Months before the pandemic caused the phrase “micro-wedding” to trend, Becca and Chirag planned an ultra-romantic, intimate wedding day with just 12 guests in attendance. The couple started the day getting ready at their Capitol Hill row home, and then headed to the Jefferson Memorial to exchange vows, and later the Tabard Inn for a multi-course meal, Champagne, and cake. To personalize the day even more, the bride donned a floral-print, tea-length gown (swoon!) and shoes in her favorite color (red!) and the couple’s family members played major roles in the ceremony. See more from their wedding below.
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How They Met
Rebecca, from Odessa, Texas, and Chirag, from Lakewood, Ohio, were introduced in 2008 by close friends when Chirag moved to DC from Ohio. They weren’t really interested in dating at first, they say, but after hanging out as a group regularly–going to concerts, cookouts, etc.–eventually the pair’s friendship grew to be more.
At first, Becca says, she thought Chirag was good-looking, but didn’t quite get his sense of humor. “Now,” she says, “he makes me laugh all the time!” Likewise, Chirag says he thought Becca was quiet and quirky early on. “She is no longer quiet, but still quirky, and that makes my day, every day.”
For their first date, they ate spicy pizza at Matchbox on Barracks Row and took a night-time walk around the FDR Memorial. Eventually, Chirag popped the question in an infinity pool overlooking the ocean at sunset as the two vacationed in Maui.
The Big (Intimate) Day
The pair were engaged for eight months before marrying last September in an intimate ceremony on the West Lawn of the Jefferson Memorial, followed by reception at the Tabard Inn with just 12 guests.
Becca, says the couple’s photographer, is ”an American history connoisseur and an archivist at Mount Vernon,” and the couple’s wedding day was a “reflection of everything that encompasses who they are as individuals and a couple—low key and rich with history.”
On the morning the of the big day, Becca and Chirag got ready at their Capitol Hill row home, where they shared a Champagne toast with their families before heading to the Jefferson Memorial for the ceremony. One top priority of the day: including their family. As such, the groom’s mother painted henna on all of the women at a Mehndi party the evening before the wedding, and his sister sang a song at the ceremony, where the bride’s brother-in-law officiated, the bride’s sister read a poem.
“There were a lot of happy tears,” says Lori from KPC & Co. “and at one point, the father of the groom, who flew in from India, and the bride’s father, were both teary-eyed and embraced in a hug.”
After taking portraits at the Jefferson and Lincoln memorials, and couple and their guests celebrated the nuptials with a private, candlelit, four-course dinner and reception at Tabard Inn, where the couple wore Indian wedding garlands and the groom’s father presented the bride with a mangala sutra necklace, “which takes the place of a wedding ring in Indian traditions.”
Following dinner, the couple and their guests enjoyed slices of almond cake with raspberry jam and Chambord buttercream from Buttercream Bakeshop. Favors included chocolate-covered Oreos with DC-themed designs from the Capital Candy Jar.That evening, the couple stayed at the Tabard Inn before jetting off on a European honeymoon, in which the couple says they ate and drank their way through France and Italy.
The Attire
For the ceremony, Becca chose a tea-length wedding dress adorned with pink and red embroidered flowers, accessorized with a bold pair of Bandolino pumps in her favorite shade (red!), and a pink rose necklace featuring the couple’s initials.
She carried a small bouquet of roses wrapped with ribbons and beads her mother provided. As another special touch, she also wore a necklace her father gave to her mother when they were dating, and her diamond earrings were borrowed from her mother-in-law. She borrowed red shoes and jewelry from more family members. “I definitely had the ‘something borrowed’ well covered!” Becca says.
Chirag complemented the bride’s look with a blue suit (that matched Becca’s sapphire engagement ring), a red tie, and a special pair of cufflinks that featured the U.S. Presidential Seal, “a nod to Chirag’s six years at the White House serving as the director of space policy for the Obama administration.”
The Details
Photographer: KPC and Co. Photography | Venue: Jefferson Memorial | Florist: Blue Iris Flowers (Eastern Market) | Catering: Tabard Inn | Cake: Buttercream Bakeshop | Hairstylist: Drybar (Penn Quarter) | Bride’s Attire: Chi Chi London, Modcloth (dress); Bandolino (shoes) | Groom’s Attire: Charles Tyrwhitt | Wedding Favors: Capital Candy Jar | Rings: Brilliant Earth (bride); Jewelry by Johan (groom)
Amy leads Washingtonian Weddings and writes Style Setters for Washingtonian. Prior to joining Washingtonian in March 2016, she was the editor of Capitol File magazine in DC and before that, editor of What’s Up? Weddings in Annapolis.
