Hiren Joshi – Casey Espinosa Wedding

HOUSTON: Both are huge Houston sports fans and they mostly followed each other on Twitter. One evening 5 years ago, they both were at a Houston Rockets game and Casey messaged Hiren and he suggested they meet up. There was instant chemistry and they decided to meet the following week at Discovery Green, a park close to the Toyota Center. They walked around, ordered food and sat down to talk and before they knew it 5 hours had flown by and a security guard let them know that the park was closed for the night! In those 5 hours it was realized just how much they had in common. They shared respect for their parents, love for their families and dedication to their friends.

Fast forward to July 2017, and Hiren told Casey that he had a special date night planned for them that weekend. He asked her was to dress nicely for dinner and to pack an overnight bag to stay the night somewhere. Casey suspected he was going to pop the question at dinner, but they ended up at the Marriott Marquis. From their window, below they could see Toyota Center where they first met and Discovery Green where they had their first date. When Casey turned around, Hiren was on one knee asking her to be his wife! The next day, their parents met them at the hotel and they confirmed their engagement in a traditional Hindu ceremony.

A year later, on July 22, Hiren Joshi and Casey Espinosa were married at the Azalea Ballroom at The Westin Houston, Memorial City first in a Hindu wedding with the baraat arriving at 8:30 am, the ceremony at 10am conducted in Sanskrit by Pandit Niten Shukla and translated in English by his son Vishwesh and followed by a Gujarati thali lunch. The Catholic wedding was held later that evening at 5:30pm. Cocktails and a reception followed afterwards. The wedding planner was Therese Cole-Hubbs of Electric Karma International. Almost 60 members of the Joshi family who all live in the US attended the wedding.

Hiren Joshi, 29, was born in India but came to the US when he was a year old. He graduated with a bachelor’s in media and Communications from the University of Houston and has worked for the past five years as the Digital and Social Manager for the Houston Rockets. He father Rakesh Joshi has been in the granite business for many years and his mother Shoba is the host of the popular 25-year-old Gitanjali radio show. Hiren also has also had his own hour-long segment on Gitanjali for the past seven years.

Casey Espinosa, 27, is a native Houstonian who graduated with a degree in Political Science from St. Thomas University and spends most of her time volunteering with special needs children. She is the daughter of Richard and Merrilee Espinosa. Following Hindu customs, Casey has also taken on the name Nandika, which she herself chose. The couple will make their home in Houston.