Divya and Nitin, Dusit Thani, Hua Hin, Thailand

About Us
“Nitin and I grew up in Hong Kong, but had never bumped into each other earlier, till the night when I met him at a bar. I was on a night out with my girlfriends after I decided to quit my job and start my own company, when I saw him across the bar. He was five whiskeys in and I was probably on my fifth vodka shot too, when he came up to me and asked if we knew the same people. I felt instantly comfortable because the people he was talking about were very close friends. I was curious to know how he knew them and how I had never met him before. Five minutes later, I told him I had to leave because my friends wanted to go somewhere else. He came up to me again right before I left and asked me for my number. The very next day I got a WhatsApp message from him asking me how my night was. After four days of back-to-back messages, he finally asked me on a date and then three years later, we got married.”

Wedding Venue
“Nitin and I wanted to get married in Khao Lak, 80 km from Phuket because it was more of a resort area. However, our parents made us understand how it was not a convenient location for elders. We decided to go for something with more of a resort feel, but closer to Bangkok and Hua Hin was the best option. Out of all the properties in Hua Hin, Dusit Thani was the grandest! Plus, it had a beautiful big ballroom that could accommodate all our wedding guests. The hotel decor, service and food were outstanding.”

Wedding Functions
Each occasion represented a memory or characteristic of the couple. Their wedding program schedule card was a lovely montage of sketches representing each theme.

‘Sunset in LA’ theme for Welcome Dinner
“We had ‘Sunset in LA’-themed Welcome Dinner because Nitin went to school there. Here’s a tip I’d like to share with other to-be-wed couples – If you have a big Indian wedding like I did, make sure you arrange a few moments with your immediate family to take some personal family shots in your room on the wedding day. It is going to be so hectic that day, but these photos are so precious. You will look back and wish you had those.” Divya wore a Reem Acra-inspired gold sequin dress from Preeti Singhal with a custom-made emerald and diamond set. Nitin wore an outfit from Nine Styles by Arvind and Manu Arya.

‘24 hrs in Tokyo’ theme for After Party
This event was representative of most of the couple’s dates together since they love Japanese food and sake. The décor included lots of blazing red Oriental lamps suspended from the ceiling, and a long sake bar brought alive the feel of the Far East. The couple splashed out on various cool elements to make the party come to life. The happy bride shares, “Do not be stingy with Light and Sound aspects. It will make or break your event, so pay that extra bit and make sure the sound system is fantastic. Booze, entertainment and music is what makes a party – so don’t go cheap on these!” Divya wore an outfit from Three Floor Fashion while Nitin chose an outfit by Siddhartha Tytler.

‘Mediterranean Mehndi’ theme for Henna Function
The couple’s first date was in a Mediterranean restaurant in Hong Kong so the mehndi theme was based on that. Divya looked stunning in a white Greek outfit from Meeta Mulchandani which she accessorized with a headpiece from Mumbai’s Sajni The Designer Store and kundan earrings from Shri Hari Diagems.

The decor at this event was all about blues mirroring the seas of the Mediterranean countries. Light blue drapes were paired with darker blue ones for the outdoor mehndi mandap, alongside a plethora of floral arrangements in blue and pink. Divya looked a picture of perfection surrounded by her bridesmaids. So how did she pull off the perfect looks with all the dining and merrymaking at the events? She shares. “Ask your personal assistant (called a ‘shadow) provided by wedding planners to bring food up to your room before each event. Tell her your dietary requirements, and what you like. If you do not eat, you will get sick and have stomach cramps. Do not even think about eating at the event… people will constantly want to take photos with you, and you will constantly be around people chatting away. Don’t even consider eating at the event as an option.”

‘Royal Rajasthan’ theme for Sangeet
Divya and Nitin chose ‘Royal Rajasthan’ as their Sangeet theme as they love Indian food. The hall was rich with the opulent shades of regal red, yellow and maroon. Divya wore a beautiful royal blue lehenga by Manish Malhotra while Nitin donned an outfit by Shantanu and Nikhil. Divya wore a headpiece from Sajni – The Designer Store along with a custom-made diamond set.

