Wedding Testimonials
“We are incredibly grateful to Raja for walking us through the rites of our wedding ceremony. Raja began holding a spiritually grounded space for us even in the planning phases. They encouraged us to ask questions of our families that would help us to create a ritual that was mutually meaningful. The ceremony Raja officiated with our blended QTPOC+ Gujarati+ Kannada community was expansive. Raja grounded deeply into the specific regional rituals of each of our families and seemed to find queerness at the roots. Several community elders shared afterwards that they experienced a profound spiritual opening as a result of the ceremony that Raja officiated. We felt held and seen by Raja in a way that we just could not imagine with anyone else.”
-Ami and Aakash
Photo: Yasmin Khajavi, https://ykvision.com/
“It was so incredible to have Raja officiate our interfaith wedding. From the beginning, we knew we wanted someone who would be queer-affirming and eager to blend the traditional Hindu wedding ceremony with the traditional Christian ceremony. Raja was so wonderful to work with, and they dove head-first into the planning process with our Christian officiants. They spent countless hours working with us as a couple, our Christian officiants, and our Indian parents to ensure that our family’s specific Hindu traditions were captured in the ceremony. Raja was excellent at explaining the different elements of the ceremony, so we knew our ceremony aligned with our vision and values. Also, our guests who were unfamiliar with Hindu weddings could understand and appreciate what was going on. It was incredibly moving and heartwarming to have Raja (an expert on the Hindu religion) affirm our same-sex, interfaith marriage.”
- Rahi & Glenn
Photo: Kate Alison https://www.katealisonphoto.com
“Raja was such a pleasure to work with from beginning to end. Raja was very responsive throughout the entire process of planning the wedding and answered our questions/concerns immediately and clearly. We were so confident in their ability to perform our Hindu wedding ceremony. Raja exceeded our expectations and made the experience so comfortable and easy. They are so reliable and a joy to be around. Raja is very experienced and knowledgeable when it comes to officiating Hindu ceremonies. We wouldn’t have wanted it any other way and we are so happy we chose Raja for our special day.”
- Sonia and Natasha
“Raja officiated my sister’s wedding and they were amazing to work with! They took time to Skype with our family, go through the details of the wedding, and make sure that everyone was on the same page for each part of the ritual. Dr. Bhattar was particularly thoughtful when incorporating traditional elements of the Hindu wedding ceremony, while also considering ways to expand the scope of the Sanskrit rituals to include queer couples. As a scholar of Hindu studies, I marveled at how patient, professional, and extremely eloquent Raja was while planning and conducting the ceremony.”
- Dr. Harshita Kamath
“Amal and I could not be more pleased that Raja was able to officiate our ceremony. From the time we started planning our wedding, we knew we wanted our officiant to be someone who could customise the traditional Hindu wedding ceremony for us and conduct the rituals with ease. We knew our parents differed in their opinions about how long and detailed the ceremony would need to be. We ourselves perceive religion and traditions differently but we were all united in wanting something that suited us and our guests. To complicate matters, our wedding took place in the midst of the pandemic at very short notice.
Raja went above and beyond in planning a ceremony that was meaningful to all of us, even taking the trouble to explain the significance of each step to us and our guests, in context of the ancient origins of customs. They were able to incorporate elements of my husband’s (Malayali) and my (Odia) cultures to the rituals. They were extremely easy to communicate with and discuss our unique circumstances with, and we felt very much at ease since our first consultation meeting. They helped us design our custom itinerary card explaining Hindu wedding customs that we wanted for our guests. They were immensely flexible throughout the planning process and on the day of the wedding.
We could not have asked for a better ceremony. Our guests thoroughly enjoyed it and were fascinated by being part of the spiritual space Raja created for the duration of the rituals. Thank you for making our day memorable.”
Dr. Diksha Mohanti
“Raja was a pleasure to work with combining aspects of Buddhism into our Hindu ceremony seamlessly. They have a commanding presence and was able to keep the crowd engaged for a two hour ceremony! Many people commented after about how elevated they felt. Raja was able to call in the ancestors and the divine, holding space in a beautiful way that left me feeling sacred and special. Exactly what I wanted for my wedding day!”
