By Amy & Srinu Regeti — The Regeti’s | South Asian Wedded Life (SAWL)
Every October, Our Family Returns to the Heart of It All
For us, Halloween isn’t about the costumes or candy. It’s about coming home.
Every year, we pack up the kids and head to my mom’s house — lovingly known as “Nanny” to the grandkids. There’s a big pot of stew simmering on the stove, cornbread in the oven, hot apple cider steaming on the counter, and Halloween cupcakes cooling on the rack.
After dinner, we let the kids run wild through the neighborhood — an hour of trick-or-treating before the evening winds down in a pile of candy, laughter, and sleepy smiles.
It’s simple. But it’s ours.
The Halloween That Built My Heart
Growing up, Halloween was huge in our home. My parents didn’t just celebrate it — they turned it into a neighborhood event.
Our garage transformed into a two-car carnival: streamers, hay bales, music, food — and nearly the entire elementary school in attendance, teachers and staff included.
My sister and I were three years apart but shared the same birthday — October 1st — so every Halloween became a double celebration of fall, birthdays, and belonging.
Mom was always the witch, Dad the scarecrow — lanky, funny, and full of love. We bobbed for apples, cracked open a piñata (yes, even though we were a German-American family, nothing was off-limits), and laughed until the night ended.
Looking back now, writing this out feels like something out of a storybook.
When Life Changed — and the Heart Stayed the Same
After my parents divorced, everything changed — except my mom’s heart.
Gone were the big garage parties and long guest lists, but in their place came something equally special: camping trips with our extended family, Halloween weekends at Round Top Campground in Pennsylvania, and trick-or-treating under the stars.
The scenery shifted, but the soul stayed. Food, family, and fun — the three constants that always made us feel whole.
Why It All Feels So Familiar Now
Marrying into the South Asian Indian culture felt poetic to me.
Because in so many ways, it mirrored the world I already knew — one where everything revolves around family, food, and love.
There’s something sacred about gathering — whether around a pot of stew in Virginia or a plate of biryani in Hyderabad.
The languages might differ, the flavors might change, but the feeling is the same.
As America moves toward a culture that prizes individuality and hustle over home and heart, I think it’s why Srinu and I are so drawn to photographing what we do.
It’s our way of documenting proof that this still exists — the quiet, messy, beautiful moments of togetherness.
Why We Photograph the Way We Do
When we pick up a camera, we aren’t just taking pictures.
We’re translating belonging.
Every hand held, every shared laugh, every sideways glance across a dinner table — that’s what we’re drawn to. Because those moments remind us that no matter how modern or multicultural our lives become, the heartbeat of it all will always be the same: connection.
A Final Thought
At a wedding we photographed last weekend, a dear friend of the couple said something that struck me deeply:
“In a world that expects you to conform, it’s important that we do not — and that we remain true to ourselves.”
That’s exactly what my parents taught us every Halloween.
That joy, love, and family don’t have to look a certain way to be beautiful — they just have to be real.
And maybe that’s why, decades later, we still gather at Nanny’s with stew and cupcakes.
Because no matter how much life changes, some traditions are meant to stay — not for nostalgia’s sake, but because they remind us who we are.
www.SAWL.life – To join the tribe!
Our Reflection:
Every family has its rituals — little anchors that bring us back to what matters.
For ours, it’s Halloween.
For yours, it might be Sunday dinners or Diwali nights or storytelling over chai.
Whatever it is — protect it. Celebrate it.
Because those moments, when seen through love, become the legacy you’ll one day pass down.
🍁 We love helping our couples and their families preserve their stories — not just in words, but in images that live on for generations.
📸 Book a family or legacy session with The Regeti’s
💛 Because family isn’t just who you love — it’s where you return.
![Every time my mother-in-law (Amma) visits, our home feels like it expands — stretching between two continents, two ways of living, and two generations of love.
There’s laughter, there’s learning, and yes… sometimes a little friction too. But when she leaves, the silence feels bigger than the space she filled.
This time, as she boards her flight back to India, I realized something I hadn’t before — how much her presence has shaped my rhythm as a mother, wife, and daughter-in-law.
The chai doesn’t won't taste the same without her.
Read the full story — “When My Mother-in-Law Returns to India: The Quiet Between Two Worlds” — now on the blog.
🫶🏽 [Links in BIO]
📍South Asian Wedded Life (visit - www.SAWL.life) by with The Regeti’s
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