Sienne & Shannon’s dreamy wedding was surely couples goal, and we are still high on the memories that evening brought along with it.
The day started with the couple getting ready in a hotel in Bandra followed by the wedding mass at Peter’s Church. Thereafter the party shifted to Jade Garden, Mumbai.
With an eye for detail, and planning to the T, our bride Sienne married her childhood sweetheart Shannon. They celebrated the wedding festivities with close loved ones and friends who are families. The night saw overwhelming love, dances, toasts and a whole lot of warmth in the breezy April summer.
This one is to Sienne & Shannon, may the light of love always be upon you guys, may the champagne be always bubbly, and may the dance floor always witness your amazing chemistry 🙂
Some things are just meant to be. And some stories are meant to be. That’s the case for Bhagya & Vignesh. They met in college in 2011 and became very close friends. But the real story started when they landed in the same city, New York for their masters. And very soon, their friendship turned into romance. In the summer of 2021, they made things official over an engagement on the yacht in the beautiful landscape of Maui. And they got married in the most beautiful way in a telugu wedding in December 2021 at Radisson Blu, Vishakhapatnam – and we were there!
We have covered a few telugu weddings before ( Lohit- Rishika, Saket – Sri Lakshmi), and we love covering telugu weddings 🙂 Here’s sharing the photo story of three beautiful days spent at the Radisson Blu, Vishakhapatnam with Bhagya & Vig (as Vignesh is fondly called). The first day started with pujas and small rituals at Bhagya’s house in Vizag. The quaint homely setup with garden and greenery around was a treat to the eyes. The setup was totally intimate and beautiful, and we made some great portraits of the couple and both the families.
Later, the next day, the party. shifted to Radisson Blu, Vizag. The next day started with a very vibrant Haldi. Happy yellow faces took over and didn’t spare Bhagya & Vig at all. To which Vig exclaimed “If these are friends, don’t know what would be enemies”. Post the Haldi aftermath, there was an afternoon carnival where everyone dressed up and let their hair down for a fun afternoon. It was followed by dance and bonding with each other.
Everyone waited for the sangeet scheduled later in the evening. Our groom Vig is one talented man, and he stole the show with his band performance. The night saw heart-warming performances and some epic moves. New stories were created, while old friendships were relieved. When you get together with your friends and family post covid, it leads to creating great memories, and that’s what we witnessed here 🙂
The wedding morning started early with Bhagya & Vig getting ready. The south Indian attires, the sounds of nadaswaram, the filter coffee set for a great wedding mood. The wedding was beautiful and mesmerizing. Everything worked in our favor and we have such fond memories. Thank you Bhagya & Vig and both the families for having us, we are so thankful that our paths crossed 🙂
At the outset of this beautiful year 2019, we covered one of the most grand muslim wedding in Dhaka, Bangladesh. And there is a bit of a small back story we would like to share here.
Anupam says – “When I first got a call about a wedding in Dhaka, I hardly believed the person on the other side. A wedding planner in Kolkata approached for the so called wedding. He was infact speaking on behalf of Bangladesh’s biggest wedding planner and decorator Sygmaz. By the time the event got confirmed it was only 11 days left to complete all the visa formalities and travel arrangments. This would have otherwise been impossible considering it takes 10 days to just complete visa formalities and that too it had to be done from Kolkata. Being in Mumbai didn’t help at all. But all that was made possible by the event planners flying us business class and getting a stamped visa signed by High Commissioner in Bangladesh. This is hands down one of the most lavish wedding we have covered till date and to be frank it was a humbling experience. Especially when the bride’s father Mr Abdul Wahed, owner of DBL group is the textile king of Bangladesh. Striking thing is despite his wealth & the fame, he was very kind and humble. One thing we learnt is the people in Bangladesh have very similar values to ours and whether it is the language or traditions there was hardly any difference. The only gripe we had was that there were multiple teams almost 4 other teams which really made it a mess to cover the event. Nevertheless very proud of what we were able to manage and have only very fond memories and hope to go back to Dhaka soon.”
