{"id":15251,"date":"2026-06-09T09:12:19","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T08:12:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/khushwedding.com\/inspiration\/?p=15251"},"modified":"2026-06-09T11:09:32","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T10:09:32","slug":"these-grooms-reimagined-conventional-wedding-rules-with-a-mangalsutra-bracelet-a-female-priest-inclusive-rituals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/khushwedding.com\/inspiration\/2026\/06\/09\/these-grooms-reimagined-conventional-wedding-rules-with-a-mangalsutra-bracelet-a-female-priest-inclusive-rituals\/","title":{"rendered":"These Grooms Reimagined Conventional Wedding Rules With A Mangalsutra Bracelet, A Female Priest & Inclusive Rituals"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Sanjay<\/strong> and Harry Gasiorski-Dhrona<\/strong>\u2019s wedding is the story the world needs to read. Not because it was perfect, though it was close. Not because it was opulent, though it was that too. But because two men who grew up navigating the complex intersection of queerness, British-Polish background and South Asian identity stood beneath a mandap<\/mark><\/a> on the banks of the River Thames, surrounded by 300 people from every corner of the world, and completed every single ritual that tradition had once innately told them was not for them. The Mandhvo, the pithi, the pheras, all of it in all its glory, with a female Hindu priest, with Gharchola saris, Nike Air Max 95s, and with a poem that left not one dry eye in the house. Sanjay and Harry\u2019s three-day celebration in September 2025 was not just a wedding, but the culmination of years spent navigating identity, acceptance and the courage to live authentically. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Rain Check That Changed Everything<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sanjay Dhrona was born and raised in London and built a career in event production before moving into hospitality. Harry, born in Yorkshire, is a leading people professional currently working at the Church of England. They met online, though their first date almost never happened. \u201cWe had a first date planned, but Harry was really hungover, so he asked for a rain check,\u201d Sanjay recalls. The only available date before Sanjay\u2019s upcoming trip was Valentine’s Day 2019. That rain check turned into a first date at The Groucho Club in Soho. \u201cWe knew within six minutes that this was something special, so we fell into a relationship almost instantly.\u201d Seven years later, they share a surname, a home and a wedding that resonated far beyond those in attendance. The proposal returned to the exact spot where it all began. \u201cSanjay got me there under the false pretence of a meeting about his 40th birthday. The pianist, Rod, played the Schitt\u2019s Creek<\/em> version of Simply the Best, and Sanjay presented me with a bespoke ring from Bucherer: five carats of sapphire in a myriad of blues, matched to the colours in my eyes.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Planning: An Event Producer Meets His Greatest Brief<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They got engaged on 8 September 2023, giving themselves exactly two years for planning. But before the venues and vendors was their journey to the altar. Nearly a decade earlier, both men had navigated the often complex experience of coming out, a process that shaped not only their relationship with themselves but also with their families and communities. \u201cComing out can be hard, especially within the South Asian community. It was tough, but the end result was that our family became tighter and closer than ever,\u201d says Sanjay. What followed over the years was a gradual journey towards acceptance, visibility and living authentically. \u201cOur honesty, openness, and willingness to stand up for ourselves has meant so much to many others who are scared,\u201d adds Harry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Standing on the cusp of marriage, surrounded by families who had embraced them wholeheartedly, felt especially meaningful because it represented just how far they had come. Planning the wedding, however, was the easy part. Given Sanjay’s background in event production, the structure came naturally. \u201cHarry jokes that Sanjay had the wedding planned before he even met him; it was just a matter of finding his groom.\u201d Harry became, in effect, the client: Sanjay built the frameworks, produced the options, curated the shortlists, and Harry made the final calls. \u201cWe wanted both, intimate and a big fat wedding, and we did it,\u201d adds Harry. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Civil Ceremony & The Happiest Meal<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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