian Curry and Rice for Hindu Wedding served on a banana leaf. North Indian Curries for Reception in a seated style.
Dessert: Kheer, assorted cakes.
Favors: Sweets for ceremonies, elephant keychains for the reception.
