As a couple, their adventures continued, including after Thanksgiving in 2020 when they went on a two-month cross country road trip from Washington to California, and back to Washington.
“I don’t think I could ever have imagined my introverted self being stuck in a car with anyone for eight hours a day,” she said.
In May 2022, he proposed in their apartment in Brooklyn. Ms. Malothra, who is from Washington D.C., is a strategic finance manager at Instacart. Mr. Dornbrand-Lo, is from Berkeley, Calif. He is a vice president at Goldman Sachs.
The couple were legally married in the Marriage License Bureau in Washington on Valentine’s Day in honor of Mr. Dornbrand-Lo’s parents, Dr. Laurie Dornbrand and Dr. Bernard Lo, who got married on the same date, 36 years ago. The couple self-officiated, which is allowed by District of Columbia law, and had no witnesses.
They also had a Sikh ceremony on Feb. 17 at the National Sikh Gurdwara in Washington with 25 guests. In Sikh culture, it is common for grooms to carry a sword on the wedding day, a tradition Mr. Dornbrand-Lo was ecstatic to adopt.
“I held on to that sword all day — at the hotel getting ready in the morning, at the restaurant getting a coffee,” Mr. Dornbrand-Lo, who is Chinese and Jewish, said gleefully.
On Feb. 25, the couple had a reception at the JW Marriott Essex House New York with 96 guests.
“We’re having a barat with Chinese lion dancers doing a dance to ‘Jai Ho,’ and a hora,” Ms. Malothra said. “We’re combining Indian, Chinese and Jewish traditions in the most fun ways.”