Summary List Placement
Arielle Fodor saw her future husband Aarun on a dating app multiple times before she finally swiped right — even though she thought he was cute right away.
You likely recognize Arielle, 29, from TikTok, where she makes humorous videos about her life as an elementary school teacher.
She told Insider she downloaded Bumble in 2018 after a friend who met her spouse on the app encouraged her to try it.
“I actually thought that Aarun was a bot,” she said. “Every time I would sign up, he would be the profile in the background of the overlay of the sign up. So I was like, ‘Oh, this person is not real.'”
But eventually, they matched, and Arielle knew their connection was special by their first date — which lasted over four hours.
Aarun proposed to Arielle in August of 2020.
He popped the question in front of their family and friends on a beach in Santa Barbara.
The couple set their wedding date for June 26, 2021, and they knew right away that they would have a Western and an Indian wedding ceremony.
“He has a lot of experience of blended fusion weddings, and he’s seen them done a lot of different ways,” Arielle said of Aarun.
The couple considered having two entirely separate weddings, but they ultimately decided to just do an Indian and Western ceremony back to back, fusing their two cultures together.
Arielle needed two outfits for her wedding celebrations because of the dual ceremonies.
For her Indian ceremony, Arielle planned to wear a lehenga, which is the traditional two-piece look brides wear to their weddings in India. Her future mother-in-law and sister-in-law offered to help her find the look.
Arielle wanted to wear a white gown for the Western ceremony and her reception.
She told Insider she was open-minded as she started shopping for her Western wedding dress.
Arielle liked the idea of a bohemian or glamorous gown, but she thought she would probably end up in something more delicate.
She didn’t want to spend more than $2,000 on her Western gown.
Arielle fell in love with a Louvienne gown.
The dress was similar to a Watters gown Arielle had seen online when she was daydreaming about wedding gowns, long before she even met Aarun.
When she saw the Louvienne dress at Lovely Bride, she knew she wanted to try it on first.
It ended up being the perfect gown for her.
She felt like the dress looked like her.
The bodice of the A-line gown was covered in applique flowers, which contrasted with the deep cut of the neckline. The flowers flowed onto the full, tulle skirt.
“I liked that it had sparkle and flowers, but I think what really sold me on it was just the layers of fabric were so light and so fluffy,” Arielle said of the gown.
Arielle also liked the straps on the side of the gown.
The small detail was one of the dozens of features that made the gown perfect for her.
“It was an A-line, but it felt like a princess dress,” Arielle said.
The dress cost $1,800, so it came in under Arielle’s budget.
She paid an additional $600 for alterations from A Stitch in Time Bridal to shorten the hem and sleeves, as well as bring the neckline together a bit.
Arielle paired her Western gown with a veil.
She knew she wanted photos with a veil, so Arielle searched for a floor-length veil.
She ended up getting one from Amazon that cost just $13.
Arielle decided to stick to tradition with her lehenga.
Bridal lehengas are traditionally red, though modern brides wear lehengas in a myriad of colors for their weddings.
But Arielle decided to stick with tradition, wearing a red outfit from Frontier Heritage.
The fabric was embroidered with intricate gold detailing.
“When I was in my Indian dress, I really felt like a princess,” she said.
She said she felt even more royal in the lehenga than she did in her Western gown.
The lehenga cost $1,200.
Arielle paired the look with a pink-and-gold headpiece.
She told Insider she liked the contrast it offered with the rest of the outfit.
They used White Label Valet for the wedding.
Arielle contrasted the high-end lehenga with affordable accessories.
The jewelry she paired with the look was from Amazon, just like her veil.
Love Aum Henna Creation did Arielle’s henna for the wedding celebration.
She got her shoes from Amazon, too.
Arielle wore Badgley Mischka heels from Poshmark to her Western ceremony, but she found the shoes for her Indian ceremony on Amazon.
Arielle told Insider she was surprised by how at ease she felt in both of her wedding looks.
