Inside Claudia Robles-Gil and Prakhar Gupta’s Art-Led, Cross-Cultural Wedding

Some love stories arrive quietly, but leave behind a trail of soft memories and meaning that spans cities, cultures, and entire worlds. Claudia Robles-Gil and Prakhar Gupta’s began on a Williamsburg rooftop in New York and unfolded across music festivals, shared homes, long-distance dreams, and a deep sense of spiritual and creative alignment. It was an instant sense of familiarity that connected the two back in October 2021. “We met through our mutual friends, both named Isa. We had both just moved to New York around the same time. Prakhar had returned after COVID to finish school at Columbia University, while I had moved after years in Boston and a year back in Mexico City during the pandemic,” Claudia shares.

Unlike the conventional love stories, Prakhar and Claudia’s was rather simple, organic, but every bit as beautiful. Their first “date” wasn’t really a date at all, but a group hangout at a Monolink concert at Brooklyn Mirage, where Claudia painted Prakhar and their friends with skeleton faces for the Citifox Halloween gig. “We waited outside for 1.5 hours in line, then inside, we were talking and enjoying the music with the group all night. After that, we got to know each other naturally by hanging out on Prakhar's rooftop in the Lower East Side.” 

Falling in love is often subconscious—you don’t always know when it’s happening, but when you do, there’s no mistaking it. Claudia shares that her love for Prakhar grew throughout the first year of dating him. “Before the one-year mark, we went with friends to à festival in Chicago together (called ARC). Prakhar had shaved à funny moustache that I told him to take off, and he kept it just to mess with me. There, at the concert, seeing him at the back of the group smiling at me, surrounded by the music and our friends, I had a moment where I just had this knowing that he’s the love of my life. I went up to him and told him, ‘I think you’re the love of my life,’ and he said, ‘I think so too,’ smiling at me as if he’d been gently waiting for me to also realise it. In the coming months, we were already dreaming how we’d build our lives together.”

As their relationship deepened, so did their sense of home—one that wasn’t tied to geography as much as to presence. For Claudia, one of the most cherished memories from their early years together came during a summer spent in Long Island City, when they were both living there, about two years into their relationship. “The park right across his building became home to us, his home was heaven, and I’d helped him make it so cosy. During the day, I’d paint with music while he streamed and work next to me, with music, we’d cook and watch movies together and spend time with our friends on the fuzzy carpet in that home just talking for hours, listening to music and laughing. And we’d go to the park and the water right outside with the water and the NYC skyline.”

They spent hours by the water, the New York City skyline stretching out in front of them, throwing themselves into the grass and letting time dissolve. “The days felt so beautiful and free and full of life and promise,” Claudia recalls. That park would later live on in her painting Home (Sunset in Long Island City), a piece that found its way into their wedding in Thailand, displayed beside them during their vows as a symbol of the first place outside India and Mexico City that truly felt like home to them both.

When it came to commitment, their story followed the same unforced rhythm. There was no grand, cinematic proposal—because, for them, certainty arrived early. “We did not have a traditional proposal,” Claudia shares. “Before our first year together was even over, we shared a moment in Chicago where we both knew that this was it, and we practically talked with excitement about our inevitable wedding, and after that, a proposal felt more like a formality than a question.” 

During her final months living in New York, Prakhar gave her a ring quietly, without spectacle or announcement. “I am very particular about my jewellery, but he chose a ring I loved on the first try, and I have worn it ever since,” Claudia blushed as she recalled. Later, his family hosted a formal engagement celebration at home in February. “Then, a few months before the wedding, while attending the Anjunadeep Explorations festival in Albania, Prakhar proposed again during a quiet, private moment sitting by the ocean, surrounded by music and lights. It was unplanned and incredibly special.”

Romance, in their relationship, has never been about grand gestures. Instead, it lives in consistency and care. “Prakhar’s not about big romantic gestures but rather about steady, deep-rooted gestures of love,” Claudia describes Prakhar’s love as steady and deeply rooted. “He would make me feel so cared for and at home in India and with his family since the beginning, flying out from India every time to support me at my first and second solo art exhibitions in NYC and in Mexico City every year after the other, making sure I get my own studio room at his home and in our future family Delhi home, always feeling like à steady rock no matter how far I am.” 

