An Eco-Friendly Forest Wedding With A Baraat That Came On Bicycles

Eco-friendly wedding in the middle of a forest? It sounds like an absolute dream. Sustainable yet absolutely stunning, Mitika & Ridhesh's celebration in the middle of Gir Forest was goals! A 100 people destination wedding, the couple made sure that their guests had an experience of a lifetime while maintaining all sustainable standards. Planned and executed by the expert tema of To The Aisle★ 5 and shot by Snapped Studio★ 4.9 , this extremely beautiful and offbeat wedding took our heart. Scroll down, pin the images and don't forget to check out Mitika as well as the planners' expert inputs for this wedding. 

Meet Mitika & Ridhesh 

We met while volunteering for a young professionals community in Mumbai - The Global Shapers Community. We met over dinner to discuss a project but got chatting into midnight over our love for travel, animals and food. Later that week, he got her to meet his beautiful cat - Rumi, and thereafter we were inseparable.

The Cocktail

The Wedding

The Reception 

From The Bride: 

Wedding Date: 16th February 2021
We had a destination wedding during the pandemic and tried to make it as environmentally conscious as possible. With eco-friendly décor, in a sustainable boutique luxury resort, we tried to make the most of the natural beauty of the Gir Forest. By the end of the 3 days, almost everyone got back to us to tell us how different this wedding was from anything they have ever experienced. Even the people that didn’t have the time to think about the environment, got back to us to tell us how much they loved the sustainability theme and how effortlessly it was integrated within everything. Other than the unique wedding décor, and the fun (read not traditional) events, I think everyone got back to us with praises for the lion safari.

From The Planner, Prerika: 

We were ecstatic to be able to plan such an off-the-beat, sustainable destination wedding. It seemed very unlikely, given that the wedding was intimate and just a few close friends and family members were present to celebrate the love of these two beautiful souls in the forest. To be honest, the wedding's two days were more of an adventure with more activities than ceremonies.

The Gir Forest was chosen because of the unique activities that could be included in the celebration. Each guest's fondest memory of the trip was the jungle safari, when they all saw a lion and a slew of lionesses on the morning of the wedding.Another lure was the late-night stargazing following the sangeet. The location itself offered a pottery workshop on both evenings, as well as an organic vegetable field tour and a fresh fruit shop. A carnival-themed event hosted under the stars, complete with an emcee hosting a plethora of activities and games, was another highlight of this series of events. We nearly forgot it was a wedding and laughed our hearts out at the zeal with which each guest responded to each game. Everything about the wedding was environmentally friendly, including the wedding location, Woods at Sasan, which recycles all of its waste and has as environmentally friendly infrastructure and interiors as possible. 

Mitika and Ridhesh were both adventurous souls who believed in celebrating their marriage rather than putting up a show for the guests. We were able to get everyone on board with what was going on at the wedding after almost 10-15 meetings with both families that always lasted longer than 5 hours.Planning an economically sustainable wedding, especially in a distant location, comes with its own set of problems. especially in the midst of a pandemic, plus it is also a dry state. This was one of those weddings that came with a lot of challenges, from cancelled flights to rescheduled flights, but we have to say that we had a lot more fun planning this wedding than we expected, and how could we not have been involved in the jungle safari on our first recee to ensure that our guests had a good time?

Vendor Reviews: 

Venue: Woods at Sasan, Gir Forest, Gujarat
We took our sweet time to close on an eco-friendly venue. The destination we chose - The Woods at Sasan, Gir Forest - is known for its biophilic & inclusive design/ architecture (and has won awards for sustainable tourism), has a large organic farming practice (supporting farm to table culinary experiences), is within a national park (famous world over for its lion conservation success stories/ techniques), invested in water and waste recycling infrastructure, had already replaced in-room plastics with reusable glass substitutes, has large natural spaces (with over 280 trees), employs and works closely with local tribes and communities, and above all they worked with us closely to help deliver a sustainable and safe celebration!

Makeup Artist: Natasha Jham 
Natasha made the entire dress up process feel relaxing and fun! She came recommended by a dear friend (who was also at the wedding). After meeting with her the first time, I was very sure of having her there for the make -up. Before the wedding she gave me some great skin and hair colour tips (definitely helped with the dark circles!) All throughout the wedding it felt like talking to a friend, who has known me (my likes and dislikes) forever. She really puts her all into her art, and the results show. My make-up all throughout was natural (and not oily or sweaty despite being outdoors in a forest) and yet looked done-up enough and flawless in the pictures. Her airbrushing technique is surprisingly calming. For the main day, she put together the most gorgeous bun with flowers - this was an improv on the day of to help match the gorgeous decor. Every look was different and I can’t begin to express how much fun we genuinely had while getting ready. I am not a make-up person, so was worried about the process being stressful, but with Natasha it felt surprisingly relaxing. I am so grateful to have had her there through all the wedding. She made the dress up process feel like a celebration too!

Planner & Decorator: Prerika Puri, To The Aisle
We had our wedding in February 2021. It was a destination wedding at Gir Forest with about 100 guests. We wanted it to be intimate and with all our elements and characteristics as a part of the vibe. Prerika and team took in the effort to understand our vision and help us see through it with more than an expected outcome. At any given point of planning/execution they were 10 steps ahead and had multiple options/solutions ready. We set out to give our guests 'an experience to remember' and we not just achieved it but also managed to open their hearts and change their minds on how a wedding must be celebrated. Everyone who came left with an overwhelming feeling and an after taste they won't forget for a really long time. Thank you to the lovely team of To The Aisle (lead by Prerika) for giving everyone this experience. A special mention to Riddhi from the team who went all out to fulfil everything that we wanted with a smile and calmness on her face. Also a shout out to Mohit from their team who was handling logistics - which was one of the most complicated parts of the event with so many moving parts. He did it seamlessly and made sure everything fell in place. Team To The Aisle once again reminded us that hard-work done with honesty and full heart has the power to touch people's lives.

Photography: Snapped Studio
The team is very experienced and hands on. They made us extremely comfortable and were very patient and knew what they wanted. They were also warm and mixed well with the elders and kids alike to get some lovely shots and moments. The Final outputs were stunning and we can relive the entire event through them whenever we see the pictures.

Mehendi Artist:  Jayshree Jadhav
Jayshree Aunty is very creative with her mehndi designs. I had a weird request of adding our pets to my Mehndi (Rumi and Bolt), and she managed to integrate it in a very fun and innovative way with the rest of the bridal mehndi. She was great with all the guests and very patient (and involved) with us while we took fun little breaks. She makes her own mehndi, and the colour really lasts! Also, she hid my partner’s initials so well that he couldn’t find it at all :D)

Vendors: Venue: Woods at Sasan, Gir Forest, Gujarat; Makeup Artist: Natasha Jham; Planner & Decorator:  To The Aisle★ 5 ; Photography: Snapped Studio★ 4.9 ; Mehendi Artist: Jayshree Jadhav