Anirudh Pisharody and Jill V Dae first met at their college grocery store’s parking lot in November 2014, or so the former claims, as Dae has no recollection of the episode. The next time the newly – wed couple bumped into each other was at the Never Have I Ever actor’s Halloween weekend party—Dae was the only one who showed up in costume despite her now-hus – band’s invite explicitly forbidding them. As these things go, a few months later, Pisharody was mustering up the courage to ask Dae out. Getting to know each other over the dates that followed, the two bonded over their love for cinema and film-making. “To my surprise, Anirudh was enrolled in an East Asian martial arts film class that semester. I was half-impressed and half-mad that he knew more Chinese kung fu films than I did!” recalls the bride, who is a film director and producer with shows on Amazon Prime and CBS. After graduation, the college sweethearts’ bond only deepened as they navigated long distance until Pisharody finally proposed in the summer of 2019 at Hearst Castle in California with a round-cut diamond ring from Tiffany & Co.. “It was a day spent surrounded by Italian art and architecture, which we both adore,” reveals the groom. A precursor to their Roman wedding, as was their official first date at Mandola’s Italian Kitchen in Austin back in 2015.
Having visited and fallen in love with Italy the year before they got engaged, the LA-based couple already knew the wedding had to be in Rome. But the pandemic hit and the wedding had to be postponed indefinitely. Their dream nuptials finally came to fruition this summer with a magical weekend celebration in the Italian capital that married their Indian and Chinese roots with their global upbringing.
Italian touches were evident in every detail of the 200-guest celebration: the welcome bags included a mini handheld electric fan to beat the European heat, Italian chocolates and biscuits, and personalised bottles of olive oil and Italian limoncello monogrammed with the couple’s names. The intimate bridal party mixer was a private pasta- and dessert-making class at Inblack Kitchen Studio, while the sangeet took place at the historic Terrazza Caffarelli at the Capitoline Museums in the heart of the city. Keeping in mind the lauded collection of statues and paintings that find a home in the museum, as well as uninterrupted views of Rome, the couple, matching in icy blue Seema Gujral looks, arranged a special photoshoot for guests at the entrance’s grand steps.
The fairy-tale wedding the following day fittingly took place in Castello Odescalchi di Bracciano, a medieval lakeside castle that had been built in the 15th century. The event was a beautiful merger of a Chinese tea ceremony, an Indian kalyanam and a Western wedding ceremony, followed by an after-party which the couple describes as “funky”. For the Western officiation, the groom changed into head-to-toe Dior accessorised with a Cartier Tank Must watch, while the bride wore Vera Wang.
The rain gods played hide and seek all day long but graciously hit pause on the downpour during crucial moments. “The sky was overcast during the Western ceremony in the garden. As we exchanged our vows and rings, a beam of sunlight shone down on us like a warm spotlight from a parting in the clouds,” reminisces Dae. Pisharody adds, “A double rainbow appeared over Lake Bracciano just as guests entered the cocktail hour garden venue. So magical, so serendipitous.” And no doubt meant to be.
