Two States, One Love: Aashna Hegde & Aditya Kumar’s Big Fat North–South Wedding

Ask a girl growing up in India about her dream Bollywood-inspired wedding and chances are 2 States will come up more than once. And if the mention alone doesn’t cue the scene of Ananya walking up the temple steps to Ullam Paadam, we may have a problem. A cultural touchstone for modern cross-cultural love stories, the film still shapes how many imagine their own North-meets-South celebrations.

More recently, that spirit found its way into real life with luxury lifestyle influencer Aashna Hegde and Aditya Kumar’s Jim Corbett wedding — an intimate, nature-soaked celebration that has been quietly taking over the internet for all the right reasons. “Every detail, from color palettes to décor, was carefully chosen to balance elegance with personal meaning. Watching their vision come alive reminded us why we love what we do — creating weddings rooted in emotion, connection, and intention,” share Ferris Wheel Diaries, the planners behind the magic.

Set against forests, riverbeds, and skies that seemed to stretch endlessly, the three-day celebration (December 6–8, 2025) offered a quiet counterpoint to the frenzy of big-city weddings. The couple had chosed the location for its stillness: “We are both mountain people & from the start of our relationship to now, we have very fond memories from trips we’ve taken! It’s also just such a calming atmosphere and that’s exactly the kind of energy we wanted for the wedding!” The result is a series of images that feel less like posed frames and more like scenes from a story lived slowly, honestly, and with an ease that resonates long after you’ve scrolled past.

Their celebrations opened with an intimate, contemporary sangeet anchored in the psychology of purple — an immersive, modern-luxury palette softened with greens and biomorphic, neo-futuristic forms that curved, wrapped, and guided guests organically. Dakshita Bhatla Gangola, founder of DB and Spaces and the designer behind the décor, explained the philosophy of the hue: “Purple is a colour that sits beautifully between warm and cool, naturally associated with creativity, depth and a certain quiet luxury. When paired with greens and soft foliage, it immediately creates a balanced, immersive atmosphere.”

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A post shared by Aashna Hegde (@aashnahegde)

She added that the colour felt instinctively right for the couple. “Aashna, as a personality, gravitated naturally toward sophistication — the kind that feels effortless yet intentional. Her entire look for the evening leaned into a cocktail-inspired aesthetic: sleek, refined, and quietly glamorous. That psychology became a strong design cue for us,” Dakshita reveals. “Purple entered the palette not as an arbitrary colour choice, but as an extension of her moodboard, her individuality, and her desire for a space that felt editorial rather than ornamental. It was a colour that mirrored who she is — elegant, self-assured, and subtly bold — which is why the couple resonated so deeply with the idea of a purple.”

The second day took shape as an unstructured, all-day haldi–mehendi, with guests moving freely through vermillion and molten-orange settings accented with textured hay, lush florals, fruit-led styling, earthy lounges, curated photo moments, and a Maldives-inspired daybed honouring Aditya’s proposal. Ashna, radiant as ever, looked like a million bucks — courtesy of Shradha Luthra.

On the morning of day three, Aashna returned to her South Indian roots with a sunrise ceremony set in an amphitheatre wrapped around a sculptural, tree-inspired mandap. Draped in jasmine and rajnigandha tassels, accented with banana leaves, brass details, and woven textures, it was tradition reimagined through thoughtful spatial design. 

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A post shared by Aashna Hegde (@aashnahegde)

By dusk, the celebration transformed into a Punjabi-style jaimala and pheras set against a palette of powder blues and soft whites that blended seamlessly with Jim Corbett’s natural landscape. The hero of the evening was the mandap — conceived as a fluid, free-flowing structure, almost like a sculptural canopy stretched across a 20-foot span, its organic geometry defined by sweeping curves, softened edges, and an architectural lightness that allowed the colours to read as one uninterrupted surface.

The bride’s aisle echoed the same language, designed as a gentle movement through space rather than a linear walk. But bringing this poetic idea to life on the banks of the Kosi River required a level of structural choreography that belied its effortless appearance. In the end, creating this pillar-less, fluid form by the riverbank became more than an installation; it became proof that even in a remote, wildlife-rich terrain, beauty at this scale is not accidental but carefully built, tested, refined, and revealed in harmony with nature.

In the end, Aashna and Aditya’s wedding wasn’t just a visual triumph — it was a reminder of what contemporary celebrations are slowly shifting toward: intimacy, intentionality, and experiences that feel personal rather than performative.  

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