A couple had a 3-day Indian wedding complete with multiple stunning outfits, including a 40-pound lehenga

A mutual friend introduced Vishal Parvani and Richa Sadana in 2009, but the two didn't start dating until 2011.

Parvani told Insider that his best friend, Amrit Kapai, invited him to crash a party he knew Sadana would be attending. 

"There was a pole on the dance floor, which I proceeded to dance on, and Richa immediately knew from that moment I would be the one," he said. 

It took two years for Parvani and Sadana to start officially dating, as he moved to LA and didn't move back to Miami, Florida, until 2011. 

Parvani said he messaged Sadana on Facebook shortly after moving back, and the two went on their first date right around Valentine's Day in 2011. 

After dating for five years, Parvani proposed for the first time at the Grand Canyon.

"Both of us are avid hikers, so I planned a trip for us, which Richa is usually in charge of," Parvani said. 

The couple did several activities during the trip, like a helicopter tour and hiking down the canyon. Parvani added that he knew Sadana thought he would propose on the helicopter tour, but instead, he waited until their last hiking spot to pop the question. 

Shortly after the first proposal, the couple went from seeing each other daily to having a long-distance relationship. Over the years, Parvani said their relationship went through many ups and downs, and being on a reality TV show only made their problems worse. 

The couple became a part of Bravo's reality show "Family Karma," which amplified their relationship woes, Parvani told Insider.

The 2020 show "Family Karma" follows the lives of Parvani and Sadana's friends as they navigate being part of multi-generational families originally from India who have made Miami, Florida, their permanent home. 

"Having our relationship on television added some level of stress as well. We had to deal with our issues and learn to tune out the noise," Parvani said. "It took us a few years to get to the point where we are today." 

In 2021, when season two of the show premiered, the couple was actually broken up. Parvani and Sadana's journey to getting back together was a big part of the second season.

After spending a few months apart, Parvani proposed to Sadana again — this time, in his apartment with a mariachi band. 

"I hid them in the bathroom and had them pop out and surprise her," he said. 

Parvani said waiting over 10 years to get married to Sadana was ultimately the best move for their relationship because it gave them time to iron things out and become stronger together. 

"Our relationship has been through the wringer. And we are still standing strong next to each other after it all, so nothing can break us," Parvani said. "I think we are both happy we waited. Our journey may not be the traditional journey, but it was our journey."

The time finally came for them to start planning their wedding, but then the pandemic hit. The couple told Insider that most of their planning had to be done virtually, so a lot of what it looked like was a surprise when the actual event came around.

Parvani and Sadana had initially planned to marry in Jaipur, India, but they had to change their plans because of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Their wedding planners suggested the couple get married in Mexico instead, Parvani said. The two decided on the Grand Palladium Costa Mujeres Resort & Spa in Mexico.

"We had a big, fat Indian wedding," Parvani said. 

The couple celebrated their relationship with a traditional three-day Indian wedding that kicked off on January 12. They said all their guests were tested for COVID-19 prior to attending. 

Parvani told Insider that although they originally had a budget of $150,000, they ended up spending at least three times that. 

"I choose not to look at our final number," he said laughing.

"It was worth what we have spent," Sadana added. 

A big part of that budget was the numerous outfits they needed for their multi-day celebration. 

The first event of their three-day celebration was the Mehndi ceremony.

The night before the wedding ceremony, Sadana and her closest female family members and friends got together to watch her get her henna design.

For the Mehndi party, Sadana wore a two-piece set from Little Black Bow official, and Parvani matched her in a pink floral jacket and matching shoes from Nazranaa. Although Parvani didn't attend the Mehndi party, the couple still took photos beforehand in their coordinated pink looks. 

The bride told Insider that she "loved" her look because it was very "Indian boho-chic." 

That same night, the couple hosted their Sangeet in superhero-inspired outfits.

The Sangeet is a big dance party where the couple, bridal parties, and families show off their choreographed dances. 

"It's almost like a rehearsal dinner, except we go hardcore," Sadana said of the event. 

For the celebration, Parvani and Sadana both wore looks by the designer Nivedita Saboo. 

Sadana's set was inspired by Wonder Woman, while Parvani said his look reminded him of the 2006 Indian superhero movie "Krrish." The outfits came straight off the runway from Dubai, the couple told Insider. 

"They were just fun, funky, and a different type of look for us as a couple," Sadana said. 

The couple wore yellow for their Haldi, a ritual during which the two get cleansed before officially getting married.

As part of the Haldi ceremony, Parvani and Sadana were cleansed with tumeric, so they decided to wear yellow to match the color of the spice, they said. 

Sadana wore a Nazranaa look, while Parvani wore a white-and-yellow outfit from Ayesha Creations.  

The couple made the traditional Indian wedding their own by having a beach party during their three-day celebration.

Sadana and Parvani both wore looks from Nazranaa for their beach party.

The bride told Insider that the designer normally doesn't do American-style dresses, so this was a custom creation for her.

Nazranaa used an Indian-inspired print to make Sadana's dress as well as the collar and cuffs of Parvani's shirt. 

The couple paid homage to Sadana's family by wearing traditional Punjabi outfits for the wedding ceremony.

Parvani told Insider that his look was Punjabi because he made the decision to wear a pink safa, also known as a turban, as a way to complement Sadana's outfit and pay tribute to her family roots. The pink details of his Nazranaa outfit perfectly coordinated with the ivory color of the rest of the look. 

"Because my outfit was such a deep red, I didn't want him to have red on too," Sadana said. "I had little details of pink in my outfit, so having him wearing pink coordinated well and looked great against the beach backdrop." 

For the ceremony, Sadana wore a gorgeous Falguni Shane Peacock lehenga. She told Insider that she had two slightly different versions of the lehenga made for her wedding day. 

The first version of the lehenga weighed about 40 pounds and took hours to cover in beads. Sadana paired the garment with hotel slippers to walk down the aisle because she said there was no way she was going to wear heels.

"If I had worn any kind of heel, I probably would have toppled over," she said. "It was so beautiful to look at, but my lord, I was so hot and sweaty underneath. I was sexy as hell, but you have no idea what was happening underneath." 

The second version of the lehenga was almost the same but had less beadwork, which made it lighter. Sadana wore that during the reception before changing into her final look. 

Parvani said he felt like royalty when he put his outfit on for the wedding ceremony.

Like Sadana, Parvani said he felt sexy in his wedding ceremony outfit. 

"I felt like royalty. It was something I'd never worn before, so I felt like a king in that outfit," he said. "Yeah, I was nervous, but with that outfit on and just looking in the mirror, it was like I was seeing a different person. I know I'm never going to be able to wear something like that again." 

Parvani paired his Nazranaa look with Christian Louboutin shoes. 

For the reception, the bride chose to wear white because it's not a customary color used during Indian weddings, she told Insider.

The couple changed into more comfortable looks for their reception.

Sadana wore a two-piece set from Nazranaa. The designer included the couple's initials on the waist of her skirt as a fun, personalized detail. She told Insider that she chose to wear the white outfit because it's not a color generally used during Indian weddings.  

Parvani matched the blue details in Sadana's look with his Nivedita Saboo tuxedo, which was straight off the runway. 

Sadana said her goal with their outfits was to show the world that even Indian weddings don't always have to be traditional.

"We were excited that we'd get a lot of people to see the different types of Indian clothes," Sadana said. "We didn't want it to be super traditional because we wanted it to be clear that all different audiences could wear these types of clothes."

"We spent a lot of time trying to pick pieces that fit us and our personalities," she added. "We wanted our outfits to shed light on the Indian fashion world and have the rest of the world see it too."