Bhopal: Some wedding outfits are chosen for their beauty. Others carry a story that makes them impossible to replace. For Disha Saxena, one of the most meaningful pieces she wore on her wedding day was a magenta dupatta that had belonged to her husband Akshay Dhawan’s mother 36 years earlier.
The heirloom, with bottle-green borders embroidered with copper zari, became part of Saxena’s own wedding outfit and brought an important piece of Dhawan’s family history into their celebration.
A 36-year-old dupatta gets a new life
After the couple’s roka, Dhawan’s grandmother gave Saxena the dupatta that his mother had worn at her wedding 36 years ago.
Instead of keeping it safely packed away, Saxena wanted to make it part of her own wedding story.
The old fabric needed careful restoration. Ahmedabad-based Anjana Bohra strengthened it with organza and repaired damaged and discoloured sections using structural darning and reinforcement, while leaving the original embroidery intact.
The result allowed the treasured piece to retain its history while becoming part of a completely new celebration.
The bride built her outfit around the heirloom
Saxena and her friend Ramnik, a designer in Bhopal, used the original magenta and bottle-green colours as the inspiration for her lehenga and choli.
Both were made in Chanderi cotton, with local karigars creating hand-worked metal zardozi.
When Saxena wore the finished outfit to the wedding’s qawwali evening, members of Dhawan’s maternal and paternal families immediately recognised the dupatta.
For them, it was more than an accessory. It was a reminder of the woman whose presence continued to be felt through the family.
Her own family heirlooms joined the celebration
The wedding also gave Saxena an opportunity to honour the women in her own family.
On the morning of the wedding, she wore her mother’s 33-year-old Banarasi katan silk wedding sari, along with her late nani’s gold jhumkas and silver anklets that were already more than six decades old.
She also wore green glass bangles traditionally worn by women in her family after bridal mehendi.
The jewellery and clothing allowed different generations of both families to become part of her wedding day.
A wedding shaped by memories
Saxena and Dhawan met in Mumbai in July 2023 after matching on Hinge. Their first date was at Marine Drive, where they stopped at K Rustom’s for strawberry ice-cream sandwiches.
Marriage entered their conversations in 2024, and Dhawan eventually proposed at Jehan Numa Palace Hotel in Bhopal — a property Saxena had loved since childhood.
The couple married there on February 12, 2026, with just 85 guests.
They chose memories over grand rituals
The couple wanted their wedding to feel like a relaxed family gathering rather than a packed schedule of functions.
They chose not to have haldi, var nikasi, sehra bandi or vidaai, keeping only the traditions that felt meaningful to them.
Their celebration brought together Malwa, Punjabi and Telugu influences, while family members took active roles in the ceremonies.
Saxena’s sister even performed rituals traditionally assigned to a brother or male cousin.
One dupatta, two generations of memories
From her mother’s sari to her grandmother’s jewellery and her husband’s mother’s wedding dupatta, Saxena’s bridal wardrobe became a collection of family memories.
The 36-year-old dupatta, however, stood out in a particularly special way.
A piece that had once belonged to Dhawan’s mother was carefully preserved, restored and worn by the woman who was becoming part of the same family.
For Saxena, the wedding was not simply about finding something new to wear. It was about carrying something precious from the past into a new beginning.