It wasn’t fate that brought Evan and Sanjana together — it was their roommates who were best friends. The two had happily anticipated their introduction at a friend’s Chicago housewarming. Evan recalls that meeting Sanjana “exceeded all my expectations.” To Sanjana, Evan “felt very natural.”
After two dates, they began enjoying city adventures and frequent trips to Sonoma County. The couple moved to Denver in July 2023 to pursue their careers with tech firms (he a senior architect, she an associate creative director), but Wine Country was never far from their minds. The following May, when Evan proposed at the Japanese garden at the Denver Botanic Gardens, plans for their wedding led them back to Sonoma County.
After growing up with Indian weddings, Sanjana knew she wanted to include some pre-celebration events. They decided to make their wedding weekend a blend of both worlds, with traditional ceremonies called sangeet and mehndi on one night, and a Western-style wedding another day. “There were too many cultures to celebrate to have one event,” says Evan.
Guests flew in from all over, including India, to attend the sangeet held at Paradise Ridge Winery in Santa Rosa. The couple arrived at the colorful pre-wedding celebration dressed in traditional attire: Sanjana in a red dress called a lehenga, Evan in a long, dark blue sherwani, or jacket…