And then there are the small gestures. “He would order me flowers from Blinkit when I ask him to order me whatever random item (Kinder Buenos, shampoo, candles), coming to check in on me and kiss me when I’m painting, looking at photos of my dog Fibrix with me when I miss him and laughing with me.”

When it came to envisioning their wedding, Claudia and Prakhar always knew it would be a reflection of the layered, borderless life they had built together. “It was always destined (and we knew) to be a cross-cultural, unique mashup of our cultures and our shared sense of home (from New York City to our international friends, to our love for music, to our love for food, to our shared faiths),” Claudia shares. While she initially thought she’d be happy with something intimate, that idea quickly evolved. “Soon I realised there was no way to not let the wedding snowball into à fat Indian wedding and so I decided to completely own that and make it the most incredible ritual of love and celebration I could make.”

Unexpectedly, life aligned itself perfectly with those plans. Just weeks before their February engagement, Claudia was laid off from her full-time job in the U.S.—a moment that, in hindsight, felt purposeful. With unwavering support and complete creative freedom from Prakhar’s family, she naturally stepped into the role of creative and artistic director for the wedding. “I designed and conceptualised the experience from start to finish,” she says, shaping everything from the emotional arc of the weekend and the musical journey to the colour palettes, decor, symbols, and the conscious weaving together of Mexican and Indian cultures—with hints of their shared New York and festival energy throughout. She even designed several of her own outfits from scratch, with her friend Hardik’s brand Morni and Pooja Peshoria helping bring those visions to life.

From the very beginning, the couple was intentional about letting go of what felt compulsory. “Very early on, Prakhar and I knew we’d have a unique wedding given our unique fusion,” Claudia explains. Instead of ticking traditional boxes, they focused on creating moments that felt alive and meaningful to them and their communities—a welcome boat party exploring the islands of Phuket, and a sunset ceremony officiated by their closest friends, where they read personal vows to one another. In the end, the wedding became exactly what they hoped it would be: an expression of their relationship, their cultures, and their authentic selves.

Planning the wedding was a deeply personal process, led largely by Claudia. “We planned the wedding ourselves with me taking the lead,” she shares. With full trust from Prakhar’s family, she conceptualised everything from music and decor to symbolism, stationery, messaging, and the incorporation of her artwork throughout the celebrations. Prakhar, meanwhile, supported the structure and execution—ensuring things moved forward smoothly—while Claudia remained focused on infusing the experience with beauty, emotion, and life.

The wedding’s aesthetic was equally intuitive. “Our wedding style was influenced by our Mexican and Indian cultures, my artwork, our shared life in New York, spirituality, and music and festival culture,” Claudia explains. Rather than committing to a single visual theme, each event was designed around how they wanted their loved ones to feel, and what they wanted them to carry with them long after it ended.

Choosing the venue followed the same instinct-led approach. Claudia had felt an unexplainable pull toward Thailand since her mid-20s. “When we finally visited earlier this year, the moment we stepped onto the JW Marriott Phuket lawn, with the palms and the ocean opening up in front of us, I knew immediately this was the place,” she recalls. “For the Delhi celebrations, we chose to do the pheras at Prakhar’s childhood home to honour the history, intimacy, and roots of his family. His grandfather lives there and doesn’t travel much anymore, so having the ceremony at home felt meaningful. For the larger reception afterwards, we chose Tivoli for its beautiful outdoor lawn and its ability to host the full Indian community.

Every outfit worn during the celebrations was designed with equal thoughtfulness. “Our outfits were extremely intentional and deeply personal,” Claudia says. “I approached my wedding wardrobe as an extension of her creative world. I designed several of my looks, including my unique orchid veil hand-sketched with real magenta orchids, with many pieces inspired directly by my paintings, and worked closely with Morni (their friend Hardik Tuteja’s brand) and Pooja Peshoria to bring them to life.” She added that even for outfits she didn’t fully design, Claudia remained closely involved in every detail.

Prakhar mirrored that intention in his wardrobe as well, working closely with his stylist Tanya and designers like Torani, Morni, and Rajat Vir to move away from predictable silhouettes while still honouring craftsmanship and tradition and create looks that felt modern yet rooted. “Each of his looks was designed to feel modern yet rooted, aligning with the overall narrative of the wedding,” Claudia shares. Together, their wedding wardrobe became a fluid, expressive extension of who they are, and across all events, their shared vision for the wardrobe created an unconventional and contemporary wardrobe that was fully theirs.

