Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas’ wedding weekend has already kicked off in India—in fact, they’ve already tied the knot, according to Saturday reports. But no, we don’t have any wedding photos yet (although you can be sure we’ll update you when we do). But the couple did jointly post a series of images on Instagram just hours after they reportedly finished their first ceremony, a Christian one in Jodhpur, Rajasthan. (The Hindu ceremony will be held tomorrow.)
The mini-gallery features a series of photos from the couple’s Mehendi ceremony, a Hindu pre-wedding ritual that takes place usually two days before the wedding. Per People this is a ceremony in which “all of the women in the bride and groom’s families, along with close friends, gather together while the bride has elaborate henna designs applied to her hands and feet. Guests will usually get a few designs on their hands as well.”
As the two wrote in their captions, “One of the most special things that our relationship has given us is a merging of families who love and respect each other’s faiths and cultures. And so planning our wedding with an amalgamation of both was so so Amazing. An important part for the girl in an Indian wedding is the Mehendi.
Once again we made it our own and it was an afternoon that kicked off the celebrations in the way we both dreamed.”
Jonas posted the same gallery and caption. (Hey, they were busy).
Stunning, no? Both Priyanka and Nick were wearing Khosla Jani by Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla, according to a statement from the company—and the brand did the stunning jewelry too. “A Mehendi calls for joyous and exuberant celebration. Priyanka’s outfit is a burst of colour. Nick’s aqua is the perfect balance. They looked like a dream together,” it read.
The same company was also apparently the brains behind the event, which was themed “The Blue City,” a reference to Jodhpur. “There’s a distinct joie de vivre and playfulness as America mingles with India too, with both a cricket and baseball match to boot,” a statement from the company read.
Surprise! It turns out Barbara Bush got married in a small, secret wedding by the seaside over the weekend. According to a report from People, the former First Daughter and her fiancé, Craig Coyne, tied the knot at the Bush summer home in Kennebunkport, Maine, in what she described as a “very short, sweet ceremony” attended by only 20 people. The guests included former President George W. Bush, former First Lady Laura Bush, former President George H.W. Bush, and other family members from the bride’s and groom’s sides.
Bush’s father walked her down the aisle, while her aunt, Dorothy Bush Koch, served as officiant, People reported. Her twin sister, Jenna Bush Hager, was matron of honor, while the roster of flower girls consisted of Hager’s daughters, Margaret and Poppy—who was also the ring bearer—and Coyne’s niece Emma. Laura Bush also did a reading.
Meanwhile, Coyne’s brother, Edward, was the best man, while his mother, Darlene, and sister, Katie, each read as well.
The bride, who wore a custom Vera Wang wedding dress, according to a press release from the bridal label, featuring ivory silk crepe, spaghetti straps, and a cowl draped neckline. Bush completed the look with an Italian tulle floor-length cape and a floor-length Italian tulle veil. She also incorporated a memento from her late grandmother, former First Lady Barbara Bush, who passed away earlier this year, as reported by People. “It’s really sweet,” Bush said. “The ‘something borrowed’ that I’m wearing is this bracelet that my grandfather gave to my grandmother on their 70th anniversary.”
According to People, the surprise nuptials are the first time Bush and Coyne have gone public with their relationship. The couple revealed that they got married after a five-week engagement, and have been an official couple since New Year’s Eve, after meeting during a blind date orchestrated by their friends last November. Bush told the magazine that Coyne proposed in Kennebunkport over the summer, in the same spot where George H.W. Bush had proposed to Barbara Bush 75 years prior.
“It’s just been a very sweet romance,” Bush told People. “And we’ve been long-distance for most of it — he’s been in L.A. and I’ve been in New York — but we’ve gotten to spend a lot of time together.”
After weeks of speculation and little more than a “thanks, man” to guide our suspicions, Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas have finally confirmed that they are, in fact, engaged. If we’re being honest, it was worth the wait because they did so by posting the most stunning photos of their roka ceremony, a pre-wedding Hindu tradition that the couple held in Mumbai.
Jonas had been spotted landing in India earlier this week with his parents. On Saturday, an Indian celebrity photographer posted several images of the couple celebrating their roka, including a few pictures of them during what appears to be a Lord Ganesha puja prayer ceremony.