- Dr. Neelam P.
Photo: Jay Davis
Raja is a beautiful person inside and out. As a same-sex, feminist, interracial and interfaith couple, it was extremely important to us to find someone who truly understood us and our cultures. We were referred to Pandit Raja through the Sadhana Spiritual Council, a website we found online during our search for a Pandit to officiate our same-sex Hindu and secular wedding ceremonies. We met via Zoom about a year and half before our wedding. Immediately, we felt at peace with Raja. They are kind, charismatic, and wise beyond their years. They have such a warm presence, and their knowledge about Hindu traditions, empathy regarding complicated family dynamics, and passion about developing thoughtful ceremonies left us in tears of joy and relief. They followed up with an email with detailed elements of an Inclusive Same-sex Hindu Wedding Ceremony, as well as a comprehensive list of Puja Material that would be required. Over the next several months, they made sure to stay in touch. We met a few more times via Zoom, once with our wedding planner and once with both of our parents in attendance to walk through the ceremonies together.
We had planned for an outdoor wedding, but an unexpected snowstorm that arrived a few days before had other plans for us. Raja was extremely patient, understanding, and easy going. They facilitated a rehearsal ceremony the night before. On the day of, when our timeline between the two ceremonies needed to be slightly adjusted, they improvised a Q&A with our guests about the Hindu ceremony elements they had just witnessed. While we weren’t there to witness it, we had several people tell us later that it was a highlight of the event. One South Asian childhood friend of Sonia’s said that while they had attended countless Hindu ceremonies, this was the first time anyone had taken the time to explain some of the symbolism to them. Her cousins shared similar remarks and said they would love to have Raja officiate their own weddings in the future.
Raja was an absolute joy to work with, and we would recommend their services without hesitation. We’re writing this on our one-year anniversary, and when we reflect on all the memories of that day, Raja’s involvement remains one of the best decisions we made. We wish we could have spent more time with them! Since the wedding, we have remained connected on social media and consider them a life-long friend.
Sarah & Sonia Sullivan-Aery
November 2022 - Nevada City, CA
Raja is the best human to work with to plan the progressive Hindu ceremony of your dreams! As an interfaith couple, finding the right person to do our traditional Tamil-Hindu ceremony was one of the most important things to us when planning our wedding, and we are so lucky to have been able to work with Raja. As a first-generation Indian-American, I’ve never met a spiritual leader who affirms my own ideas and philosophy when it comes to spirituality until meeting Raja while planning my wedding, and it was an incredibly meaningful experience for me. They believe deeply in making the core values of hinduism accessible and sustainable to bring with us into our marriage and our lives and that shows in the work that they do with wedding ceremonies.
From our first zoom call, Raja was incredibly affirming and understanding; helping us navigate balancing honoring familial expectations while having a ceremony that was authentic to the two of us and our values.
Raja helped us craft our ceremony with intention, with attention to detail, and accommodation of any regional or specific traditions, and also helped us with navigating conversations regarding making modifications to the ceremony to better reflect us. They were extremely educational with my partner’s family, to which all of this was new and unfamiliar territory, and helped them feel comfortable participating in the ceremony. On the wedding day so many of our guests commented on how amazing Raja was in explaining every single step in the ceremony and helping the audience feel included and engaged. Even folks who have attended many Hindu weddings or had a Hindu wedding themselves told us that it was so meaningful to gain a deeper understanding of the rituals and reasoning behind them. Their explanations of all of the traditions were beautiful and helped us feel present and engaged in our ceremony. We had a wedding day that went beyond our wildest expectations and it wouldn’t have been possible without Raja! Highly recommend working with them for your wedding!
~ Shreya & Nitsan
Dear Raja,
It has been two weeks since our beautiful ceremony in Santa Barbara and we wanted to take a moment to thank you once again! During the last two weeks (on our honeymoon) there were many moments when we thought back to the wedding in gratefulness! It was perfect to us!
Hopefully our ways will cross again.
