Vivek Nandha and Monica Nayyar's wedding was truly one of the wonders of the modern world.
At the culmination of three days of wedding festivities in Egypt, they became one of just three couples to have exclusive access to the entire Great Pyramids of Giza plateau to celebrate their wedding reception at the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
Their wedding began with a registry ceremony at Marylebone Town Hall in London in June 2025, when investment banker Vivek, 32, and dentist Monica, 31, exchanged personal vows in front of 40 friends and family before an outdoor reception at the Taj St James' Court hotel.
Further celebrations followed at their family homes in Wolverhampton and Nottingham, where their extended families were introduced to each other. "Last year was quite unforgettable," Monica says.
Celebrating and incorporating their backgrounds was crucial to the couple. "We wanted our looks to reflect our British upbringing and Indian heritage whilst alsoblending in with Egyptian culture," the groom says.
The couple looked to designers from London, Cairo and Delhi, with Vivek sourcing suits from Savile Row and Monica choosing the designer Dolly J for every event in Egypt.
© NAMAN VERMA"Every single gemstone and jewellery was sourced and handmade by my father, a fifth-generation jeweller,” Vivek says.
Then, to Egypt, where the couple had spent a year and a half putting plans in place for three days of celebrations. It began with a traditional Indian Haldi ceremony at the Sofitel Cairo Nile El Gezirah, on the banks of the River Nile, led by Vivek and Monica's family priest from London and attended by 100 of their closest family and friends from around the world.
"It was relaxed, intimate and exactly how we wanted to start the celebrations," recalls Vivek of the day, which began with the haldi, a traditional ritual whereby turmeric paste is applied to the bride and groom to bless the couple and to offer them spiritual purification and good luck.
That evening, the mehndi, a Hindu tradition, took place; henna (mehndi) was applied to Monica's hands and feet to symbolise health, prosperity and love. The event was followed by a private dinner with family and friends, including live music and entertainment.
© NAMAN VERMADay two unfolded at the Dahab Island Palace, a pink palace on a private island on the Nile owned by a family friend, Prince Naguib, a descendant of Egypt's former royal family. "He’s a family friend, so the palace was somewhere we had always thought about. Once we saw it, we knew it would be perfect," Vivek says.
After reaching the island by boat, 180 guests were led by Egyptian drummers from the pier to the palace gardens, where Vivek and Monica were married beneath a floral mandap – an altar used for marriage ceremonies – draped in soft pink hues.
"The wedding dinner took place in the palace courtyard with thousands of fairy lights draped around us," Monica says. "We ended the night dancing in the palace gardens under the stars."
Unique nuptials
Their celebrations – and months of planning – concluded in an unforgettable party amid the Great Pyramids of Giza, outside Cairo. The couple had to navigate strict government requirements and site-preservation regulations in order to ensure that the entire Pyramids plateau could be closed to the public for their celebration.
"There was no blueprint," says Vivek, who collaborated closely with the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities to realise their dream. The couple flew to Cairo four times before the ceremony to work with planners, architects and government officials, designing a purpose-built venue in sand and clay tones that blended into the desert landscape.
"We wanted to respect the setting and make sure the colours and materials felt natural and in harmony with the desert," Vivek says."We also wanted the Pyramids and the Sphinx to feel like part of the celebration, not simply a backdrop, so we placed a huge emphasis on bespoke lighting that illuminated the monuments after dark.
"For ten consecutive nights, once the plateau closed at 6pm, our team worked until 5am to create a purpose-built venue on the desert sand, including stages, kitchens, lighting and full infrastructure, before dismantling it over the two nights following the celebration."
It paid off, and the couple were able to savour the incredible setting in a pre-dinner photo session. "To have the Pyramids to ourselves was so incredible. It is usually such a chaotic site, but for once it was so peaceful, and for a moment it was just the two of us taking it all in," Vivek says. "The silence was just so surreal. It was one of those moments that puts everything into perspective. You are standing in front of the Pyramids with the person you love."
Later, with the site quiet and illuminated against the night sky, "we felt profoundly humbled”, Vivek says, recalling the moment when their guests entered, many "visibly moved" by their surroundings.
Dinner, which was served at the foot of the Sphinx, was the work of chefs from India and Egypt, who collaborated on a menu featuring a refined blend of more than 40 Indian, Egyptian and British dishes. Among the couple’s favourites were black truffle and Kashmiri dum aloo; wild morel and saffron shikampuri with pistachio; and fig, rose and green cardamom Umm Ali with clotted cream.
First, dancers took to the stage, before What a Wonderful World played as biodegradable lanterns drifted into the desert sky. "Against the pitch-black night, with only the glowing pyramids and Sphinx in the distance, the moment felt majestic and deeply emotional," Vivek recalls.
Magical evening
The dancing continued until 4am. “We danced until the early morning, and the night honestly flew by. By the time the coaches arrived to take the guests back, it felt like we had only just started," he says.
© NAMAN VERMAIn the following days, guests were treated to entertainment as well as private tours of cultural landmarks such as the Grand Egyptian Museum.
The setting held a special significance for Vivek, who had previously worked in Cairo with the United Nations. "It deepened our connection to the country and made the celebration feel even more meaningful," he says of the event, in which Vivek and Monica became the first British and Indian couple to celebrate at the pyramids.
"We love travelling and experiencing new cultures, and it was one of the areas we felt very connected to. Being able to celebrate in a country with such a rich and ancient history made it feel incredibly special."
London-based Vivek is a keen traveller who has explored more than 130 countries – when he speaks to hello!, he's just arrived back from a trek to see mountain gorillas in Rwanda.
Both were born and raised in the Midlands (Vivek in Nottingham, Monica in Wolverhampton) before they met in London in 2015, when Vivek was studying at the London School of Economics and Monica at the dental school at King’s College London Dental Institute.
It wasn't until the end of 2019 that romance blossomed, as the pair discovered shared values and ambitions, as well as a love of travel and culture. "We started talking, started dating – it just felt so natural," Vivek says. They grew closer during the Covid-19 pandemic. "We got to know each other really well, because we talked endlessly,” he adds.
In February 2024, Vivek proposed after secretly carrying a ring in his backpack on a two-week trek through Nepal to Everest Base Camp.
At the end of the trek, the couple chartered a helicopter back down to Kathmandu and they then flew to the Samode Palace in Jaipur, India. With the help of a friend, Maharana Lakshyaraj Singh Mewar of Udaipur, it was there that Vivek proposed, going down on one knee on the palace rooftop as fireworks lit up the sky.
The couple settled on Bora Bora for a three-week honeymoon to enjoy "a well-earned pause after such an unforgettable few days". There, they swam with whales in the wild in the South Pacific Ocean. The wonders never cease, however, with plans already afoot to mark their five-year anniversary at the Great Wall of China.
Next steps
When they are not travelling, the couple return to their apartment in one of London’s landmark hotels.
© NAMAN VERMANow, Vivek and Monica are focusing on philanthropy. "We've had our celebration – we want to give back as much as possible,” Vivek says. “A significant proportion of the money that was spent at the wedding was allocated to the preservation of the Pyramids. We felt a real responsibility to make sure that our celebration also gave something back to the place that made it so special. We made sure that much of it was reinvested into preserving it for future generations.”
"We would do it all again in a heartbeat," he adds. "It was iconic, emotional and spiritually grounding – everything we dreamed of and more."
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