Kiran Gidwani married Mauritius businessman Anup Tolaram at the newly-opened JW Marriott Hotel, Khao Lak. Kiran shares her experiences.

The JW Marriott is a new property at Khao Lak and we were the first couple to host our Wedding there—the General Manager Mr. Greg Allen and his entire team went out of the way to make it an affair to remember.

Thai Advantage
The best thing about a wedding in Thailand is their people’s hospitality, service and warmth. They are smiling always, they never say ‘No’ and they have the ability to make every wedding guest feel like a King or Queen.

Khao Lak and Chapel on the Lagoon
We chose Khao Lak because it isn’t as commercial as Phuket—and during one of my earlier trips to Phuket—I had seen the very graceful glass-walled Chapel on the Lagoon. I loved the Chapel so much, I always dreamt of having a White Wedding there. Our functions included a Sangeet at the Le Meridien, Khao Lak, the main Wedding functions at JW Marriott and a White Wedding at the Chapel on the Lagoon.

JW Marriott, Khao Lak
Since ours was the first wedding to be held at JW Marriott my family members had their apprehensions on how they could pull it off because of their lack of experience. But they worked really hard to make everything oh-so-perfect. The best thing about the resort is its three kilometer long pool, the longest in Asia; and all our guests were elated to have pool-access rooms.

Destination Wedding—the Challenge
Planning a Destination Wedding has its own unique challenges. Unlike a city venue which you can visit frequently—for an international venue you need to make more than a few trips to meet the banquet staff and other wedding vendors too—it all adds to your time and costs. Some people have a misconception that Thailand is a less expensive option (vis-a-vis hosting a wedding at a five-star Hotel in Mumbai or Delhi). Though the Thailand luxury resorts are not unreasonably priced and some of their services like floral décor are cheaper, if you calculate the costs of communication and travel, for yourself, family and wedding vendors—it works out a little more expensive than organizing a wedding with five times more number of guests in India.

Special Thanks
Miss Christina of the Chapel where we had our White Wedding deserves a special mention for her extreme professionalism and perfection. Thanks to her it was truly a dream wedding. Bandra-based Picture Perfect Studios did a great job with the wedding photographs and videos. Makeup maestro Ojas Rajani gave me amazing looks for the different functions. Our singers Arvinder Singh and his group brought life to all the parties. Colaba-based Pradeep Gidwani of Gift n Décor (a store that supplies décor and pooja samagri items) helped me immensely by recommending good wedding vendors. Pradeep is a veritable store-house of all information on Sindhi Weddings, and he knows more about Indian wedding vendors in Mumbai than most event managers.

Wedding Advice
Most couples are paranoid about everything being perfect—and unfortunately they forget to enjoy their Big Day. Don’t forget it’s the most special day of your life and you should enjoy it to the fullest. Forget about the last-minute hiccups or disappointments.

My Wedding Day Look
As a little girl I always dreamt of a crystal pink ghagra for my wedding but as I grew older I began liking beautiful traditional embroideries. More recently, I always admired every look created by Sabyasachi so I wore his beautiful creation for my wedding function. For the welcome dinner I wore a Monisha Jaisingh gown. For the Sangeet and Mehendi, I wore self designed creations, and an Anjalee and Arjun Kapoor gown for the Church Wedding. I designed Anup’s dress for the Sangeet. For the Mehendi and Wedding he wore outfits by Sabyasachi.