Kindly,
Mark & Alex
A progressive Hindu wedding ceremony was so important to me as a mixed Bengali and I was hoping to find a pandit who could listen not only to our needs as the couple to be married, but also my very eager (wedding obsessed) dad. Raja is a gift! When we met with them, they immediately put my dad at ease and created a beautiful ceremony that reflected us. Thank you Raja!!!
~ Sita Bhaumik
Photo: Andria Lo, www.andrialo.com
As we planned our secular wedding, we wanted an officiant who could help us create a ceremony that honored tradition while communicating our values of openness and inclusion. Our friend Raja guided us thoughtfully through the process. They met with us in the months ahead of the wedding and asked questions that made us think about the commitment we were making, and the meaning behind the words we’d say. Raja led the ceremony with charm and grace. We couldn’t have asked for more.
- Calla and John
Photo: Nato Tuke
Dear Raja,
We wanted to extend a huge thank you for our wedding in June. We had multiple guests reach out after the wedding to express how special our ceremony was, and how they specifically appreciated your craft of stepping through the Hindu rituals in a clear and approachable manner.
~ Bharathi & Mark
We were honored to have one of our dearest friends, Raja, be a part of the day Arun and I committed our love to each other. Raja was non judgmental and very open to creating a ceremony that really fit our beliefs while respecting our diverse cultures. We could not have asked for a more perfect ceremony, nor a better officiant. Thank you Raja for giving us such an amazing gift!
- Jill Gopal
Raja made the experience seamless as we were blending a Christian and Hindu wedding ceremony. It felt truly unique and authentic. Thank you for making the day magical.
- Dr. Arun Gopal
It was a true gift to find and work with Raja for our wedding! I grew up in a mixed-race, interfaith (Hindu/Catholic) family and am a student of feminism, and my partner grew up in a Catholic family deeply connected to the natural world. For much of our relationship it was hard for us to envision a marriage ceremony that would align with our values and priorities while also making our parents feel like their desires and traditions were being respected. As soon as we met Raja and heard about their philosophy and approach to this work, we knew we were in good hands. Raja helped us get in touch with our own desires and then delicately balanced interweaving those with the wishes and hopes of our parents. Raja conducted the ceremony in a way that was accessible to all of our guests, no matter their background. We felt truly present and delighted in Raja’s ability to blend ancient traditions with an understanding of our values and desires for community and equal partnership. We heard from our parents and many elders and peers that witnessing and participating in the ceremony was a cosmic experience.
- Anita & John
We don't think we can adequately express how grateful we are, but thank you so much for how meaningful and memorable you made our wedding day.
Countless people told us that day and the following days how moving the wedding ceremony was because of you; several people even said it was one of the most moving wedding ceremonies they've been to.
Beyond that day, thank you so much for your time and care in the months leading up to our wedding. You always made us feel better and more secure about the ceremony, especially your flexibility and willingness to incorporate elements that were important to us and our families. You were also so wonderful with both of our moms and made them feel included and heard. We will be forever grateful!
With love,
~ Achala and Preetha
When my husband and I began to plan our wedding, we knew we wanted both of our cultures and families to be represented and honored in our ceremony. We also knew that we wanted to work with a progressive pandit who shared our values, but who could also satisfy the desire of my husband’s family to uphold certain traditions. Finding Raja was a blessing! Raja not only spent many hours over the course of a year planning our ceremony carefully with us, our families, and my cousin, our Jewish officiant, they also gave us context for all elements of the ceremony that we would be performing on our special day. This gave the experience so much meaning, and helped us to feel connected to our cultural heritages. Before every meeting, our run-through, and at the start of the ceremony, Raja lead everyone present in a communal breath to center ourselves and help everyone focus on the present moment. This was so beautiful, and allowed us to be present for not only the event, but the process of planning leading up to it. Our friends and families were engaged and moved by the ceremony, and even our most traditional family members raved about the beauty of the fusion ceremony. We are forever grateful that we had Raja as our guide into this next phase of our lives.