What started with an arranged marriage match for Sadia & Abraar, led to multiple meetings, and eventually they fell in love. And it’s such a beautiful match, Sadia says he treats her like a crown on his head, while he says she has changed his life in all beautiful ways. We have covered several international destination weddings (Kenya & Thailand), and this one remains our favorite
The wedding festivities spanned for four days, the events were – Holud (Haldi), Sangeet, Wedding & Reception. Sadia & Abraar already had their Nikaah earlier. Since there were not much rituals involved, we had a lot of time for the portraits & couple shoot. The first day was Holud, and it was lavish and joyous affair, and when Mika Singh was also in the house, one can only see the energy and spirit at sky-high. The next was sangeet at Abraar’s house, and it was yet another fun event. It was followed by the wedding which happened at Radisson Blue, Dhaka. Sadia & Abraar entered hand-in-hand and she left everyone in tears as she headed for her new journey. It was one of the those difficult moments that we photographers have to witness time and again. And the last and finale day was the reception. All the other functions were in Pan Pacific, Sonargaon, Dhaka. Striking decor was the major highlight in this wedding. Some of the important wedding makers :
Thanks to Sadia & Abraar and their families who gave us so many fond memories and loads of stories. Lets take you through their wedding film, and then the photo-stories. Our work in this wedding got us the Great Indian Wedding Award 2019 by ICWF in Photo-Stills category.
After a whirlwind romance across beautiful locations around the globe, Miloni and Nihar got married at Della Resorts, Lonavala. The best part – their pet son, Rancho was a part of the charming festivities spread across two days. It was a crazy affair, filled with happiness, joy and unlimited dances. Here is the story leading to #NVMilove.
About – Nihar & Miloni
Nihar, our groom, is a chemical engineer by profession. He grew up in Mumbai and moved to the states for university. Miloni, our bride is a psychologist by profession, and bakes cakes in her free time. Miloni grew up in Belgium and moved to London for university. Nihar and Miloni were introduced by Miloni’s best friend. Nihar was living in Dallas at the time and Miloni in Antwerp then. They connected over WhatsApp and FaceTime, and very early on they both were sure about each other. The first time Miloni and Nihar met in person was in Toronto, at Pearson International Airport. Miloni was attending a conference in Toronto, and Nihar decided to travel to see her. They had a magical time, including spending a day at Niagara Falls. They next met in Dallas, where Miloni met Nihar’s golden retriever, Rancho, for the first time. They were sure about being together, and they let their parents know of this. A few months later, both the families united in Antwerp. They were delighted to share Miloni and Nihar’s engagement to their family and friends. After all their travels and ventures abroad, Miloni and Nihar decided to settle in Mumbai.
Miloni and Nihar decided to tell their story chronologically through their wedding events. Each event was designed to be the cities they met and spent time in: – Welcome Lunch: Toronto, Canada – Mehendi: Dallas, USA – Sangeet: Antwerp, Belgium – London Lunch: London, UK – Wedding: Mumbai, India
Here is their very fun wedding film 🙂
Day 1 – Welcome & Haldi
Nihar’s side of the family put up at the Dukes Retreat, Lonavala, and Miloni’s side was put up at Della Resorts, Lonavala. The festivities started with Nihar and his parents welcoming guests, proceeded by dhol and crazy dance. Let us tell you that dance was the major highlight of this wedding, and loads of dance and craziness shall follow in this blog. Lets first start with the Welcome Dance.
Met our groom – Nihar: The one thing that will immediately strike you when you meet Nihar is that he is totally a people’s person, he is also the “center of attraction at every party” and also dance runs through his genes.
Nihar & his friends were a close-knit group. They were always there for Nihar, and up to crazy antics. We got to witness the crazy and warm side of Nihar’s friends throughout the wedding.
Post the welcome dances, it was time for Nihar’s Haldi. And our groom was not spared at all. We saw an epic Haldi where – Nihar’s clothes were torn, and thereafter his face was smeared with schezwan sauce, chutney, butter, raita and what not. Post the haldi aftermath, the friends were kind enough to escort our groom for a shower too.
Day – 1 Mehendi Ceremony
Post the Haldi, we headed to Della Resorts, where our gorgeous bride Miloni was getting ready for the Mehendi ceremony.
Meet our bride – Miloni: The one thing which is spectacular about Miloni is her smile, beautiful and genuine in every way. Her attention to detail is just remarkable and she goes out of her way to make her closed ones feel special.
The Mehendi ceremony celebrated the Texan culture of Dallas, where Nihar & Miloni met for the second time. Miloni wore a stunning lemon and pale blue Anita Dongre lehenga with multicolored motifs that matched the color palette of the decor. Nihar wore a green kurta with yellow waist-coat. Miloni & Nihar were delighted that Della Resort is dog-friendly that enabled their pet dog, Rancho to be a part of all their ceremonies. Rancho is a crucial part of their lives and complete their family now. It was quite obvious that we wanted to include Rancho for their couple shoot 🙂
And when Rancho joined them for their Mehendi ceremony entry, it was beautiful and overwhelming and beautiful in every way
Our bride and groom are really a riot, when they are together. The energy they bring out together is tremendous. They totally love each other’s company and enjoy making memories together
Friends and Family are truly the sunshine of Life. Nihar & Miloni’s wedding saw such great bonds of friendship – revisiting old ones while creating new ones. Also, time to introduce Niomi, Nihar’s sister who shares a great bond with Miloni.
The last photograph in this series is a proof.
Mehendi ceremony thereafter, saw performances and garba. It was beautiful as energetic performances went through the entire afternoon, till the wee hours of the evening. We were tired from back to back shoots the same week, but somehow the energy at the garba really got to us, and we had so much fun documenting the dance performances. Guess that’s the magic and beauty of garba and gujarati weddings!
Day 1 – Sangeet
The diamond capital of the planet, Antwerp, which has been Miloni’s home was the perfect inspiration for the glitzy sangeet night with shimmering crystals, twinkling lights, and a glamorous blue glow that ruled the evening of dance and music, and of course Belgian waffles. This is how the evening started as we started documenting stories from Miloni’s room. Miloni has two beautiful sisters – Pasmi & Saloni, who were by her side throughout along with her mom.
Miloni’s embellished blue lehenga by Seema Gujral was chosen to sync in with the theme colour of the sangeet night – blue. And she looked stunning in every way.
This is how Nihar and Miloni entered and all the eyes, undoubtedly were on them.
Dance was the major highlight of this wedding, we repeat ourselves again. The evening saw some amazing next-level performances. Here is how the first half of the evening looked like. Starting with our groom, Nihar who rocked the stage.
Followed by our bride, Miloni who really danced away all her happiness with killer thumkas.
We also got to witness some family moments and family performances.
And then followed by performances of the friends.
Our bride and groom were surely having a great time.
The next performance was featuring the couple themselves. And, they surely won many hearts with their special performance.
Time for our bride to put her feelings through her solo performance through the song “Teri Ore”
Finally, after all the energetic performances came to an end with the favourite song of the season ” Sauda Khara Khara
The audience kept cheering for more.
Soon, the stage was taken over by Singer Dilesh Doshi, and he ensured that the rocking evening continues.
We also witnessed Nihar singing and everyone cheered through. Surely, it was amazing.
And the night ended with all happy memories. Along with them, we too danced a bit.
Day 2 – London Lunch
A British-themed lunch was hosted the following day to celebrate Nihar and Miloni’s time in London.
The day began with our bride basking in the glorious morning sun.
Nihar’s side at Dukes Retreat Resort saw a very fun morning with some interesting games – Banjo and Bingo
Day 2 – Wedding
Nihar’s Getting Ready Story : The mood at Nihar’s room was very chilled out, filled with hustle and bustle, and ofcourse had Rancho who kept everyone around happy and entertained
Thereafter, our groom started getting ready in the company of his friends and Rancho.
