Swatee Jayaswal and Lalit Tayal’s wedding functions were held at the sea facing Sheraton Grande Laguna and the Banyan Tree in Phuket between 7th and 10th December, 2009. Manoj Jayaswals brief to Ahmedabad-based Wedding Planners Red Events was to make it a delightful experience for the young and the old, the traditionalists and the contemporary, the timid and the adventurous.

Phuket to India
The Jayaswal’s run a Nagpur based business conglomerate and the Tayal’s are based in Bangalore. They wanted the Wedding to be the grandest Destination Wedding hosted by an India-based family. And after returning from Phuket they hosted glittering receptions at the Taj Mahal Hotel, Mumbai and The Ashoka, Delhi.

Hospitality
Red Events and their huge team had to put in a lot of effort to make the India-Thailand journey logistically convenient for the guests, and make them feel as comfortable as possible. The hospitality and welcome services started from Bangkok airport where the guests were provided refreshments, fast track immigration and visa on arrival.

Thai Mela and Toshi
The program on day one included a Thai Mela with lunch, a jashn-e-bahar and a post dinner youngster’s party. At the Thai Mela the guests wore traditional Thai costumes and enjoyed the vivid demonstrations of Thai crafts like Banana leaf vessels, Umbrella painting. A Thai Photo Studio was set-up where costumes and crowns were made available for the guests to carry the experience in print as souvenirs of this grand celebration. At the evening Jashn ki raat ‘Toshi’ of Voice of India fame set the mood and this was followed by performances by Shweta Salve and Sayali Bhagat.

Brazilian Beach Carnival
The program on day one included a Thai Mela with lunch, a The day two program was an elaborate Brazilian beach carnival on the white sands of the Sheraton beach with activities like parasailing, jet skiing, banana rides, kite flying and rain dance. In the evening, there was a Sangeet.

Daawat-e-Khaas and Sajjan Goth
The third day began with the Daawat-e-Khaas. It was followed by Sajjan Goth, a traditional sit-down lunch where the baraat or the groom’s family is seated and served food by the bride’s family. This event marked the beginning of the traditional rituals of the grand wedding in the evening.

Groom in an elephant, and Bride on a Boat
Lalit entered the Lagoon Deck, Banyan tree (the wedding venue) on a lavishly caparisoned elephant accompanied by a Royal Thai parade, Thai Dancers and drummers and Napoleon soldiers. Swatee came in a delicately festooned boat through the silent waters of Laguna Phuket. The deck was bedecked with Thai shimmer and props from India to make a perfect fusion of traditional Thai and Indian designs. A thousand diyas floated in the water as Swatee reached the deck to be welcomed by a shower of flower petals.

Thai Doli
Swatee was carried on a Thai Doli by her brothers for the jaiamala. As the Jaimaala was exchanged, the bells rang, the shankhs sirened, a thousand lanterns went up in the air and the sky was lit with massive aerial shots. The stage was then over to Roop Kumar Rathod and Sonali Rathod who added to the romance in the air with their soft romantic melodies.

Wedding Wear
For all the functions the bride and the groom wore ornate creations by Delhi-based Ankur Batra whose label Ekru is hugely popular among super-rich brides. Swatee’s jewellery was designed by Purva Kothari’s Intrea.

Decor by Woot and food by Munna Maharaj
The décor was done by Thailand’s Woot. The Indian cuisine was created by Kolkata’s ace caterer Munna Maharaj while the South Indian delicacies were prepared by Mumbai’s favourite South Indian caterer, Muthuswamy. Thailand’s famous Ms Tukta prepared the Thai recipes. The wedding invite and all collaterals were designed by the Entertainment Design Company.