With all our love and gratitude,
Hannah & Prav
Raja was thoughtful, respectful, and professional throughout the planning process and the ceremony itself. I appreciated that we planned some aspects specifically, but for others we left Raja with a general direction and they did a great job of respecting and intuiting our values and preferences.
- Ben (Groom)
Early on in the wedding planning process, I took to Reddit to find an officiant who would work with interracial couples to come up with a ceremony that felt true to us. Also, we wanted to avoid a wedding ceremony where no one knows what is going on, the couple simply does what the priest says and the guests watch, a bit confused. The search brought me to Raja and we were lucky their dates aligned with ours. From the very first conversation, Ben and I felt understood by Raja. Raja patiently listened to what we hoped for rather than imposing their thoughts on what a ceremony should look like. They gave us homework to solicit ideas from our respective parents, also giving them a chance to feel heard.
The ceremony was beautiful! Raja incorporated and honored our requests wonderfully. They explained each part of the customs so everyone in the audience could follow along. From our place in the altar, we could feel how engaged and captivated our friends and family were by what Raja was saying. In fact, after the ceremony, we had many from the Nepali side come up to me and share that they finally understood what happens in a Hindu ceremony. That's no easy feat!
I highly recommend working with Raja and am happy to talk to anyone considering doing so!
- Richa (Bride)
Raja officiated our Jewish-Hindu fusion wedding, and they were absolutely incredible. Leading up to the wedding, they were so thoughtful and supportive in helping us to construct a ceremony that fused both Hindu and Jewish traditions along with our rabbi. They were incredibly kind and responsive, and put us at ease throughout the entire process. During the wedding, they conducted each element in a beautiful, accessible manner, explaining each part in a really meaningful way - we heard from multiple guests from different backgrounds about how much they loved Raja's officiation. We can't say enough good things about Raja!
Malini & Eli
We feel so fortunate to have found Dr. Raja Bhattar to officiate our Indian-American fusion wedding ceremony. We were looking for a progressive Panditji who would be aligned with our values and conduct the ceremony in a way that would be accessible for our diverse audience. After reading about Dr. Bhattar’s philosophy and hearing about their process during our first Zoom call, we knew we had found our Panditji. Raja explained the many, many beautiful traditions of a typical Hindu wedding and encouraged us to reflect on which ones would be meaningful to us and our families. They pushed us to look into specific regional traditions that our families would value - to make sure everyone felt included and respected. They effortlessly mixed in American wedding elements that we wanted to include (personal vows and ring exchange), creating a cohesive, harmonious 1-hour ceremony.
During the rehearsal, Raja asked us to close our eyes and breathe deeply for a minute. They carved out a peaceful space for us to be present as they walked us through the ceremony. This was enormously calming amidst the hustle and stress of the day. My husband’s American family were nervous about pronouncing Sanskrit lines - Raja explained everything patiently and kindly, and put them at ease. They worked seamlessly with our other vendors - with our planner and florist to set up a beautiful mandap area and with our live musicians to co-ordinate music. During the actual ceremony, Raja did a fantastic job of leading a deeply spiritual, moving ceremony. They transformed our redwood grove into a sacred space. They explained every tradition, its roots, meaning and significance succinctly in English. They even got the audience to participate in parts of the ceremony, made them laugh, and held their attention throughout. Many of our guests mentioned to us later that they had been to Indian weddings before, but never understood the ceremony - this was the first time they learned the history and meaning of these beautiful, ancient rituals, and could truly appreciate them. We are so grateful to Raja for an absolutely special ceremony that went beyond our expectations! We thoroughly enjoyed working with Dr. Bhattar and whole-heartedly recommend hiring them.
- Arya & Eric
Thank you for everything Raja. I’m so grateful that you put together an equitable and accessible ceremony for us that still matched very closely with my family’s traditions. It’s something very very few people could do and we feel extremely blessed to have connected with you.
Many guests came to me during the wedding reception to provide glowing, unsolicited, positive feedback about the wedding service that you provided. They really appreciated your explanations, which made the ceremony meaningful. Thank you for conducting a memorable and authentic ceremony.
Much love
Ed and Megha
