Puja & Kunal are getting hitched!
Wedding Party
Sonia Yeolekar
Bridesmaid
Sonia is a software engineer, cat mom, and natural artist. She is Puja's oldest friend -- these two have known and loved each other for almost 25 years! Their quarter-century of friendship began when Sonia spoke only Marathi and Puja spoke only Bengali. Despite the language barrier, these two managed to form a lifelong bond that is now (mostly) based in English. As if their many years of history weren't enough, Sonia and Puja co-created a secret language as kids, the meaning of which is highly classified and only known to them. While separately, Sonia and Puja are hardworking and studious professionals, together, they are nothing of the sort -- debauchery, gibberish, and inside jokes flow freely when these two Mojojojos are together. On the wedding day, you'll find this duo requesting "Bole Chudiya" from the DJ or cry-laughing underneath a table because of a very bad tiger.
Alex Voelker
Bridesmaid
Alex is Puja's sister-in-law and preferred fashion advice giver. She's also a teacher, a dog mom, an athlete, and an award-winning banana bread chef (according to Puja)! True to her big sister title, Alex has had Puja's back long before she married Puja's brother; she was a teacher during Puja's senior year of high school and chaperoned Puja's senior prom! Nowadays, Alex and Puja spend their time traveling, eating great dinners, making fun of Rahul, browsing Anthropologie, and playing with their dogs together. As if being a great sister isn't enough, Alex is Murphy's favorite babysitter and Puja's go-to gal for honest advice, delicious soup (Alex -- I want more of that soup!!), and cool braided hairstyles. On the wedding day, you'll find these two sisters anywhere there's champagne!
Raima Saha
Bridesmaid
Raima is Puja's cousin, and is the youngest (and cutest) member of the bridal party! In addition to being a dog lover, an A student, and a talented musician, Raima is also Puja's arch nemesis in all things competitive. Not a single holiday season goes by without these two sisters getting overly passionate about a board game. In spite of their infamous rivalry (NEVER play Jenga with these two or you'll get hurt), Raima and Puja are thick as thieves and bond over music, books, a mutual love of Harry Potter, and destroying each other at GamePigeon games. On the wedding day, you'll likely find Raima and Puja executing a food heist to sneak some chicken home for the Saha family's dogs!
Meg Yerrapothu
Bridesmaid
Meg is a diehard Swiftie, a dog mom extraordinaire, and Puja's funniest friend (an actual stand-up comic!). Among other things, one of Meg's superpowers is being able to communicate with Puja telepathically. Her ability to turn any situation into a good story to tell has created at least a thousand inside jokes and many stories that begin with "This one time, we were at Guthrie's." No matter the situation, Meg always brightens a room with her laughter, warmth, and empathy. She has cheered Puja up in the hardest times and made her laugh even when it seemed impossible. Follow the sound of hysterical, wheezing laughter and you'll find Meg and Puja cackling over something that's not funny to anyone else!
Ishita Datta
Bridesmaid
Ishita is Puja's cousin and fellow foodie. She is also a software engineer, fashionista, and globetrotter! From Paris to Vietnam, Ishita's done (and eaten) it all. When they were little, Ishita and Puja spent all their time together giggling and getting into mild trouble -- frequently by hiding in the "basement" of their grandma's house in Kolkata (under her bed, making jokes about bodily functions). As adults, these two sisters still spend all their time giggling -- just at Kolkata's stylish restaurants instead of under Didu's bed. On the wedding day, you'll find these two glued to the dance floor or exchanging funny secrets in the corner of the room. Either way, follow the sound of laughter, and you'll find them!
Ripa Katwala
Bridesmaid
Ripa is Kunal's big sister, and the newest addition to Puja's sisterhood of impressive women! She's a career woman, a mom, and an excellent home chef who is solely responsible for Puja's addiction to Tex-Mex style black bean soup. These two sisters are always giggling about something, frequently because they're teasing Kunal. Aside from her sense of humor, there are many great things about Ripa; the best one is that she's always there for her family, especially Puja and Kunal. She offers great advice, a listening ear, and a shoulder to rest on after one too many glasses of wine. On the wedding day, you'll find these two sisters on the hunt for a cocktail and getting guests on their feet to dance the night away!
