Inside Zohran Mamdani’s Wedding To Artist Wife Rama Duwaji

From City Clerk to Lake Vic­to­ria: The Two Wed­dings of Zohran Mam­dani and Rama Duwa­ji

What began as a qui­et, inti­mate union in a New York City City Clerk’s office evolved into a mul­ti-day, globe-span­ning celebration—complete with lux­u­ry accom­mo­da­tions, spe­cial forces secu­ri­ty, and a show­case of cul­tur­al her­itage.

The wed­ding of Zohran Mam­dani, New York City’s new­ly elect­ed may­or, and Rama Duwa­ji, cel­e­brat­ed artist and Gen Z First Lady, was as much a sto­ry of love as it was a reflec­tion of mod­ern pub­lic life.

A Mod­ern Love Sto­ry Begins

Mam­dani and Duwa­ji first con­nect­ed on the dat­ing app Hinge in 2021, a meet­ing that would set the stage for both polit­i­cal and per­son­al part­ner­ship. By 2024, the cou­ple was engaged, their rela­tion­ship qui­et­ly gain­ing atten­tion as Mam­dani rose through the polit­i­cal ranks.

In Feb­ru­ary 2025, the cou­ple chose to elope, shar­ing a pri­vate cer­e­mo­ny in New York City. Pho­tog­ra­ph­er Kara McCur­dy cap­tured the moment with warmth and sim­plic­i­ty: Duwa­ji wore a knee-length lace gown, Mam­dani a kur­ta-style tunic pay­ing homage to his her­itage, and both were wrapped in cozy coats and scarves against the win­ter chill. On May 12, Mam­dani post­ed pho­tos from the elope­ment on Insta­gram, defend­ing his wife amid online com­men­tary:

“Three months ago, I mar­ried the love of my life, Rama, at the City Clerk’s office. […] Rama isn’t just my wife, she’s an incred­i­ble artist who deserves to be known on her own terms. You can cri­tique my views, but not my fam­i­ly.”

Cel­e­bra­tion Across Con­ti­nents

The pri­vate Man­hat­tan cer­e­mo­ny was only the begin­ning. In July, Mam­dani announced on X that the cou­ple would cel­e­brate with a grand mul­ti-day wed­ding in Ugan­da, respond­ing to xeno­pho­bic com­men­tary online and embrac­ing his family’s roots. From July 22, the cou­ple host­ed an extrav­a­gant gath­er­ing at his family’s pri­vate estate in Buzi­ga Hill, near Kam­pala. The two-acre prop­er­ty, co-owned by film­mak­er Mira Nair and Colum­bia pro­fes­sor Mah­mood Mam­dani, over­looks the shim­mer­ing waters of Lake Vic­to­ria.

Secu­ri­ty for the event was metic­u­lous. Masked guards manned three gates, phone-jam­ming sys­tems pre­vent­ed unwant­ed record­ing, and lux­u­ry bus­es trans­port­ed the select guest list safe­ly. Mil­i­tary-style tents, fes­tooned with col­or­ful lights, host­ed fes­tiv­i­ties that last­ed deep into the night, com­bin­ing cul­tur­al cer­e­mo­ny with mod­ern spec­ta­cle. Observers described the atmos­phere as simul­ta­ne­ous­ly grand and personal—a rare bal­ance in polit­i­cal­ly high-pro­file cel­e­bra­tions.

A Mod­est Life Amid Pub­lic Atten­tion

Despite host­ing such lav­ish events, Mam­dani and Duwa­ji main­tain a rel­a­tive­ly mod­est lifestyle in Asto­ria, Queens, resid­ing in a rent-sta­bi­lized apart­ment. Dur­ing the may­oral cam­paign, crit­ics ques­tioned how Mam­dani, as an elect­ed offi­cial, con­tin­ued to pay low rent. He clar­i­fied that the apart­ment was secured years ear­li­er while work­ing as a hous­ing coun­selor and empha­sized that it was nev­er intend­ed to be a per­ma­nent res­i­dence. With his elec­tion as may­or, the cou­ple is expect­ed to move into Gra­cie Man­sion, the offi­cial may­oral res­i­dence.

Through­out the cam­paign and wed­ding cel­e­bra­tions, Duwa­ji main­tained her pro­fes­sion­al and cre­ative pur­suits. Her illus­tra­tion work has appeared in New York Mag­a­zine, The New York­er, and oth­er promi­nent out­lets, while she also active­ly engages in human­i­tar­i­an ini­tia­tives, such as art auc­tions sup­port­ing Sudan relief. By blend­ing artistry, advo­ca­cy, and pub­lic vis­i­bil­i­ty, Duwa­ji has rede­fined what it means to be a polit­i­cal spouse in the 21st century—bringing cre­ativ­i­ty, com­pas­sion, and intel­lect to the fore­front of civic life.

From a qui­et elope­ment in Manhattan’s City Clerk’s office to an opu­lent, high­ly secured cel­e­bra­tion over­look­ing Lake Vic­to­ria, Zohran Mam­dani and Rama Duwaji’s wed­ding is a tes­ta­ment to their love, cul­tur­al her­itage, and mod­ern iden­ti­ty as pub­lic fig­ures. The two events high­light how inti­ma­cy and spec­ta­cle can coex­ist, bal­anc­ing per­son­al con­nec­tion with glob­al atten­tion, tra­di­tion with con­tem­po­rary flair.

In an era where the pri­vate lives of polit­i­cal fig­ures are intense­ly scru­ti­nized, Mam­dani and Duwaji’s wed­dings demon­strate that love, cre­ativ­i­ty, and cul­tur­al cel­e­bra­tion can thrive—even under the pub­lic gaze. It is a sto­ry of part­ner­ship, respect, and the evolv­ing nature of mar­riage in the 21st cen­tu­ry.