Blake & Sanjay

Blake and Sanjay’s wedding was a vibrant and deeply personal celebration, defined by a dazzling fusion of cultures, traditions, and disco-inspired glamour! With meticulous DIY details and heartfelt touches, they transformed their special day into a sparkling reflection of their unique love story. From handmade mirror ball clusters to a beautiful nod to Sanjay’s heritage, every element was a testament to their creativity and shared joy. Sanjay shares their epic wedding story...

BLAJAY: A Sparkling Celebration of Love in Aotearoa

If we had to sum up the day in three words, they’d be: sparkle, unique, and joyful!

As a creative and highly organised duo, we decided to take on many of the wedding planning and design elements ourselves. It was a labour of love, but it made the whole experience deeply personal — and budget-friendly too. We even named it the BLAJAY wedding (a fusion of BLAke and SanJAY), which became a running theme throughout the day.

I’ve always loved disco house music and the sparkle of mirror balls, so I thought — why not bring a bit of that energy into the wedding? I wasn’t entirely sure how to make it feel elegant and cohesive at first, so I dove into Pinterest for inspiration. That’s where the idea of combining Blake’s love of greenery with my love of disco really started to come together — a kind of garden party meets mirrorball magic.

We designed and handmade mirror ball clusters over several weekends, having thoroughly cleared out every Look Sharp store in Auckland — twice! These clusters complemented a grand mirror ball installation by Branch and Bloom and La Lumiere, and were beautifully accented with candles by Revel & Light.

Our DIY journey didn’t stop there. We built a custom wedding website, crafted hand-sealed invitations with wax and dried gypsophila from my mum’s garden, and I designed all the stationery, and our circle menus and name placements to echo the mirror ball motif. We even made our welcome sign and seating chart and covered them in mirror balls!

LOOKS

I really wanted to incorporate aspects of my culture into our wedding. Growing up, I attended many Indian weddings, and the richness of those traditions left a lasting impression on me. However, as a gay man, I wasn’t sure how those traditions would translate — especially since being gay was illegal in India for so long. Even though it’s no longer illegal, it’s still new territory, and I had a lot of heartfelt conversations with my mum about how to approach things in a way that felt respectful and authentic.

In the end, we wore Indian sherwanis for the ceremony. A sherwani is a traditional, regal outfit for men — long, coat-like, and typically worn on very special occasions like weddings or festivals. It has a timeless elegance, and it felt really meaningful to wear something so deeply rooted in my heritage.

I chose a light-coloured sherwani for the ceremony, and if you look closely, there’s a subtle rainbow thread woven into the fabric — a small but joyful nod to my identity. I also chose a darker sherwani for the reception to switch up the look, while keeping within our overall colour palette. Blake wore a stunning navy sherwani for the ceremony. It wasn’t part of our planned wedding colours, but we figured — if anyone gets to bend the rules, it’s the grooms! For the reception, he changed into a suit.

All three sherwanis had a touch of sparkle, which felt festive, celebratory and in unison with the mirror balls being everywhere.

About six months out, we started planning the rest of the outfits. We found a suit warehouse with a huge range of colour swatches and landed on the perfect mint green for the groomsmen. My niece and sister found beautiful mint green dresses online with elegant corset-style backs — my niece wore one as the flower girl, and Blake’s sister wore the same dress as one of our groomswomen.

We also found a forest green suit for Blake that tied beautifully into our colour scheme — distinctive, but still cohesive. To bring it all together, we added forest green bow ties for both of us, giving the whole wedding party a coordinated yet personalised look.

GETTING READY

We treated our wedding party to a place near the venue the night before the wedding. The house was gorgeous with a little pond and jetty on the lawn. Blake and I woke up early and did a body balance class. Then we cooked breakfast together, we had champagne while hair and makeup were being done. We also surprised the wedding party with matching robes to wear while we got ready. Blake’s sister organised hair and makeup for us. Blake and I got ready together which felt really intimate and calming.

We decided to honour the classic tradition of something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue. For something old, I wore my glittery Converse shoes, which were a few years old by the time the wedding rolled around. My dad had some new handkerchiefs and let me borrow a blue one, covering both new and borrowed and, of course, blue.

Blake carried his old and borrowed charm — a little crystal piglet with a broken leg — in his suit pocket. And for new and blue, he wore new blue underwear — keeping the tradition fun and cheeky!

From our Mehndi ceremony, we even had B L A J A Y on our thumbs

Just before the ceremony, we managed to get some stunning “first look” photos, even as a storm rolled in.

CEREMONY

While we couldn’t hold the ceremony on the lawn as planned with the storm rolling in, the team at Kauri Bay quickly and seamlessly rearranged everything for Plan B by the fireplace. Despite the unexpected weather, they created a cozy, beautiful setup indoors, with stunning views that still made the day feel so special and the rain lent a romantic mood to the day.

We wanted to honour everyone in the wedding party, so each member walked up the aisle. Blake’s side went first, followed by mine. We each had our own songs for our entrance (Blake: Here Comes the Sun by The Beatles, Sanjay: Tell Him by Lauryn Hill) and both of us walked up the aisle with our parents on either side. It was a subtle but meaningful way to make the tradition our own.

And the sparkle continued! The flower girl carried a mint-green bubble gun adorned with mirror balls, and the wedding party walked up the aisle holding custom mirror ball bouquets.

One of the biggest surprises for our guests was our celebrant — Antonia Prebble. A lot of our family members are huge Outrageous Fortune fans, so jaws definitely dropped when they saw her standing at the front. Antonia was incredible — warm, thoughtful, and she brought such a personal touch to the ceremony. One of her suggestions was to have us face the audience instead of each other during parts of the ceremony. It might sound small, but it completely shifted the energy — we got to see everyone’s reactions and really feel their presence.

