Nithin & Papiya Documented Their Love Story in a Dreamy Bollywood-Inspired Desert Engagement Session

With California’s stunning Oceano Dunes as their background, Nithin and Papiya celebrated their love with a dreamy Bollywood-inspired engagement session.

The couple’s love story set root eight years before their engagement when Nithin first saw Papiya at a ballroom in Albany, New York. Coming from different cultural and religious backgrounds, the pair worried their union might not come to fruition if they could not gain their families’ approval. But with the blessing of both Nithin and Papiya’s parents, the couple were free to live out their love together.

Nithin surprised Papiya with a romantic proposal in the ballroom where they first met.

Convinced by her friend to visit the ballroom while on a trip home, Papiya entered the space to find Nithin waiting for her. They walked through an aisle of roses, candles, and photos from their relationship before Nithin popped the question. “I thought I was going to faint from happiness,” Papiya recalls.

“Having our parents’ blessings and being able to openly be in love felt like a dream, or better yet, a Bollywood movie,” Papiya says. “I wanted our engagement shoot to capture the dreamy, grand, Bollywood haze we were in.”

The couple used their favorite Bollywood movie, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, as inspiration, emulating one of the film’s musical numbers that takes place in the desert.

The rolling hills of the Oceano Dunes served as the eye-catching backdrop for the shoot, and the couple worked with their stylist to curate a picture-perfect wardrobe for the occasion.

For their first look, Papiya’s sleek black saree with gold accents perfectly complemented Nithin’s all-black ensemble. After a quick change, the couple continued the shoot with Nithin in all white, standing out next to Papiya’s striking orange organza saree.

See all the photos from the couple’s stunning engagement session below!

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• Couple: Nithin Nedumthakady & Papiya Rahman
• Wedding date: August 31, 2024
• Wedding location: Randolph, New Jersey
• Date of engagement shoot: August 8, 2024
• Location of engagement shoot: Oceano Dunes in San Luis Obispo County, California

How did you meet?

Our first time officially meeting was in my sophomore year of college. I just transferred to UAlbany and, believe it or not, I was a little shy back then. A friend of mine convinced me to join the end-of-the-year cultural fashion show. At the first fashion show practice, I saw Nithin and thought he was very handsome and looked familiar. I think he dated a girl I went to high school with. I went up to him and asked if he knew her. He didn’t respond with a yes or no. He laughed in my face and walked away. I made a mental note— stay away from this weirdo. 

The following year, I decided to do a dance performance with some friends for a Diwali event. Nithin was on the Bollywood fusion dance team and the team was also performing for Diwali. There was a run-through/rehearsal for all the performers earlier in the day in the ballroom. My recollection of the rehearsal is rushing on stage for our allotted time slot, feeling incredibly nervous to dance in front of all these people and then rushing off stage to practice some more. Nithin’s recollection of that day is very different. He was late to rehearsal and walked in during the time slot allocated for my friends and me to practice on stage. He says he walked in, saw me on stage, and that’s when he fell in love with me.

We often went to the same parties and over time we became friends.

We found out we went to high school down the street from one another, I went to a public school and he went to a private school. Growing up in the same area, we went to the same mall and movie theater. We wondered how often we were in close proximity growing up. The following year I joined the dance team and that’s where we solidified the bond that grew into our relationship today.

What did you do on your first date?

On our first ‘official’ date we went and saw Aladdin on Broadway!

Tell us about the proposal.

The ballroom where Nithin first saw me dance is where he proposed. I went to visit my parents in Albany during Christmas break. Some friends and I planned to spend the day together. One of my friends is from out of town and she suggested we give her a tour of our old college campus. As soon as we parked, the memories started flooding back. Most of the buildings were locked for Christmas break but we tried to open all the doors anyway. To my surprise, the Campus Center door was open. We walked around and told stories of our glory days and then we came to the backstage entrance to the ballroom. This is the way we entered for every dance performance and for nostalgia’s sake, I had to enter the ballroom the same way.

I opened the backstage door and there were people there! I was so surprised and worried that I had interrupted a meeting or rehearsal that I quickly slammed the door shut. Then I stood there for a second. I thought I saw Nithin’s little brother and my friend’s husband in there but immediately shook my head and dismissed the thought. My out-of-town friend found me and I told her I interrupted a meeting backstage and one of the people looked like Nithin’s brother.

She brushed it off, telling me not to overthink it, and pulled me towards the ballroom’s main entrance because she wanted to see it. I opened the main entrance door and the song “Tuj me rab dekhta hai” was playing, there were rose petals everywhere, and pictures of me and Nithin through the years.

Nithin walked up to me and I thought I was going to faint from happiness.

We walked through an aisle of photos, candles, and rose petals as he proclaimed his love for me and then he got down on one knee and popped the question. After the proposal, my friends all ran out from their hiding spots to congratulate me, Nithin’s brother, and my friend’s husband included.

Afterward, we went to mine and Nithin’s favorite spot in Albany, Tanpopo Ramen Bar. As we entered, I saw all of our friends and both of our families gathered, waiting to congratulate us. That moment was surreal.

Describe your engagement session.

Nithin and I come from different religious and cultural backgrounds. His family is Catholic, from South India Kerala, and my family is Muslim, from Bangladesh. We are both the eldest child of an immigrant family which comes with immense expectations, one of them being to carry on the religion and culture through marriage. We dated for eight years prior to our engagement and for much of those eight years, we lived a double life and worried about how our families would react.

Having our parents’ blessings and being able to openly be in love felt like a dream, or better yet, a Bollywood movie.

I wanted our engagement shoot to capture the dreamy, grand, Bollywood haze we were in. One of our favorite movies is Khabi Khushi Khabi Gham. There is a song in the movie called, “Suraj Hua Maddham,” where two of the main characters are running through a desert, and I felt like that scene and that song perfectly captured how we were feeling. The most challenging part of this was finding the right location and wearing the right outfit. Luckily, Natasha Gillett, our photographer knew exactly where we should shoot this and introduced us to our stylist Tina Bhardwaj who completed the vision with our fashion.

Tell us about the wedding planning process.

It was so much fun!!! Honestly, looking back, I kind of miss the craziness of it all.

What was your favorite moment from your wedding day?

After we got married at the Catholic ceremony, that moment when we drove away and we were by ourselves screaming in the car like, “CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS JUST HAPPENED?!” — that was unforgettable. Then, of course, we drove 30 minutes in the wrong direction for the next ceremony…!

What’s your favorite thing to do as a couple?

We’re very big on music and being former dancers – you can usually find us at a concert or a rave of some sort. Other than that, trying new food spots is always a fun favorite.

Want more Bollywood-inspired engagement session inspiration?

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Vendors:

• Jewelry: Raabta by Rahul
• Stylist: Tina Bhardwaj of Lady Tin Studio
• Photographer: Natasha Gillett Photography
• Dress: Lady Tin Studio
• Jewelry: Lady Tin Weddings | Ra Abta by Rahul USA