All it takes is a tiny spark to ignite a lifelong romance. And for Aishwarya Sanjay and Samuel Welsh, it was a small conversation at their university that set the ball rolling to forever. They went on a casual date and did the fun things that people do—bought an ice cream and took a fun Ferris wheel ride in Geelong, Victoria. And six years later, they returned to the same romantic motif when a proposal in St. Kilda saw Sam pop the question to her on a Ferris wheel, bringing their journey full circle.
When the couple decided to tie the knot, their wedding became an expression of their personal narrative played out. It’s where South Indian heritage met Australian sensibilities in a celebration enriched by meaning and stunning imagery. Marigold-filled gardens, bespoke botanical prints, and the striking symbolism of the Indian peacock and Australian kookaburra framed their nuptials, painting a portrait of two cultures, two families and one future.
Aishwarya and Samuel take us on their ride—from finding love under the stars to a lifelong promise in a Genda Garden, and why their two-culture wedding was the best of both worlds!
How did you two meet? And how did your relationship evolve during the six years from your first date to when you realised you had found ‘the one’ in each other?
Aishwarya Sanjay (AS): We first met at University almost ten years ago. We both lived in student accommodation, so we would often bump into each other and became acquaintances over the years. In 2020, we reconnected at a mutual friend's party and ended up talking for hours. Not long after, we went on our first date, which involved ice cream and a ride on the Ferris wheel. That simple date marked the beginning of our journey together.
Six years later, Sam brought me to another Ferris wheel, this time near our home. As the carriage gently swayed, he got down on one knee, as well as anyone can in a moving Ferris wheel, and asked me to marry him. It felt like the perfect full-circle moment.
People often ask when we realised we'd found "the one", and it's something we've spoken about many times. The truth is, neither of us can point to a single day or moment. Instead, we've fallen more in love with each other year after year. Over six years, we've built a relationship founded on truly knowing one another. We can sense each other's moods, understand what the other is thinking without words, and always know how to support one another when it's needed.
For us, "the one" wasn't a moment of realisation. It was six years of growing together, choosing each other every day, and building a life side by side. Looking back now, we can both say with complete certainty that we are each other's person.
With Aishwarya being Indian and Samuel, Australian, how did you bring the two cultures together in a way that felt authentic to both of you?
(AS): We always knew we wanted the wedding ceremony itself to stay true to my South Indian roots but found other ways to bring both cultures together. The welcome dinner and speeches felt like the perfect opportunity to add some of those relaxed Australian wedding traditions and make the celebrations uniquely ours.
Your wedding invitation featured a Ferris wheel, a reference to your first date in Geelong and your proposal in St Kilda six years later. Did it hold special meaning to have these for your wedding’s visual narrative?
(AS): We wanted everyone to feel part of our story from the very beginning. Traditionally, Indian weddings focus on the celebrations and rituals, but guests don't always get to know much about the couple's journey. Sharing a little of our story through the invitation felt like the perfect way to bring everyone along with us.
The peacock and the kookaburra became the emblems of your celebration. Why did you choose these two birds, and what do they represent about your relationship?
(AS): The peacock and the kookaburra became unexpected but deeply meaningful emblems of our celebration. The peacock represented my Indian heritage, symbolising beauty, pride, and tradition. The kookaburra, meanwhile, holds a very special place in Sam's family. His grandfather, Richard Vance, adored kookaburras, and since his passing, the family often sees them as a gentle reminder that "Grandpa Birdy" is watching over them.
Bringing the two birds together felt like the perfect reflection of our wedding and our relationship. They symbolised the coming together of two cultures, two families, and two stories. For our guests, they became a thoughtful thread woven throughout the celebrations, and for Sam's family, a quiet reminder that Grandpa Birdy was there with us in spirit, sharing in every moment of the week.
Did your wedding have Indian wedding and Australian cultural traditions and references that were especially important to each of you?
(AS): We wanted to keep all of the main wedding ceremonies as traditional and authentically Indian as possible. The Australian influence came through in other parts of the celebration, particularly the welcome dinner and the Gratz Gala, where both families, the bridesmaids and groomsmen shared speeches, and we exchanged personal vows. Those moments gave us the opportunity to tell our story, celebrate the people who have supported us, and bring together the best of both cultures.
Please take us into the marigold garden and the desert-bloom after-party. What were they like?
(AS): Every garden has a story. Ours began with the Genda —the humble Indian marigold, and the familiar charm of the little garden we grow up around. The story first blossomed on the invite when Aira Wedding Planners came up with this idea of incorporating the beautiful childhood memories associated with our garden and later evolved into bespoke botanical prints bringing together the Indian peacock and Australian kookaburra—a little nod to our roots.
As guests arrived, they were welcomed by a garden seemingly growing wild. Marigolds climbed the entrance, spilled out of terracotta pots and found their way into every little corner.
Inside, soft sage drapes intertwined with the custom botanical prints, creating the feeling of being tucked away in a garden. Delicate floral motifs, playful bird illustrations and layers of greenery carried the story through the space.
At its heart, a sea of marigolds surrounded us, while the very prints that began on the invitation reappeared as little garden silhouettes. Nothing felt placed. Everything felt as though it had grown there. And that was The Genda Garden—a little world of nostalgia, colour and two cultures, blooming together.
Your star signs were suspended like constellations, marking the days you met. How did this idea come about?
(AS): Our planners came up with this surprise that left us emotional. They just asked us about some important events in both of our lives together and went onto tell our story through the stars, almost as though the journey had been written in the sky.
Their idea was to create a constellation that connected the defining moments of our relationship, beginning with the day we first met, moving through the chapters that brought us closer, the day we said yes, and finally arriving at our forever in that moment. Each illuminated star marked a moment in our story, with delicate lines connecting them across the backdrop. And beneath this constellation we stood, then as husband and wife.
It was Aira’s way of showing how a series of little moments had led us to this one beautiful moment together.
Did the wedding menu have food from both India and Australia?
(AS): I was really passionate about keeping the food as authentically Indian as possible. Living in Melbourne, Sam and I are incredibly lucky to be surrounded by so many different cultures and cuisines. The one thing that often disappoints me, though, is that Indian food here is usually limited to Punjabi and North Indian dishes. While they're delicious, India has such an incredible diversity of food, and South Indian restaurants in Australia are still few and far between.
For me, this was the perfect opportunity to introduce our guests to dishes they might never otherwise get to try. Australians can have a steak or a parma any day of the week, but they may never come across some of the regional Indian dishes that deserve just as much love! The menu was carefully curated based on dishes I've introduced Sam to over the years, along with some of his favourites and mine. It felt like sharing a little piece of our story and our heritage through food, while taking everyone on a culinary journey across India.
What was the after-party like?
(AS): The after-party was an absolute blast. One of the highlights was getting to watch a sneak peek of our wedding video, and it looked incredible. It was so special reliving the day while still being right in the middle of the celebrations.
The DJ and drummer completely transformed the atmosphere and took the party energy to another level. Then, as if the night couldn't get any better, my two bridesmaids surprised us with a performance that was absolutely amazing and had everyone cheering.