One of these pictures made it to Jonas’ Instagram account, where he officially shared the news with the world: “Future Mrs. Jonas. My heart. My love,” he wrote. It appears Chopra may have wanted to wait to make their engagement public until after the prayer ceremony, which is considered auspicious when someone is starting a new chapter of their life. Jonas seems to have very sweetly obliged and honored Chopra’s traditions.
Chopra also posted the same photo with the caption, “Taken.. With all my heart and soul..” (Jonas adorably commented, “Wow congrats… He’s the luckiest guy in the world.”)
A few hours later, Chopra posted a few more shots from the ceremony, including a sweet one of she and Jonas with their parents. Her culture and family both played major roles in the celebration, and Chopra let us know as much with a caption that reads, “The only way to do this… with Family and God. Thank you all for your wishes and blessings.”
There were also a few more outtakes from the engagement celebration, including some of the couple’s family and close friends:
Considering this is the most we’ve heard directly from Chopra and Jonas in weeks, we can barely contain our excitement. Chopra had given us a glimpse of her ring and we’d stolen a few clues from their social media, but getting a glimpse into their special day is way better—and adds another exciting chapter to their whirlwind romance.
As I prepped for my nuptials, I knew I didn’t want a traditional bachelorette party, but I definitely wanted some form of celebration with my friends. I was already feeling uncomfortable with the traditional pressures of a wedding ceremony and reception and frustrated with the subtle gender roles forced on me. I felt like I had to be the one to decide wedding colors, plating choices, table dimensions, invitation fonts, and so many more details.
It quickly became clear to me that in the eyes of society (and the wedding planning industry), the bride is the dreamer and decider of all aesthetics and the groom isn’t expected to be capable of making such decisions. Instead, he gets a slap on the back and glass of whiskey while the bride frantically creates Excel spreadsheets and Pinterest boards.
“It’s the bride’s day. You only get to do this once,” people around me said, encouraging me to enjoy the frenzy. “Hopefully,” I shot back sarcastically.
I tried to take a “whatever” attitude toward these choices, but I realized every lackadaisical response I served my mother and friends caused more drama. Being a “whatever” bride doesn’t make sense to people: It sets them in a panic, wondering how it’s possible for you to not have an opinion. So I pretended to care about linen fabrics and quietly decided the bachelorette would be done on my terms.
The bachelorette parties I’ve attended have fallen into one of two categories. Either the party mourns the death of singlehood with stripper-centered entertainment, or it mourns the death of girlhood with light-hearted games and giggling whenever anyone says the word “penis.” Neither choice was enticing or applicable to me.
At the time of my engagement, I’d been living with my partner and our dog for six years, so the death of a “single” lifestyle had already happened. I think it may have quietly passed in the middle of the night when I accidentally farted and he didn’t stop big-spooning me, or perhaps it happened once we started asking each other twice a day, “Did the dog poop?”
To create positive pre-wedding vibes, I realized there was only one event that could give me what I wanted: a cleansing ceremony. Specifically, a d*ck-cleansing ceremony.
And as for my “girlhood,” as far as that’s code for “virginity,” that too had dissolved well before I hit my thirties, and I had zero regrets about that. Even the tradition of wearing white for your wedding gave me pause, even though I planned to go along with it: As a mature thirty-something woman, why should I wear a color associated with virginal purity? Cultural norms may praise the virgin and throw shade on promiscuity, but I refused to have a bachelorette party that did too.
My bachelorette, I decided, would be a celebration of my transition into marriage, and there would be no mourning of past lives. In order to celebrate my future, though, I still felt I needed to honor my past. After all, each past lover helped me grow into the partner prepping for a healthy and loving marriage, so gratitude to former relationships was a must. To create these positive pre-wedding vibes, I realized there was only one event that could give me what I wanted: a cleansing ceremony. Specifically, a dick-cleansing ceremony.
In terms of technical flow, I wasn’t entirely sure what a dick-cleansing ceremony would entail. I’m not particularly spiritual, but I grew up in a Latinx household that frequently burned sage to clear or recover from mal ojo, or negative energy. I figured if I came with pure intentions, I could sketch this out.
I decided I needed my ceremony to provide two things:
1. Blessings to my new phase of marital sexual freedom.
Did getting married mean I was destined to watch Big Bang Theory, purchase socks for my husband to wear under his sandals, and succumb to sexual monotony? Nah. But it did represent a new phase for me and my husband, one marked, I hoped, by hot sex. In my dick-cleansing ceremony, I wanted my best friends to send me happy future coitus wishes.
