They say you should always take a chance when it comes to finding love. Deepa Sheth, 41, a radiologist specialising in oncology, met marking manager Caleb Maki, also 41, on Bumble. “We would have never crossed paths if it wasn’t for the app. He works from home, while I work at a hospital. Our worlds were just very, very different,” shares Deepa when we chat over a video call six months after their wedding.
Their first meeting was a gelato date along the Chicago riverwalk, which lasted five hours and ended with chai. The relationship felt like something they wanted to continue and nurture from the get-go. A year later, the couple got engaged on the cliffs of Positano overlooking the Amalfi coast, and soon after got married in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. The wedding celebrations were spread across three days, with a mix of Hindu and Christian rituals.
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Deepa and Caleb met on a dating app
The bride walked down the aisle with the Pacific Ocean in the backdrop
WhatsApp kept the feelings afloat
Caleb: After we had met a few times, Deepa was flying to Korea for work, while I was in Texas. I wanted to continue getting to know her, so she made me download WhatsApp so we could be in touch while she was away. I’m not a social media person, so I didn’t know about WhatsApp at the time. She was the one to hook me onto it.
Deepa: He’s not a texter at all, but we ended up texting the entire duration of my flight to Korea. And this was someone whom I had only met three times.
A proposal in Positano
Caleb: Deepa had been to Italy a couple of times and told me how beautiful it was, while I had always wanted to visit. We were taking a two-week-long trip, and I thought it was the perfect opportunity to propose on the Amalfi coast in Positano. I also roped in her cousin, who flew down from the UK to surprise her.
Deepa: I did have an intuition that he was going to propose. The biggest clue was Caleb trying to find a safe in every hotel we went to (we covered four destinations on the trip). He wanted to make sure our ‘valuables’ were safe.
Caleb: It was a hectic two weeks of hiding the ring. We went hiking a day before I was planning to propose, and Deepa came back with a headache because of the heat. I went back and forth with her cousin on whether to propose or not. The hotel manager was also involved. It almost felt an episode of The White Lotus!
Deepa: One can never really prepare how to feel when the actual moment comes. However, when he proposed, it was a burst of emotions—anxiety, excitement, and a bit of nervousness. We had looked at rings before and I had dropped a few hints about what I would like, but I didn’t know what he finally got until I opened the little box. It was perfect—a five and a half carat (to represent his birthday, 5/5) oval-cut diamond with a halo. It means so much more than an engagement ring; my mom passed away five years ago, so he bought it on what would have been her birthday and proposed on Mother’s Day to honour her.
The couple got engaged on their trip to Positano, Amalfi Coast
A 007-themed reception
Deepa: I was never the kind of person who always envisioned what my wedding would look like, nor did I think I would be planning it without my mom. We knew it had to be intimate, and family was the priority. Our main aim was to remember her through the little moments and make it a true celebration of love. We had just 35 guests.
Caleb: Cabo ended up being the perfect destination—we had been there on vacation and just loved the dry heat, the ocean, and that it’s just a four-hour flight away from Chicago. We saw 15 hotels across three trips and we knew we had found our spot when we visited the Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos Pedregal. It overlooks the Pacific Ocean and was just spectacular. It moved pretty fast paced after that—just about a year and a half after I had proposed.
Deepa: A fusion wedding is what both of us had in mind. We had to do a garba since I’m Gujarati, so we combined that with a mehendi. I told Caleb he had to do a Bollywood dance, of course. We also held a Christian ceremony to celebrate his culture and followed it up with a Hindu ceremony and a reception.
Caleb: I always said that if we ever had a really formal reception I would want to dress like James Bond and also give her the chance to wear a really beautiful gown. We’ve seen every single James Bond movie, and we’re big fans. If anyone asks, it’s Sean Connery at number one, followed by Daniel Craig. Dressing to the nines at the Waldorf just felt right.
Deepa: He wore the exact same suit as [Daniel Craig] in Spectre—the white tuxedo—and we walked in to ‘Skyfall’ [by Adele].
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For the event, the bride wore Mishru while the groom wore Charles Tyrwhitt
The couple walked into their reception to ‘Skyfall’ by Adele
When the bride turned Masterchef
Deepa: Our hotel assigned us a decorator and a planner, with whom we were communicating via WhatsApp and Teams calls over a period of four months. We had shown them the inspiration of the mirrored mandap, the kind of florals we wanted. The mirrored mandap was something we saw on Pinterest and was quite trendy at the time. However, the biggest hurdle was that they hadn’t done an Indian wedding before.
Caleb: The final moodboard they showed us was nothing like how we wanted it to be. It looked like something out of a construction site, and we ended up firing them just two weeks before the wedding.
Deepa: About 11 days before the wedding, our photographer ended up recommending Prashe Shah, the wedding planner. She pulled off everything in such a short span, and it was dreamier than we had ever imagined. I’m convinced my mom sent her down for us.
Caleb: The other challenge we faced was with the food. The Waldorf had never really hosted an Indian wedding in Cabo, and the chefs had never tasted Indian food. We were bringing food from Chicago so that he could get a feel of what it should be like.
Deepa: We brought packets of Gits gulab jamun, dosa, dhokla, achar and even papad just so he could taste what it should be like. For the wedding, my dad brought an entire suitcase full of masalas and ingredients for the chef, things he has never heard of. Eventually, we ended up with the most amazing food, especially the sweets—gajar ka halwa, falooda, kulfi, mango lassi, all made from scratch. The chef really outdid himself.
Outfits that tied everything together
Deepa: I went to India to look around, wanting a Seema Gujral lehenga. I ended up picking a white lehenga, celebrating both cultures. For the Christian ceremony, I wore a salmon-blush Rianta’s lehenga and went for a colourful number for the sangeet night. We were waking up at 4.30 in the morning, doing WhatsApp calls with the tailors, and Caleb was doing measurements on video so that they got it right.
Caleb: I love dressing up and enjoyed the wedding shopping. I really liked the elegance of the outfits; less is always more with Indian clothing.
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The couple celebrating their union with family and close friends
For the Christian ceremony, Deepa wore a Rianta’s lehenga with a flowing veil
For the Hindu ceremony, she chose a Seema Gujral lehenga with jewellery from The House of Rambhajos
For the sangeet, Deepa wore a Ghazal Gupta number while Caleb opted for a Tarun Tahiliani ensemble
Forever moments
Deepa: For me, it was the sangeet night. Seeing our entire family come together from across the world just to celebrate with us was truly special. I knew it wasn’t easy for everyone to make it. Having our loved ones around felt like such a privilege.
Caleb: As Deepa walked down the aisle, the violinist played ‘I Get to Love You’ by Ruelle, and that moment was everything for me. Seeing her as a bride for the first time (we did not do a first look), with the sound of waves, gave me a feeling that this is where I’m meant to be. Everything in my life has culminated in this day. I remember tearing up, something I’ve never experienced before.