‘Tying the Knot in Thailand’ theme for Wedding Ceremony
As Divya and Nitin got married in Thailand, they definitely wanted traditional Thai-themed elements at the ceremony. She wore a rich maroon and gold lehenga by Sabyasachi Mukherjee, and completed the look with a stunning polka set from Notandas, and nose ring and maang tikka from Mortantra Jewellery. Nitin wore a traditional outfit by Siddhartha Tytler.

Divya made a pretty picture when she arrived for the wedding ceremony in a long traditional boat decorated with a pretty pink and gold exterior which was rowed by a boatman wearing an ethnic Thai outfit. The stunning mandap was exquisite with accents in red and gold, and was crafted with lots of beautiful details such as friezes and arches.

Here’s an interesting bit of advice Divya has for couples, “Do not go back home right after the wedding. Stay for two or three days longer at the resort to just soak ‘what just happened’ in. You need some downtime from your own wedding – it is not a holiday.”

‘Love in London’ theme for Reception
Divya went to school in London so the reception’s theme was inspired by that. They also had an interesting Stock Exchange-themed bar which went well with the overall vibe of the UK-inspired function as well as dove into the trending topic of Brexit. Divya wore the same wedding lehenga, but changed into a Meeta Mulchandani short red dress for the After Party. Nitin wore a tuxedo from Nine Styles by Arvind and Manu Arya. Beautiful native Thai dancers escorted the couple on the red carpet with traditional parasols which they swirled and scattered petals, and floral headgear. Some dancers held aloft lit candles in their hand.

Advice for couples to wed
1. “Ask for a personal assistant called a ‘shadow’ from your wedding planner. Ask her to keep your phone and constantly take photos of you with your friends/family/hubby during all the occasions. She will be like your personal photographer and you will be so thankful to capture those moments.”

2. “The best advice I can give is make sure you get a wedding planner that handles your guest relations part too. You do not want to have to pay extra for another vendor to handle 1000 email invitations and RSVPs to your guests alongside flight and accommodation inquiries, and you certainly do not want to handle it yourself.”

3. Make sure your hotel reservations are done online. Filling out forms are a nuisance for guests, your hotel and yourself. Things get misplaced and mishandled. You don’t want people’s reservations not in the hotel system when they have already traveled all the way.

4. “If your hotel is a little old school, and you have to make a printable reservation form, make sure the reservation forms are sent to only your wedding email and not the hotel reservation email. You know how to handle your guests best. Then have the guest relations manager from your planning team send them a weekly update of the reservations. Having two emails is a nuisance. I did that, it created a lot of chaos. Some people sent it to one email, some to the other. It was tragic!”

5. “Make sure you introduce your entire family or those who are important to you to your photography team well before the event, either through photographs or screenshots as you want to make sure cameramen are alert and ready to capture the right people so no one is scrambling around at the last minute.”

The Wedding Makers
Venue: Dusit Thani Hua Hin, Thailand
Bridal Trousseau: Preeti Singhal, Meeta Mulchandani, Sabyasachi Mukherjee, Manish Malhotra
Groom’s Trousseau: Nine Styles by Arvind & Manu Arya, Siddartha Tytler
Wedding Planner: Mantra Events, Thailand
DJ: DJ Manoj, Dubai
Makeup: Natasha Moor, Hong Kong
Hair Stylist & Mehndi: Glitz and Glam by Ambika, Thailand
Graphic Designer: Moor Designs (Resham)
Graphic Designer for Pre-Invite: Pixie Dust (India)
Decorator: Wedding & Wealth Solution by Peerapach, Pom, Thailand
Light and Sound: Ekachai Light and Sound, Poy, Thailand
Guest Management: Revel Events (Rani), Hong Kong
VJ: Revel Events (Harry), Hong Kong
Dhol Players: Bobby Dhol, India
MC: Kubra Sait, India
Entertainers: Meet Bros (Dynamic Events), India
Caterers: Red Catering, Thailand
Alcohol: Gulp (Vikram), Thailand
Choreographer: Hitesh, Hong Kong
Sax Player & Jazz Band: JRP Jazz Band Little Big Band Bangkok (Miles), Thailand
Transport: G&G Voyage
Pundit: Lalit Mohan Ji

Photographers and Videographers: White Rose Productions, Los Angeles

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