“I felt beautiful, but I also felt really comfortable,” she said. “I didn’t feel like there was anything I couldn’t do.”
She also changed into a pair of bridal Converse for the reception so she was even more comfortable.
GirlMeetsBongga did the bride’s hair and makeup.
Arielle and Aarun did a first look in their Indian attire.
“He was really excited to see me,” Arielle said of Aarun’s reaction.
“He was like, ‘Wow, you look amazing,'” she said. “He was really sweet and supportive.”
Arielle also told Insider they were happy to see each other because their mornings had been stressful as they tried to figure out the logistics of the day. The problems melted away when they saw each other.
“Everything was fine once we were together,” she said.
Nicole Nordstrom Film and Photo documented the moment.
The couple had their Indian ceremony first.
The couple were overjoyed to celebrate their marriage.
“Honestly, from the moment I saw Aarun, I was like, ‘I can breathe,'” Arielle said of how she felt during the ceremony.
They were both emotional during the Western ceremony.
Arielle cried as she walked down the aisle, as she showed in a TikTok with clips of the wedding.
Aarun, wearing J.Crew, didn’t see Arielle’s gown until the wedding itself.
Arielle said he could see her personality shine through in the dress.
Cotton Love Studios filmed the nuptials.
Their ceremonies took place in the same space.
They tied the knot at Valentine DTLA in Los Angeles, California.
Janna of Orange Blossom Special Events coordinated the celebration, and The Little Branch made the florals.
Arielle and Aarun embraced a relaxed, party-style vibe for their reception.
“We had a really good time,” Arielle said of the reception, which featured custom drinks named after the couple’s dogs.
Fundamental LA provided the catering, and Peony + Plum created custom signs for the nuptials, including the signage for the dog-inspired cocktails. RedShoe LA provided DJ services for the evening.
“I really wanted our guests to have a wonderful experience,” Arielle said of her approach to the reception. “The people who were there literally carried me through our relationship when I was having a lot of anxiety or when I was feeling overwhelmed with anything.”
“We have such a good community around us,” she added. “We had friends who are truly like family, so I wanted them to feel loved on that day as a thank you from us to them for loving us so well.”
Arielle said her favorite moment of the day was when she got to dance with Aarun.
“At the end of the night, everyone was danced out. All of our guests are in the dining room, eating and chatting and drinking,” she said.
“But Aarun and I were still out on the dance floor, and we were the only ones and we were dancing in front of them where we got married,” she said.
“We were just talking like, ‘Did you have a good day?’ And he was like, ‘I did, it was great, we’re married,'” she said. “We had that quiet moment together.”
The couple’s videographer captured a video of the moment, which you can see on TikTok.
Arielle advised brides to stay true to themselves as they shop for wedding looks.
“Make sure that you are trying things on thinking about what feels good to you, because when it comes to the day of your wedding, you might not be thinking about other people as much as you are when you’re trying your dress on and trying to please others,” she said.
“What’s going to be really important is feeling good and feeling like yourself and feeling beautiful on your day,” she went on to say.
“After your wedding, you’re going to want to look back on it thinking, ‘Wow, I felt good,’ rather than thinking, ‘I wasn’t as comfortable as I could’ve been,'” she added.
“I feel very much like I have a partner,” Arielle said of her relationship with Aarun.
“I love that I have not only a safe place in my relationship, but a very calm place,” she said.
“Things happen and life is ups and downs, but it’s really meaningful and special to me that I have that partner,” she said. “And I know that he feels the same way about me and that makes me really happy.”
She said their first dance song captured how they feel about their relationship.
“Our first dance song was ‘Walk Across the Water’ by The Black Keys, and it just couldn’t be a more perfect analogy for how we feel about our relationship,” Arielle said.
“Me and you together for the longest ride/ From here to eternity/ Feels just like a dream to me,” the lyrics read.
You can see more of Nordstrom’s work here.