2. Cleansing of any leftover vibes from my past lovers.
I’m grateful for everything I learned from them. Past lovers have taught me to be more considerate, generous, and vulnerable, but I wanted any residual juju left on me by them to disappear. As Drake says in “Nice For What,” “You ain’t stressin’ off no lover in the past tense. You already had them.” It was time for me to channel past experiences into marriage.
The last step was to educate my bachelorette party attendees and get their buy-in. I explained the purpose of my dick-cleansing ceremony to the group and prepared them to direct positive energy with me. In an uncharacteristically Bridezilla-like moment, I also set a dress code of sorts, demanding they wear something that made them feel powerful.
As for the script, I suggested that on the day of the ceremony we just improvise and see what happened. My friends were intrigued, but also skeptical about how we could possibly cleanse 14 years of sexual activity in one go. I reminded them that there was no wrong way to do this since I was literally making it all up: I just needed them to come ready with positive energy, which everyone confirmed they were fully capable of bringing.
My bachelorette party was held over a weekend in Palm Springs, filled with desert vibes and lots of snacks. Saturday night was the scheduled dick-cleansing ceremony, and my girlfriends came dressed in their most powerful looks: Envision seven women dressed as a mix of Stevie Nicks, Rihanna, and Lily Tomlin. We were off to a strong start.
We gathered around a table and placed three large penis-shaped candles in the center. These candles represented my sexual past and would be burned accordingly. My friend Lisa then asserted herself as the lead bruja and explained that once the candles were lit, the ceremony would begin, and once they were out, the ceremony would end. As Lisa lit the candles, we all became strangely solemn — then, to my surprise, each girlfriend brought out a contribution to the ceremony.
To cleanse the space of negative vibes, Stassi lit a sage smudge stick and placed it in the center of our circle. She also brought rose quartz crystals, which are said to open your heart chakra and allow more love to enter your life. Katie brought a framed painting of a Día de los Muertos husband and wife with the inscription “Until death separates us” in Spanish, which she placed in the center of our circle, alongside the penis candles. She and her husband had received it as a wedding gift the previous year, and she hoped it would bring my marriage good luck.
PHOTO: Courtesy of Nicole Dellert
Brittany brought handmade cards with images of Dolly Parton, Erykah Badu, vaginas, wombs, and entwined lovers printed on the front; she scattered them face-up on the table and told us to channel these images into our ceremony. Finally, Scheana brought the holy sacrament of tequila for ceremonial shots. The vibes were officially set.
Instinctually, we all held hands to form a circle and took a breath, and Stassi suggested we each share a happy wish for my new marital sex life. As each friend took their turn, I felt like Sleeping Beauty when the fairies gave her wishes of beauty and song, except my fairies were my closest girlfriends giving me blessings of a strong libido and sexual adventure. Close enough.
I felt like Sleeping Beauty, except my fairies were my closest girlfriends giving me blessings of a strong libido.
When the last wish had been shared, we were all still holding hands, and it felt electric. Maybe it was the tequila or all the snacks we had eaten, but I felt powerful. We sat in a solemn circle, smiling in silence, and as the shadows of the dick candles lit the face of each one of my friends, I was filled with gratitude for all of them. Not only were they humoring my request to hold a ridiculous and totally made-up dick-cleansing ceremony, they came willing to play, and that moved me.
Then, at the perfect moment, Lisa leaned over and blew out the dick candles. The ceremony was officially over. We sat looking at each other until I broke the spell by announcing, “I just felt my hymen grow back.”
It hadn’t, nor did I want it to, but I did feel refreshed, grateful, and eager to embrace my next phase of life. For me, a bachelorette filled with penis straws and strippers wasn’t going to provide that. My DIY ceremony did. Bachelorette parties can be beautiful occasions that recharge brides for the pre-wedding sprint and center them in what’s important. Mine reminded me that love and gratitude is the center and driver of life transitions, not seating charts or invitation card stock. Whatever way you do it, taking a breath to enjoy the lessons you have learned and the unconditional love of your friends is a proper send-off to married life — whether or not that breath also blows out a dick candle.
For anonymity, all names have been replaced with the names of the cast of Vanderpump Rules.
More about dating and relationships:
Now, find out what dating as a little person is really like:
