A Destination Wedding With Gorgeous Mandap & A Bride Who Wore Ancestral Jewellery
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When we first saw Sanya's look, we were floored. She made such a pretty Maharashtrian bride in a traditional Paithani saree and jewellery. But what made her look even more prettier was how she completed it with bangles from her mother and grandmother's jewellery box! Adding to the whole beauty of the wedding was absolutely breathtaking decor byAtisuto ! Whether it was the green floral mandap at the wedding or the glam Gatsby themed Reception or even the pastel themed Mehendi, each function's decor was stunning to say the least. Just scroll down and we bet you'll be bookmarking images for inspiration from the wedding, just as we did!
Another thing that was as impressive as Sanya's outfits, was the seamless planning done by Dream Knots . For a couple based out of India, to come and have a destination wedding in one of the most popular places, Udaipur, is not an easy task. But team Dream Knots ensured that Sanya & Gandharv's wedding planning goes as smoothly as possible. In Sanya's own words, "Having felt overwhelmed more than a handful of times during this process, a planner that jumps in whenever needed is the best asset, I felt like we always had the Dream Knots team jumping in wherever and whenever needed which helped take the load off of us in so many ways."
Meet Sanya & Gandharv
Sanya tells us how the two met and fell in love, "A classic tale of fashion meets finance in New York city, Gandharv and I (Sanya) had a few college friends in common, but little did we know that a dating app algorithm would be the one connecting us. After an initial connection on the app, we decided to meet in person at the Ace Hotel in Midtown. We don’t quite know how the time flew by, but it took one drink and 3 hours of conversation to realize we had an instant connection. That evening, we both left the Ace hotel waiting for the next chance to meet. As Gandharv likes to say, “Sanya lost her way home and walked two blocks the wrong way - she was smitten first.” And of course, I fully deny this."
The Mehendi
The Sangeet
The Wedding
The Reception
From The Bride:
Third culture kids, Gandharv and I were born and raised in Asia. Having a spent over a decade in the US, when we decided to get married, a blend of our South Asian heritage and New York roots were the obvious choice. As soon as we decided to have a traditional Indian wedding, Udaipur was the first place that came to mind. Its rich history, culture and breathtaking scenery was the perfect backdrop for our winter wedding.
The two day celebration kicked off with a traditional Henna ceremony disguised as a Victorian Tea party, where speak easy style drinks were served in tea cups and pastel decor stole the show. The evening followed with dance and festivities in the form a traditional Sangeet ceremony, loved ones danced and sang the night away, creating memories to last a lifetime. The Sangeet decor was inspired by Sufi nights blending India’s royal past with Mughal inspired decor. The stage was lit with Moroccan lanterns, while pampas grass and votives lit the hotel hallways and entrances.
The morning wedding ceremony was designed to look and feel like the “Garden of Eden.” We worked closely with our decor designers to ensure all flowers were local and sustainably sourced. The aisle was decked with marigold and carnations, and soft Indian classical music played as the guests made their way to their seats. We wanted our pandit to be someone we knew, and knew us, and so we had a family friend officiating the ceremony in English to make it feel more personal, and to keep our guests engaged throughout the ceremony. We also chose to have an unplugged ceremony - where guests were requested to keep their devices away and live in the moment.
The wedding ceremony was followed by the seated reception, styled to feel like a Gatsby-esque party. Sinatra's 'New York, New York' played while guests enjoyed a live band all the way from Singapore. The heartfelt speeches from our family and friends had emotions running high. The night followed with dance and celebration, closing the two most incredible days of our lives.
Outfits:
We had a week to shop during a very quick trip to India, so I had tons of research saved and inspiration to help guide the shopping trip. Months leading up to the trip, I had pictures, designs and looks I loved to make the selection process easy. We knew had to be efficient with no time to waste, so I had made appointments with designers who's work I admired and wanted to try.
Bridal Wear:
Mehendi - For the Henna/Welcome lunch, I opted for an Anita Dongre Pastel Lehenga to go with the color palette for the event (muted with pastels and florals stealing the show). I was instantly drawn to the lehenga's light, breezy feel and knew it would work beautifully with the theme. I complimented the outfit with accessories from Outhouse, a beautiful pearl and stone encrusted necklace and bracelet that I saw on Instgram, and instantly fell in love. A stickler for details, I chose David's Bridal hair accessories to add to the look. This easily became my favorite look of the wedding!!
Shortly after I changed into a Nupur Kanoi crop top and skirt for the Haldi celebration. Wearing a deep purple outfit for a haldi ceremony was unconventional, but I loved how the colors contrasted!
For Sangeet, I again chose Anita Dongre. It was a beautiful emerald green ensemble & at first glance, I was in love. It was the perfect blend of Indian craftsmanship with a contemporary color; a look that would never go out of style. I wanted traditional jewelry to compliment the ensemble, and was referred to a family jeweler in North Delhi who only works with private clients. He brought over a range of stones, Jadao, Kundan set designs and I instantly knew together we could craft a timeless piece for my collection.
Wedding - We wanted to keep each aspect of the ceremony as authentic as possible. To keep with my Maharashtrian roots, I sourced a fully hand weaved Paithani saree from Yeola (known to be a major handloom weaving center for sarees), as a nod to the rich craftsmanship of the community and India's textile industry. I wore my great grandmother, and grand mother's bangles borrowing elements from designs and metals that distinctly set apart the Maharashtrian bride. And paired it with a gold necklace from Popley jewelers, Anita Dongre along with the traditional nose pin from PNG Gadgil.
Reception - For as long as I can remember, the Gastby era has fascinated me for both its glamour and elegance. For this event, I wanted my outfit to be regal and a look I would keep coming back to over the years. I wore a gown from Monique Lhullier's ready to wear collection. It was an incredible experience customizing the gown at ML's Upper East Side boutique. I paired the gown with diamond jewelry sourced from the iconic Lee Hwa jewelers in Singapore, and statement earrings customized by a family jeweler based in Delhi to go with the set.
We also had two other receptions after the wedding celebrations. For the wedding reception in Singapore, I wore a deep blue contemporary lehenga from Jade by Monica and Karishma. And for the Delhi reception, I wore a blush pink, sequin studded ensemble from Falguni and Shane Peacock.
Groom Wear:
For the Henna/Welcome Lunch, Gandharv wore a Rahul Mishra ensemble in mint. It was our first introduction to this designer, and we were completely blown by the beautiful embroidery work that sets apart Rahul’s designs. Without trying to match, our outfits complimented each other and played really well into the event décor.
For the Sangeet, Gandharv wore a velvet Shantanu and Nikhil sherwani for the reception. As soon as he tried it on, we knew it was an instant must have. The silhouette complimented my emerald lehenga beautifully, and he danced the night off in this comfortable yet elegant outfit.
For the Wedding, Gandharv wore an ivory Raghvendra Rathore sherwani with a blush pink safa. These soft colors off-set the contrast from my golden, red saree weave and complimented each other very well.
For the reception, Gandharv wore a Giorgio Armani tuxedo that was customized at the Upper East Side boutique. Adding in a velvet lapel instantly added a glamorous touch and worked well with the Gatsby inspired theme.
Vendor Reviews:
Planner: Team Dream Knots
They were an incredible team to work with throughout the entire planning and execution process. They heard and understood our vision at every step – and despite the cross country planning – they made the most tedious planning tasks feel easy. Having felt overwhelmed more than a handful of times during this process, a planner that jumps in whenever needed is the best asset, I felt like we always had the Dream Knots team jumping in wherever and whenever needed which helped take the load off of us in so many ways. Lastly, they were such an asset to our guests, with people coming from all around the world, DK helped manage the most complex travel plans, change of schedules, and leading up to the events made sure every guest felt comfortable and taken care of.
