A musician’s wedding to a creative director in Ladakh has set tall goals for destination weddings
Musician Sarvesh Shrivastava and creative director Shruti Sitara Singh got married in Ladakh against a backdrop of snow-capped mountains
Imagine the mighty Himalayas overlooking an intimate ceremony of your creation. Prayer flags flap in the wind, and clear blue skies of Ladakh hold it all together. This was the picture-perfect wedding Sarvesh Shrivastava and Shruti Sitara Singh masterminded. Shrivastava, a Mumbai-based musician, goes by the moniker SickFlip; Singh is a creative director and strategist.
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The union territory takes up a large part of Shrivastava’s heart. “It has undoubtedly played an instrumental role in my personal as well as professional journey,” he says, “I have been there four times, and each time I have been inspired by new insights. My connection with nature grows with every visit and I come back with unforgettable memories.” Each trip has had distinct context, and the most recent one, in April 2022, was no different.”
He first experienced the cold desert when he was in Std X, 14 years ago. He accompanied a school friend and his family. “We drove through the most surreal landscapes and those 20 days felt nothing short of a dream.” The next two trips were in 2013 and 2014 with his “homies”, The Outbox Project and Sabit. These inspired his first conceptual EP called The Ladakh Project, which became the starting point of his career as an electronic artiste in India.
Singh loves the mountains equally. “We discussed unconventional ways of beginning our journey together,” says Shrivastava. “While we agree with the concept of marriage, we gravitated towards adding some more depth and substance to our union. The idea of performing our own sacred rituals in a place that holds significance to us felt like a step in the right direction,” adds Singh.
The pair was accompanied by Shrivastava’s brother, Samresh who acted as officiant, and some close friends from Mumbai. They found their dream spot seven minutes away from their hotel—a vast empty expanse overlooked by snow-capped peaks. “Our hearts were fixed; we knew this was our place,” they said. “We gathered stones from the location, painted them and arranged them in concentric circles. Finally, we found some barks to hold up prayer flags. It took about three hours for all of us to create this sacred space.”
They devised four rituals for the occasion, handpicked from various cultures which they connected with: The first one was the sand ritual. The bride and groom each take a fistful of different colours of sand and take turns pouring them into a bottle. They blend into one, just as the couple’s lives are meant to. They took the sand they found at the location to use for the ceremony.
The hand-fastening ritual came next, which has its origin in many ancient cultures. It is a symbolic gesture that physically binds the two partners together to tread one path together, body and soul.
The red blanket ritual symbolised love and warmth. Singh and Shrivastava were each wrapped in a blanket. “The blanket on me was Sarvesh’s mother’s and he had my mother’s shawl,” says Singh. The officiant knotted them together to “lock” their union.
The final rite was of ‘Unity Tea’, a Chinese wedding ritual. “We each selected a favourite blend of tea to represent us,” Singh says, “Mine was rose and Sarvesh’s was chamomile. They were brewed together and served to the attendees to mark the end of the ceremony, but the beginning of the new chapter.”
Their wedding clothes came from the Ladakh-based label Zilzom. It’s run by Stanzin Palmo who has worked with Singh in the past and has been a fan of Shrivastava’s since The Ladakh Project.
“The ensemble speaks volumes about the geography, culture and traditions of a community,” says Singh, “The silk brocades and the hand-spun woollens speak of a beautiful yet mysterious place—Ladakh.”
Despite a harsh climate, and Shrivastava being down with a severe headache brought on by altitude sickness, the entire experience was matchless. “As soon as the ceremony began, the most beautiful memories of my life were etched into my mind,” he concludes.
Want a indie, hatke wedding? Here’s how
1. Get a close friend or family to officiate, and pronounce you man and wife
2. Incorporate rituals from different cultures that resonate with you
3. Get a local designer to design your clothes
4. Be spontaneous, and open to adapt to the topography of the location, and design an innovative venue
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