This Indo-Chinese wedding had everything from a traditional Chinese tea ceremony to the Gujarati mandvo

Heather Cheng’s very first interaction with Keyur Gudka, was an email that landed in her inbox, warmly welcoming her to the team and extending any help she might need settling into the job at the London-based tech consulting firm they both worked at. Several emails, virtual meetings and Teams messages later, Gudka mustered up the courage to ask her out for drinks over a text message, during a night out with colleagues. Recalling the humour in that moment, Cheng says that she mistook his text and read it out to the whole group. “Thankfully, no one else accepted the offer. We realised soon enough, that we shared more than just a friendship,” she shares.

What followed was a whirlwind engagement, with a proposal in Nepal that included a sundowner boat ride on a lake, followed by dinner with traditional Nepalese dancers and music. Gudka had meticulously planned the entire evening, culminating in the moment where he dropped down on one knee under a canopy of flowers and flickering candles, to pop the question to Cheng .

As the couple immersed themselves in wedding planning and scouting for locations for their nuptials—Sri Lanka, with its windswept beaches and rustic charm, seemed like an apt choice, given that it served as a halfway meeting point for their families and friends flying in from Malaysia, London and India. They picked Anantara Kalutara Resort and Avani Kalutara Resort, offering picturesque riverfront and ocean views for their three-day celebrations.

“We shaped the flow of our wedding with Chinese traditions on the first day, Indian on the second, and a blend of both on the final day,” shares Cheng, adding that what made the entire affair special was how neither side of the families had experienced each other’s cultures, yet everyone was so open and curious to participate. “Each guest wanted to be as involved as possible.”

Their wedding mood board was a reflection of themselves and their shared interests—intimate, warm and full of intentional gestures, such as a hand painted tree frame, where guests could leave written notes as blessings for the newlyweds, brass accents and rattan baskets overflowing with fragrant jasmine, among other thoughtfully designed details to welcome their guests—from marigold garlands strung on room numbers, to handcrafted Sri Lankan masks made by a 7th generation artisan from Ariyapala & Sons near Colombo. Each hand-painted mask took about four days to carve from a single piece of wood. Guest rooms were stocked with local snacks, along with handcrafted teacups engraved with the couple’s wedding date and gold lettering of their initials. Cheng also illustrated their wedding invitations, along with designing and sketching event cards for each function, to personalise their celebrations.