We also leaned into the details. Instead of reading our vows from a standard card, we had them printed on circular cutouts to echo the shape of our rings and the mirror balls we featured throughout the wedding.

One of our favourite parts of the ceremony was incorporating a tradition from Indian weddings: the jaimala (or varmala) — the ritual exchange of floral garlands. It’s a beautiful symbol of love, respect, and commitment. We created our own custom jaimalas with my mum, and added a personal twist by incorporating tiny mirror balls into the design. When we opened the boxes and revealed them, we actually heard gasps from the audience — they looked absolutely stunning and were such a special blend of tradition and sparkle.

Even the signing pen shimmered with sparkles — because why not? We made it official to the joyful sounds of Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I’m Yours) by Blue, Stevie Wonder, and Angie Stone.

Walking hand in hand as newlyweds, we couldn’t resist a joyful recessional to Beyoncé’s Crazy in Love

One of my favourite unexpected details was how our ceremony outfits ended up perfectly complementing our parents’ outfits — my outfit matched Blake’s parents, and Blake’s outfit matched mine! My mum also wore a stunning, oversized Indian necklace — it was absolutely massive! I learned that in Indian weddings, it’s a proud tradition for the mother of the groom to wear a bold statement piece like that. I loved discovering that little cultural gem.

RECEPTION

The fusion of my culture with Blake’s and how we tweaked traditions to suit us created something even more beautiful than we imagined. An explosion of mirror balls everywhere added sparkle and fun, and despite the storm, everything ran smoothly and felt so well-organised.

The food was absolutely perfection. Feeding 150 people is no small feat, but the Kauri Bay made it look completely effortless. Everyone was served promptly, and the quality was outstanding — we still have friends and family raving about it. Some of them start salivating just talking about it!

The reception featured a craft station for our guestbook, where guests could snap Polaroid photos and scrapbook their messages with colourful pens, stickers, and paper.

To make the kids feel extra special (and to help them survive the speech portion of the evening), we put together mint-green gift bags filled with snacks, colouring books, pencils, and Pokémon figurines for them to enjoy while being seated. It was a sweet touch, and definitely helped keep them entertained. We handed those out just before Blake and I ducked away for an outfit change.

Our cake, by K Cakes, was crowned with — you guessed it again — mirror balls. Every detail was cohesive and personal, down to the mint-green painted props and décor.

The sparkles and mirror balls everywhere — they truly made the whole day feel magical and fun! We had plenty of mirror ball clusters left over, and guests took them home. Now, we have them dotted around our house alongside plants, and they look amazing.

The speeches were top tier. The whole room was filled with laughter, love, and some incredibly heartfelt moments. Both of our dads gave speeches. My dad, in true form, printed a little cartoon character on the back of his speech — a quirky tradition he’s kept up for every major event in our family. 

Blake and I wrapped things up with a joint speech. We printed out baby photos of each other and, inspired by one of our favourite shows — RuPaul’s Drag Race — we asked: “What would you say to your younger self?” It was such a meaningful way to reflect on how far we’ve come and to honour our journeys. It also brought a few tears to the room (ours included).

During the reception, our photographers quietly pulled us aside for a quick five-minute shoot in the rain. It was spontaneous and a bit wild — but the photos? Absolutely epic. The way the rain caught the light made it look like we were surrounded by a galaxy of stars. That shoot ended up being one of the biggest highlights of the day. It was romantic, cinematic, and totally unforgettable.

Blake’s sister is a dance teacher, so she helped choreograph our first dance mash-up of Dreamlover by Mariah Carey, Cuff It by Beyoncé and 2 Become 1 by The Spice Girls. She worked with us on the Mariah and Spice Girls sections, and for the Beyoncé part — I couldn’t resist incorporating a bit of choreography from her Renaissance tour. I made sure to include the line “Can I sit on top of you?” — cheeky, unexpected, and definitely got the crowd going. It was such a fun way to put our own twist on a classic moment.

And to top it all off, when I jumped on the decks later in the night and DJ’d a set of house, funk, disco, and soul, Blake helped hype up the moment by putting a mirrorball jacket on me — something we’d planned ahead to really get the crowd going. It was playful, sparkly, and tied perfectly into the mirrorball installation above. The energy on the dance floor was incredible, and it felt like the perfect way to kick off the party. One of our favourite surprises came from our friends late into the evening handing out gold mirrorball sunglasses to all the guests for the dance floor. Watching everyone in glittering shades dancing under the mirror balls was the perfect, sparkly end to a day we’ll never forget.

After everything the world had been through — especially with all the lockdowns and the distance from loved ones — we had missed events like this deeply. To look around the room and see our family and friends smiling, laughing, hugging, and dancing together... it was genuinely magic. There was this unspoken sense of gratitude in the air, like we all knew how special it was to be together again. It was more than just a celebration — it was a reunion of hearts.

It all went by in a blur, as magical days often do, but we wouldn’t change a thing. From handmade details to heartfelt vows, our wedding wasn’t just an event — it was a glittering celebration of who we are, where we come from, and the love that has carried us for over ten years.

SANJAY’s Top Tips:

  1. It’s your wedding—make it truly your own. Always look for ways to elevate each detail and add a personal touch.

  2. Take time to research different wedding styles and put together a clear brief of what you want before reaching out to vendors.

  3. Never assume anything with vendors. If you have questions or uncertainties, ask openly and be clear about your vision—they’re usually great to talk to and happy to help.

  4. Get excited about the process! That energy is contagious, and it was amazing to hear how much our vendors looked forward to bringing our wedding installations to life during the planning.

Real WeddingsPolly WalkerComment