The Wedding Story of Matts & Maria

On October 10, 2020 , Matts and Maria exchanged wedding vows at our church - St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Church, Boston. The nuptial mass was officiated by Tony Achan, with families and friends in physical and virtual attendance.

Every wedding has a story behind it.

This is the story of Matts and Maria.

It was not Cupid but Chavara Matrimony and a relocation which brought this couple together! The groom had to move all the way from Texas to Boston to find his bride. It was in May 2019, when Matts and Maria had met for the first time. The attraction was almost instant - Within a month’s time, they realized that they were a good fit and decided to take the plunge :-) With blessings from their parents, a year long courtship commenced revealing the striking similarities of their personas, and was dotted with sweet moments.

Halfway through their courtship, the world around them was heading into the epic 2020 downward spiral aka Covid-19 pandemic. That however, did not deter them from making plans to get married back home. Their minds were set on a June wedding. Back home, their families were getting ready with the wedding preparation in full swing. Meanwhile, Matts and Maria had to get the required documentation from their local parish. They paid a visit to Tony Achan sometime in late May, who playfully remarked that they should stay back and get married in our parish. Who knew! With travel bans and quarantines enforced in Kerala, Achan’s words turned golden when the couple went back to him a few months after, to do just that! Matts and Maria still remember the cheeky grin on Achan’s face when they requested him to officiate their wedding.

It was a shift in gears! From a June wedding in Kerala to an October wedding in Boston. There were so many things to take care of, and the pair had to do it single handedly. Of course, everything was planned and reviewed with both the families. Whether it was a trip to New York to pick the wedding Thali chain or getting the bridal trousseau flown in from Kerala, their parents and siblings coordinated with them every step of the way. Getting married during a pandemic year came with constraints, but Matts and Maria were still able to celebrate age-old rituals with a twist. The Madhuram Veppu in an Airbnb rental was a memorable celebration.

The wedding day prayers and ritual of giving Sthuthi to their parents and grandparents via Zoom was a sentimental reminder of all the love and blessings they were showered with from afar. The wedding was small and intimate, with a lovely tent reception on the church grounds. Their close friends and relatives in Boston were in physical attendance, while family members from Kerala attended the live stream.

When Matts and Maria look back on their wedding day, they are happy about how it came to be. Of course, they missed their parents, siblings and grandparents immensely. However, at the same time their wedding stayed true to how they are - simple and quiet; In Matts’ words “no bells and whistles”. That being said, their wedding day had a little dose of drama as well. Someone (He/She who must not be named) kept someone waiting for 15 mins! So the learning of life long patience was off to a ceremonious start already :-)

The couple also remembers a wedding guest who had remarked on one of the scenes that caught his eye. The bride appeared to be giving a look at the groom which literally said “ Man! You need some fine tuning! Good that we have a whole lifetime to sort you out”. Folks, this is not hearsay, this moment has been captured on video! Of course, the bride vehemently claims that this was simply not the case!

All in all, their wedding was a beautiful and elegant ceremony. As they embark on this new chapter, we wish Matts and Maria, a lifetime of blessings, love and happiness!