Sanket & Monika got married at Ajanta Ambassador, Aurangabad and it was such a beautiful & vibrant wedding filled with colours, emotions, love & warmth. It was maharashtrian wedding, but very different from the usual ones 🙂

What started as an arranged marriage match for them, ended in finding the truest love. Sanket did his part of surprising her several times in their courtship period, and thus wooing her eventually. A dreamy proposal sealed their deal. They were staying in two different cities, Sanket in Pune & Monika in Aurangabad. This is their story in Sanket’s words –

We were introduced by our parents as it’s was an arranged marriage. The initial stage was confusing and our parents were gracious to provide both of us with enough time to take a decision on each other. We were glad and equally happy for us that we moved ahead together. Out of the 3 months of our courtship period, It took us almost 2 months to have our first picture clicked as both of us were of shy nature and took our own time as we also didn’t get to spend as much time as we wished. However the next month, we bonded and fell in love. I was the one who started falling for this relationship first so that meant I had to be the one taking more efforts. She planned to watch a movie with me for that I would travel all the way to her city Aurangabad , if we had a fight although because of me, again I had to travel to the city to make it up to her. It was 26th December 2018, when I proposed her. So the plan started 2 months ago and in that time period I had a rough idea of what I was thinking to do for that special day. I wanted it to be done on a lake with lanterns and on a boat with fireworks. I made sure that she wears the clothes that I bought for her on that day so I had to buy 4 set of clothes to let her have options and choose. I planned to travel 1100 kms in 21 hours thanks to my car so that I could pick her up from home and take her to the place where I planned to propose her. And I was totally thrilled when she said yes. That was the month where she and I got to know each other on a different level. On 3rd January 2019, we got engaged. And now both of us feel like that yes we can’t wait and to get married, so don’t know if it’s an arranged or love marriage.😅

They were looking for best candid wedding photographers to capture their wedding and that’s how they approached us. We were privileged enough to spend a day with them before their wedding, for their pre-wedding shoot at Dapoli. Together with them, we explored the amazing beaches, ran with the windy breeze, played with splashy waters & danced along. And of course, took some pictures. They wanted to re-create their proposal story. The set-up with the curtains, lights, ballons, candles, wine, chocolates, cushion pillows & “name it & they had it all” possible goodies made way in creating the most beautiful proposal we had seen. Monika said yes once again to Sanket. The fact that we bonded so well made us look really forward to the wedding, by the end of the shoot. Before you check their wedding photo-story, checkout their beautiful wedding film.

http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSSC5R9Kx9A

The Wedding
The Wedding festivities started with the haldi. They had kept a “south indian” themed haldi. It started with a ceremonial bathing of the bride and groom in the open amidst cloudy skies. Thereafter, rains visited as a surprise, all of us had to rush indoors. The next ceremony of haldi was supposed to happen outdoors, and all of us including the couple, family & friends waited anxiously for the rains to stop. Every cloud has a silver lining, they say. Its very true indeed! The rains stopped and they had a beautiful haldi ceremony with so much fun scenes happening. Like literally, even the photographers weren’t spared by the bride. It was followed by a few rounds of grand flower shower on the couple. Looked surreal, gorgeous & stunning as we freezed the moments in our cameras.
The Sangeet started with a grand entry of the couple in a chariot. That magical evening saw a lot of performances from the closed family, friends and relatives. Monika enthralled the audience with her performance. We had gotten to believe by then that Sanket & surprises go hand in hand. And, he pulled off a surprise dance performance for Monika. It was a very emotional moment for her, and we loved seeing her reactions as he nailed his performance. What followed next was a beautiful couple dance performance and then the families got together on stage, the happy scene being lit with fireworks. The last day before their big day, and we saw everyone overwhelmed with emotions.

The wedding day started with the bride and groom getting ready in their respective rooms. Soon thereafter, the wedding vidhis started. There were smiling glances and happiness throughout the wedding. It was followed by the baraat & antarpat. And thus, vows for lifetime togetherness was sealed. The wedding ended with a surprise music performance by Gilbert Gauci (Sanket’s friend from Scotland who is an amazing singer)

The grand reception in the evening was a perfect culmination of all the events put together. And we loved the way Monika & Sanket made an entry amidst the pyro fireworks & thai dancers. There are some special people who continuously worked to make sure that bride & groom aren’t stressed & deserve a mention – Meenal, Kaushal, Shrikant, Aditya, Rohit. Thank you guys, you all were super amazing and super supportive. Thank you Sanket & Monika for letting us be a part of your big day, you both are adorable.

The Wedding Venue, Ajanta Ambassador is one of the heritage properties in the country and shares a lot of history that is reflected in its interiors with antiques and designs. With that heritage set-up, a new story with timeless photographs got written. One more unique part of this wedding was that all the events happened in the open. With stunning decor for all the events, your pinterest board will get loaded from this wedding!
Important Wedding Makers :
1. MUA : Ritika Grover
2. Event Planner : Event 365
3. Monika’s Attire : Reception @kshitijchoudharylabel
4. Sanket’s Attire : Wedding @groomsofsabyasachi
5. Venue : Ajanta Ambassador, Aurangabad