"My favourite moment of the wedding was turning to my left and watching the women of my dreams sitting right beside me. I was most excited knowing in the next few moments, she is going to be mine forever.”
Photography by One Creation Films Ltd
Q: How did you meet?
Shalika: We met in Mexico (Cancun). I was there with a couple of my girlfriends when we walked past a group of guys from a bachelor party. We then walked down to the beach to play beach volleyball when we then saw the group of guys at the beach throwing a football around. Herman was wearing a Stephen Curry basketball jersey (who is my favourite player). I then shouted out “Steph Curry doesn’t play football!” He was looking around because he didn’t know who it was. We then invited them to come play beach volleyball with us. After that when we talked he guessed everything right about me without even knowing me. He is from Toronto and I am from B.C. so we took our separate ways but somehow stayed in touch. He later moved to B.C to try things out and here we are, happily married!
Q: What do you love most about one another?
Shalika: I love how my husband is very caring and affectionate. He is protective towards the people that mean the most to him and makes me feel safe. He is hardworking and doesn’t quit until he reaches his goals. Best of all, he is always making me laugh. Herman: I guess I could start with her big beautiful eyes. I love how caring she is towards everyone, especially my mom, which means the world to me. She tells me right from wrong and makes me a better man by steering me to the right direction. She is a very hardworking woman which motivates me. Most of all, I love the fact she can play basketball with me!
Q: Could you share your proposal story?
Herman: Shalika always told me how beautiful it would be to have her family around for the proposal. It was my birthday, Shalika and family came to surprise me at 12 am. But instead I got down on one knee and surprised her with a ring.
Q: Describe your wedding day. What was your favourite moment?
Shalika: Due to Covid-19, our wedding was cut down from 350 people to only 50 of our closest family and friends. But I still got to make my dream come true, as we got married at the most beautiful Chilliwack Golf Club in Chilliwack. We got married under the pavilion with beautiful views all around us. I loved how intimate this day was for us. My favourite moment of the wedding was when I walked in with my family and sat down, I looked over and finally saw Herman who looked the most handsome on our wedding day. It was like a dream. Herman: My favourite moment of the wedding was turning to my left and watching the woman of my dreams sitting right beside me. I was most excited, knowing in the next few moments, she is going to be mine forever.
Q: Could you tell us about your reception?
We did not have an actual reception because of this global pandemic. Although, we have never had so much fun before just partying with our 30-50 closest individuals. We put up a tent on our family’s farm land, put up a mini bar, hired a DJ (DJ Fierce), and ordered some food. Our DJ made sure we had a blast! We danced all night under the stars, and were super grateful for everyone who could come celebrate.
Q: Can you describe your outfits?
Shalika: I wanted something different for our wedding outfits. For my mehendi, my mom and I matched with blue printed suits which we got from BIBA in Payal Business Centre and I was wearing silver oxidised jewellery from my dad’s store, Ganpati Jewellery in Payal. For my maiyaan, I wore a simple custom plain pastel yellow short pant suit while everyone put the turmeric on me. After that, I changed into a Rimple & Harpreet suit from Vivah Collecions which was full of pastel colours with beautiful jhumke from Ganpati. For my choorah, again I wore a simple custom plain dusty rose short pant suit with a red velvet chunni. Finally, for the wedding day I wanted something with traditional red but with a twist. I got a custom chanderi silk lehenga made from LUX in Payal. It was inspired by Rimple & Harpreet. Due to Covid and everything being closed in Delhi and Mumbai, we received our wedding outfits a few days before the wedding which was the most stressful. However, LUX made sure we had our outfits in time and fixed whatever we needed right when the outfits got here. The wedding day jewellery was from Her Fashion Vault and I wore a kundan set with emerald and ruby accents which went perfectly with my lehenga!
Herman: Maiyaan outfit was a custom-made pastel green floral kurta pajama. Mehendi outfit was custom-made royal blue floral kurtha pajama to match my wife’s beautiful suit. The wedding day outfit was also custom-made with pure royalty which was also Rimple & Harpreet-inspired, made by LUX.
Q: What are your goals as a couple?
Our goal as a couple will always to be healthy and happy and honest with each other. We hope to one day have a family of our own and pass all our teachings and experiences to our future children. Our goal is to always be by each other’s side through anything that comes our way, share our success and failures, and one day grow old together.
Q: What are the strengths of your marriage?
Shalika: The strengths of our marriage are taking adventures together and being spontaneous. We also share a lot of laughters and deep conversations. We both love spending time with family. Herman: The strengths of our marriage is forgiveness and being able to trust.
Q: If you could provide any advice to other married couples, what would it be?
Shalika: My advice to other married couples is stick together as a TEAM. Communicate when needed and never stop dating! Herman: My advice to other married couples is that it could take hardwork and patience to be together as a whole. Hard work, understanding, and patience is key.
