A Colorful Indian Wedding At Cherokee Ranch and Castle in Sedalia, Colorado

Michele Mulhausen and Vikas Mundada met at a destination wedding in Banff, Canada, when Vikas’ best friend was marrying Michele’s sister, Jennifer. Since it was a destination affair, guests were staying at the same hotel and went sightseeing together after the wedding. Michele and Vikas became acquainted during a car ride to Lake Louise, but ended up going their separate ways, as they lived in separate states. Four months later, they reconnected at Jennifer’s birthday party in Houston.

There was a mutual attraction between the two from the get-go. “I thought Vikas was cute,” says Michele. “He was playful, fun to be around, and very intelligent.” When Vikas was in Colorado on business, the two met for dinner. Shortly after, they started a long-distance relationship; and a year later, Vikas moved to Colorado to be with Michele permanently. On the day they were moving into the first house they purchased together, he proposed.

For the wedding venue, the couple wanted to choose a location that showcased Colorado’s beautiful scenery. They fell in love with the Cherokee Castle and Ranch, located on a bluff overlooking the mountains and valley below, with the Denver skyline in the distance.

Despite some initial anxiety concerning Colorado’s unpredictable summer rainfalls, the bride and groom were elated by the time the ceremony started. “We wanted the wedding to reflect us as a couple, and we wanted to embrace our union of two different cultures,” the bride describes. The groom wore Indian clothes and arrived on a horse with a baraat, while the bride wore a traditional American wedding dress and walked down the aisle with her father.

Prior to the wedding, the couple flew to India for a ring ceremony. Inspired by the bright colors she saw, Michele decided to use raspberry and orange colored linens. Pink, orange, and red flowers were selected, and the bridesmaids wore purple dresses with gold bangles. Guests were also given little elephant party favors with their trunks up, symbolizing good luck.

For the reception, a combination of Indian and western food was served. Entertaining and heartfelt toasts were also given, with the bride’s sister wrapping it up by advising Vikas to “always smell good, and don’t talk back.” With the dance floor set up outside, the newlyweds were able to have their first dance under the stars. “I don’t know if it was the electricity in the air from the rain earlier or just the sheer excitement of the day,” says the groom, “but there’s no doubt it was an electrifying moment.”

Both families were very much involved throughout the entire wedding, and even the cake cutting was performed with the same knife set the bride’s parents had used at their own wedding. “There was definitely an adrenaline high at the end of the night,” Michele says. “At the end of the wedding day, I felt thrilled that everything went well and far exceeded my expectations.”