Venue: Hotel Fateh Garh, Udaipur
We loved every aspect of the venue from its rugged fort like architecture to minimalist design -- it truly let us transform the space for every event with unique decor, and left our guests swooning over the views.The hotel management is friendly and will go the extra mile to make you feel heard; this is a huge asset if you're planning a destination wedding. Mr. Anil Soni in particular is wonderful to work with, his guidance and co-operation helped bring our vision to fruition.
Makeup Artist: Tejas Shah Make Up
Tejas came to me as a recommendation through a friend, who simply put, said “he knows what he’s doing.” We had a quick trial during a wedding shopping trip to Mumbai, and I was quickly impressed with knowledge and skill. Tejas did my make up for all of the wedding ceremonies, and his team Christina and Reshma did my hair. He was a truly a pleasure to work with and he always went the extra mile to understand my vision while guiding me with looks that enhanced my natural features. As someone who wears minimal make up (or sometimes none), Tejas had me swooning over all my looks. We covered a range of looks from experimental to minimal, and I loved seeing a transformation for every event in the best possible way. He also did my mum, and Gandharv’s mom’s make up – I have never seen these 50-something ladies obsessing over their hair and make-up as much as they did during our wedding. I couldn’t recommend him enough!
Photography: Naman Verma Photography
Naman and his team were a dream team in every sense, they captured candid moments from the events and helped us ease into our couple shoots. Gandharv and I were extremely awkward about posing without looking like we were, so we really appreciated the guidance and patience from Naman and his team. Naman and his team flawlessly captured our friends and family in their natural element along with an emotional range of laughter and tears; every time we look at the pictures we feel like we are reliving what were the two most extraordinary days of our life!
Decor: Atistuto
I stumbled on Atisuto’s work purely by accident. I had endlessly searched and saved Pinterest and Instagram for inspiration, and had a vision for what I wanted the events to look and feel like – and there could have been no one but Sabah and her team to help bring that to life as effortlessly and beautifully as they did. Atisuto in every sense is the décor partner you don’t know you need until you meet them. They understand your vision, help enhance it, and then bring it to life in ways you can’t even imagine. Sabah has an eye for details and turning even the most complex visions into a reality. Atisuto was a breeze to work with!
Planner: Team Dream Knots
They were an incredible team to work with throughout the entire planning and execution process. They heard and understood our vision at every step – and despite the cross country planning – they made the most tedious planning tasks feel easy. Having felt overwhelmed more than a handful of times during this process, a planner that jumps in whenever needed is the best asset, I felt like we always had the Dream Knots team jumping in wherever and whenever needed which helped take the load off of us in so many ways. Lastly, they were such an asset to our guests, with people coming from all around the world, DK helped manage the most complex travel plans, change of schedules, and leading up to the events made sure every guest felt comfortable and taken care of.
Invites: Vela Stories & Tiana Stute
Vela Stories based in NYC designed our wedding invite suite. We worked with Tiana Stute, a Berlin based designer to bring to life a look and feel that was India-inspired with Western font and typography. She designed a stunning tiger crest that we used across all of our wedding collateral, and weaved in traditional designs and Indian art to keep with the theme.
Vendors: Venue: Hotel Fateh Garh, Udaipur; Makeup Artist: Tejas Shah ; Photography: Naman Verma Photography ; Decor: Atisuto ; Planner: Dream Knots ; Mehendi Artist: Farjana Pathan; Bridal Outfits: Mehendi & Sangeet - Anita Dongre , Haldi - Nupur Kanoi, Wedding - Yeola, Reception - Monique Lhullier (Udaipur Reception),Jade by Monica and Karishma (Singapore Reception), Falguni Shane Peacock (Delhi Reception); Bridal Jewellery: Mehendi - Outhouse , Wedding - Popley Jewellers, Anita Dongre, PNG Gadgil, Lee Hwa Jewellers; Groom Wear: Mehendi - Rahul Mishra , Sangeet - Shantanu Nikhil Groom wear , Wedding - raghavendra rathore , Reception - Giorgio Armani ; Invites: Vela Stories & Tiana Stute