Special mention here to Atish, who is Nihar’s best friend and best man, and was there for him throughout. Even when our groom needed band-aid
Nihar was very particular that he would not take portraits alone. And he didn’t let us take his solo portraits on the first day. But we convinced and managed his portraits on the wedding day. We are sure he doesn’t regret now for the same
The party thereafter proceeded inside for a few rituals and some fun photos
Miloni’s Getting Ready Story : Miloni had her best friend Bhavi inside her room, while she got ready. Bhavi is also the one who played cupid and made the match of Nihar & Miloni
Also, we made couple portrait of Nihar and Miloni, in the nick of time just before Nihar headed for his baraat. We swear the second photograph was impromptu, thanks to our bride Miloni
We made portraits with Miloni and Rancho. For the wedding, Miloni wore a pastel Kalki Lehenga. It’s interesting to mention that Rancho also matched his outfit with his mommy. Rancho’s customized sherwani was designed by Miloni. Don’t they look cutest?
Miloni’s girl gang kept her entertained throughout, and we had to make some photos with them.
Nihar’s baraat was one of the most epic baraats we have ever witnessed. The baraat went on for almost three hours. The friends and family danced their way to begin Nihar’s new journey.
It was so overwhelming to see the family bonding at the baraat.
We also documented Miloni as she waited for her groom to come, who indeed made her wait for long. But she spent the time with her girls, smiling and laughing all throughout.
We proceeded now to the Jaimaal finally. And it was a surreal moment in the evening dusky sky as Nihar & Miloni exchanged garlands.
Day 2 – Wedding
And the finale – Here’s to love, laughter & happily ever after. The theme city was Mumbai, where Miloni & Nihar would finally settle.
An emotional moment for Miloni and her mom. Her sister, Saloni also joins in. From Antwerp to Mumbai, Miloni’s life is going to change now.
But, all is well that ends with a “ladoo” & “photo” 🙂
Wait there is more. Its the same day Miloni got her PhD (Doctorate) degree. She joked later, that she got degree & dulha the same day.
Like an amazing husband, Nihar broke out the news to everyone present there. Kudos to Miloni’s hard-work, and the celebrations just doubled, and her wedding day will be memorable forever. This is how the festivities ended 🙂
Thank you Miloni & Nihar, and the entire Sanghvi & Vakil families for all the love. It was absolutely great to be a part of your wedding.
Advice for Couples Miloni shares, “The entire experience became smooth sailing once we identified our strengths and focused on those. Nihar managed the technical aspects, and I took lead on all things creative. This joint effort helped to pull our wedding together without chaos. Learn to pick your battles instead of locking horns over every decision.”
First wedding shoot of this season commenced with this beautiful wedding in Goa. This couple had the best time of their lives and got married as per two traditions — Church wedding & Indian wedding.The Church Wedding follows in this one!
The venue for this grand destination wedding was Alila Diwa, Goa. Surrounded by greenery, an infinity pool, this polished hotel has high vaulted ceilings and wooden work throughout, offering a stylish take on a traditional decor.
The bride is a perfect blend of being all classy, beautiful and modest, at the same time. And no wonder, her impeccable choice reflected in every aspect of her wedding. Bride’s sister & her sister-in-law practically never left her side and were her Maids of Honour. Her Bridesmaids were color coordinated in blue. The groom is very shy on the other hand, rather we should say camera-shy. But the story gets different with a few pegs down, as evidently seen. The couple were classmates and have been in a decade long relationship, and they just look adorably cute together!
The Church Wedding happened at Our Lady of Remedios Church, Betalbalim Goa. We love shooting church weddings. Churches are very special and there are certain things about a church wedding, which you wouldn’t get anywhere. The best part is that you can make amazing vows and promises for your new journey totally engulfed in peace and serenity, which we totally evidenced and captured. The groom made a stylish entry in a vintage ford car and left the church with his newly wed bride in the same car and we were all amazed!
The celebrations for the day ended with an after party! There were speeches, karaoke, singing, dancing and rock n roll in the beautifully decorated lawn in Alila Diwa.Both the families have known each other since a very long time, and there was so much ease and comfort in their interactions. Hats of to an amazing planning and execution! Everything proceeded just as planned, as the functions were simplified by keeping only the key functions. But, before we conclude, wait for the next blog to see their beautiful Indian Wedding in detail.