Viral Katwala
Groomsman
Viral is Kunal’s brother-in-law. Kunal has known Viral for as long as he can remember. Back in the day, Viral would come over to spend time with Ripa but (much to Ripa's surprise) would end up spending hours playing with Kunal, entertaining him and making him laugh. It’s possible that Kunal was more excited to spend his Friday night with Viral than Ripa was! It's safe to say that Viral has always been the big brother Kunal wanted. Besides being the Shah/Katwala family's go-to for dad jokes, strong opinions on cars, and good advice, Viral is a fantastic father to his sons, Shaan and Rayaan, and Murphy's favorite person to throw toys at. At the wedding, you’ll find these two eating everything with lots of cilantro on top. Viral loves cilantro, it's his favorite!
Rahul Saha
Groomsman
Rahul is Puja’s older brother and Kunal’s newest addition to the brotherhood of great guys. Rahul is a grill master, dog dad, outdoorsman, and one of Murphy’s favorite humans. Over the years, these two brothers formed a friendship over a shared interest in home improvement, fast cars, and single malt whiskey. As a passionate corporate salesperson, Rahul takes great pride in his ability to assess value -- and his ability to spend an entire Cubs game lecturing Kunal on value, the value of value, and the value of being able to assess value. Aside from his fun-loving personality, Rahul has been a huge pillar of support for Puja and Kunal and is always there to lend a helping hand, loving guidance, and a great smoked pork butt. At the wedding, you'll find Rahul and Kunal dancing to Daler Mehendi, making guests laugh by the bar, and (after enough single malt) quantifying the value of a spoon.
Hristo Ganev
Groomsman
Hristo is one of Kunal's oldest friends. Their friendship began over shared shenanigans in the sixth grade, and today, these two are more brothers than friends; Hristo even helped Kunal propose to Puja! The hallmark of their friendship is their ability to read each other's minds at just a glance -- all it takes is a quick exchange, and these two are bursting out laughing over something no one else has noticed! Today, their shared goofy sense of humor, mutual love of cars, and a long history of yapping late into the night binds them together as best friends. On the wedding day, you'll likely find them watching for cool cars driving by on Michigan Avenue, drinks in hand.
Hussam Chaudhry
Groomsman
Hussam and Kunal have been friends since college, when a broken 50-inch TV brought them together in the dorms of UIC. Since then, Hussam has remained a bundle of energy who always manages to convince Kunal to participate in some sort of scheme, usually video game related. Whether it's shouting at each other over live Fortnight games or spending spring breaks together doing shenanigans in Miami, these two are always up to something entertaining. On the wedding day, you'll find Hussam pointing out non-existent stains on his friends' shirts, just so he can flick their noses. This time, Kunal won't be falling for it!
Nahian Saed
Groomsman
Nahian is Kunal's former college roommate and current close friend. In college, these two drove around the UIC campus in Nahian's minivan (the "Dank Tank") and handed out free Doritos to their fellow students. True to their roots as the friend group's jokers, these two are always riling each other up to pull off pranks and antics. Through their years at college and beyond, Kunal and Nahian have traveled together, been foodies together, drank boba together, and played big roles in each other's weddings. There's no telling what these two will be up to during the wedding weekend, but one thing is for sure -- Nahian will be guarding Kunal's shoes from Puja's friends with his life!
Danish Mohammed
Groomsman
Danish is Kunal's former college roommate, and current close friend. They found friendship through good food, movies, and a shared interest in FIFA. In fact, Kunal took great pride in making Danish eat weird foods as punishment for losing at FIFA; how their friendship survived this arrangement is a mystery! Still, Danish and Kunal remained close, even when Danish moved across the world midway through college. They even managed to coordinate a trip for Danish back to Chicago to surprise the rest of their friends. On the wedding day, you'll find Kunal and Danish rallying their friends for a night of dancing, or hovering near the appetizers.