Karen H.: Five Days in Mauritius

Mother of: Madeleine
Vibe: Epic 5-day celebration in Mauritius, East Africa
Dresses:  Farm Rio, Almas Tejani, Johnny Was

Once, when Karen Hearn’s children were young, the family attended an Olympics-themed neighborhood party. Each family chose a country to represent and the Hearn crew picked one less than obvious: Mauritius, an island off the southeastern coast of East Africa that none of them had visited. 

Years later, in the summer of 2024, the Hearn family found themselves traveling to Mauritius for the five-day wedding extravaganza of their daughter Madeleine to Ujal. (The groom was born in London and grew up in the U.S., but his family hails from Mauritius). The bride and groom met as co-workers of a financial institution in New York.

“I think it was kismet,” Karen says. “I had always wanted to attend an Indian wedding. I never dreamed it would be my daughter’s! We learned so much about Mauritius and Hindu culture. It was an exciting and fabulous experience all around.”

For starters, the groom’s mother, Kaveeta, described all of the events and what they would need to wear. Thus began a year-long shopping spree that spanned three continents and several states—from New York, Connecticut and Texas, to England and India.

The bride, Madeleine, went to London to shop for traditional Indian dresses. Brides traditionally wear red for the Indian wedding ceremony, But Madeline chose a pink Sabyasachi lehnga. “She felt that fit her personality and the vibe she wanted for the wedding,” Karen says. 

When it came to color, Karen fully embraced eastern traditions. “I usually wear neutral colors, but the more I shopped for the Indian clothes, the more I wanted to embrace color, lots of color! I also wanted to wear as many different styles of Indian dress as I could.”

She chose a red sari for the Sangeet, which Kaveeta described as a “Bollywood dance party.” The wedding reception is more formal and elegant, so Karen wore a navy lehenga with a full skirt that “took up half a large suitcase.” For the Haldi, a pre-wedding ritual in which the bride and groom get blessed, and for the wedding ceremony itself, Karen wore traditional saris in green and blue chosen by the mother of the groom.

Kaveeta traveled to India and returned with suitcases filled with traditional clothing for Karen’s husband and sons—15 wedding outfits in all. “She made a spreadsheet to keep it all organized for us and did a fabulous job coordinating the colors for all the events.” 

Karen’s extended family and friends got in on the act as well. “They enthusiastically embraced the idea of wearing traditional dress, and I helped them through the process. My sister-in-law was much better at shopping than I was—she managed to find all of her outfits online in just a few hours.” Her best online resource: Pernia’s Pop Up Shop, which specializes in traditional Indian apparel. Meanwhile, Karen found several of her wedding looks in Houston at Almas Tejani.  She shopped other Houston area specialty shops: Silhouettes by Payal and Panache by Sharmeen.

“We all fell in love with the clothes,” Karen says. “There were endless text streams and hours of phone calls. We were navigating this experience for the first time. It brought us all closer.” 

In all, Karen wore five Indian outfits and three Western for some of the other events. Madeleine and Ujal also had a small backyard reception in Connecticut and Karen wore a dress by Johnny Was for that. 

“I never could have done all of the preparation without the help of my Indian friends and family, and the women in the Indian boutiques that I visited,” Karen says. “Everyone was so kind, patient, and helpful in taking the time to explain (and explain again and again) the significance of all of the events. 

At the Sangeet, the two moms, Karen and Kaveeta in their red saris performed the first dance—Bollywood style—and were joined midway by their husbands. “The kids got a kick out of seeing their fathers dance.” Then everyone joined the parents and danced the night away. One of many incredible moments in an unforgettable wedding week.

| Photography by Vinesh