Among all the celebrations, the vows ceremony in Thailand stood out as especially meaningful. “It was a fusion of our Hindu and Catholic upbringings and our shared spiritual language. The altar included symbols from both our childhoods and belief systems. The ceremony took place at sunset by the ocean, was officiated by close friends, included personal vows, and was followed by a set by Paradoks.” Claudia shares how their vows ceremony created a moment that felt both sacred and electric.

Personal touches were woven into nearly every element of the wedding. “I designed all the invitations and stationery,” Claudia reveals how she created detailed mood boards for each event, wrote letters guiding guests through the emotional and spiritual journey, and incorporated her artwork symbolically throughout the celebrations. Close friends Isa and AJ even created cardboard cutouts of friends who couldn’t attend, ensuring they were still “present” on the dance floor.

Cultural traditions were honoured thoughtfully and selectively—from Haldi and Mehendi to pheras at Prakhar’s childhood home, alongside Catholic symbols like the cross and Virgin Mary, and Hindu elements including Krishna’s flute and Hanuman. “We kept what felt meaningful and let go of what felt compulsory,” Claudia notes.

She further adds, “Each event was designed around a specific emotional intention rather than a fixed theme. Once the feeling of the event was clear, decisions around music, food, decor, and even pacing followed naturally.” Music played a central role throughout the celebrations, with DJ Prashant curating the sound across events and Paradoks delivering a defining post-vows moment. Food followed the same philosophy—Thai cuisine in Phuket, Indian flavours woven into traditional ceremonies, and Mexican influences incorporated where they felt natural. Decor, too, was designed to support emotion rather than excess, allowing each event to feel distinct yet connected.

There were joyful surprises along the way. "We surprised guests with cardboard cutouts of friends who could not attend so they could dance with us. We were also gifted unexpectedly perfect weather after weeks of monsoon, which gave us three beautiful sunny days and unforgettable sunsets.”

When asked about their favourite moments, both Claudia and Prakhar speak of a collage of emotions rather than a single highlight. For Claudia, it was everything from reading her vows and seeing joyful faces replay in her mind each night. “The last evening feeling when I felt the completion and joy during the Paradox set and afterparty, the feeling of looking at myself in my self-designed outfits. Feeling my own creative power dancing, posing, and embodiment in my own creations, small moments of pausing to take a breath and taking it all in (air, ocean, joy, love, gratitude) in between all of these. Even arriving at the islands during the boat party and jumped in the water with all our friends on that first day. I had one of our Mexican friends swim next to me and tell me, these are the moments when you feel God is here and so real, that he’ll be telling his children about this moment for the rest of their lives. Each of the moments from that celebration has stayed with me like a scrapbook of memories. During our vows, there was a collection of all faiths that had come together and blessed us under one sky: Jewish, Christian, Hindu, etc all blessing us in their own ways.” Claudia recalls, “During Haldi, my own parents came to me and applied Haldi on my forehead in the sign of the cross (honouring Jesus, whom I grew up with) with so much love. My two closest friends cried during Haldi.” She also recalls the moment when she jumped into the ocean at the boat party with her favourite song of the year (Sirens of the Sea - Marsh Remix) playing in the background, and how it felt like a message from the Universe.

For Prakhar, it was watching his worlds collide: his Mexican in-laws embracing Indian culture, his mother dancing for ten straight days, getting married in the house that built him, and seeing friends—Indian and non-Indian alike—fall in love with the magic of an Indian wedding. “One of my deepest intellectual influences, Eric Weinstein, was in attendance and that meant so much to the 21-year-old Prakhar.”

Looking back, neither would change anything. And the advice they offer other couples is simple yet profound: don’t chase perfection. “Plan for how ALIVE you’ll feel,” Claudia says. “So many things will go completely different to what you expect. Go with the flow.” Claudia advises the new couple to leave room for spontaneity, eat when you can, and don’t let photographs pull you away from being present in your own celebration. “Give them time, but photographers will easily want to keep taking beautiful photos, and you have to pull yourself away too.”

 As they step into this next chapter, what excites them most is continuing to build their shared sense of home. “Settling in and continuing to grow together, travel together and spend time with our loved ones while continuing to grow artistically and in our individual and shared paths.”