If you loved the beautiful church wedding in the previous blog story of Megh & Jive, you have something more to see! This time its the beautiful Indian wedding at Alila Diwa, Goa!
The beautiful bride was dressed in a beige chikankari lehenga, and the groom was looking ravishing a white sherwani. And a equally beautiful mandap decor with flowers to host the indian wedding. Everything was so beautiful and as the couple read over the vows & promises to each, they started their new journey with all – love, trust & understanding! And the happiness was infectious & spread all around, right from their familes, friends and all the guests present. Even to us, and we thank the couple for trusting us to capture the memories of their precious day!
Royal Palace Wedding at Bal Samand Lake Palace, Jodhpur
“Jodhpur, a stunning little town in Rajasthan which I get to call home, is full of old world charm and regality. It was the easiest thing in the world to decide that this would be our wedding destination. We fell in love with The Bal Samand Lake Palace and it’s sprawling lawns, incredible heritage and the warm Rajasthani hospitality. – Richa
As aptly described by our dearest bride, we couldn’t help but agree to each and every thing. Before, we start with the wedding story of Abhilash & Richa, we feel this visual tour of the Bal Samand Lake Palace is essential. So here you go!
Abhilash, a fellow Bitsian got in touch with Anupam about an year ago for his wedding. However, post the initial talks there was a long gap, due to busy schedules and stuff. The talks resurfaced as both of them met at another bitsian wedding (Krishna-Akanksha) at Bangalore. Thereafter, things moved pretty fast from there and very soon we were booked to shoot their royal palace wedding at Bal Samand Lake Palace, Jodhpur.
Over stories of sky diving in Spain, crazy BITSian escapades, quick little coffee meets turned into the most incredible first date, recounts Richa. Whereas Abhilash has been a firm believer of destiny, and says he always knew this was meant to be. And ofcourse, this is meant forever, and in a total dream-come-true way at the royal Bal samand Lake Palace, Jodhpur. With a North (Richa) meets South (Abhilash) wedding & friends and family coming in from all over the world, they wanted their wedding weekend to be an experience that let their families getting to know each other well, and most importantly, letting them spend time with their closest people. That’s why the focus was on being an easy going wedding, and not being tied down with too many processes. There were three major functions – Cocktail, Haldi & the Wedding, each dreamy & beautiful in their own way.
Cocktail – The Bride & Groom got ready at the Bal Samand Lake Palace. We quickly made some couple portraits. And then the party shifted to Ranbanka Palace, Jodhpur, with friends & family rejoicing in happiness.
Haldi – Haldi is clearly the most fun event in a wedding and Abhilash & Richa’s families & friends ensured they weren’t spared with any shortage of haldi on them. The result you get to see in the photographs. What also followed was a after party dance, lighting all the mood before the evening wedding.
Wedding – One word – Dreamy! It started with us capturing the wedding details. The Bal Samand Palace is rich & green with flora & fauna, and served as a stunning backdrop. Before the sun got down, Richa got ready in her stunning Dabka Dori ensemble and we got some stunning portraits. A tip to all future brides – Get ready before the sun sets for your evening wedding & you will be overjoyed to see the outcome in the photographs. There were fireworks as the jaimal happened &thewedding happened late evening under the stunning dreamy light decor. Credits to R19 Entertainment for the fabulous decor.
Lastly, if you plan on a destination wedding, here are some tips from our couple, Abhilash & Richa –
Start Planning Early.
Be involved in planning your wedding
Involve your close friends & family
Most importantly, have fun. The madness can get to you but you will miss it when its done.
Weddings are a proof that happiness is possible if you create it with all your hearts & love, and that’s what we have to say for this wedding. It was absolutely magical, and even days after getting back from Jodhpur, we were hungover with this palace wedding. Thank you Richa & Abhilash for being so warm and letting us document your special memories!
