Khushboo and Rahul, Dusit Thani Pattaya, Thailand

After a memorable proposal, Rahul and Khushboo planned their lavish wedding celebrations in Thailand with well-planned events, from a rave party to a reception inspired by London winters and ‘Cinderella.’ Take a peek into their nuptials at Dusit Thani Pattaya as bride Khushboo shares more details below.

How We Met
“Our love story goes back to when we were 12 when it was all about playing imaginative games. We would often play a game of “Airport, Airport” where he was the passenger, and I was the crew on board. It would be the four of us who would play, but it always felt like it was only the two of us in the room. One night he asked for my MSN Messenger ID, and I dodged the question because I was shy. A few attempts later, however, he managed to get it from me. We started talking, and I couldn’t help falling for his charm. As we got closer, we realized we had a lot of mutual friends which led to us hanging out with each other even more often. A few years later, we happened to land up at the same university for a very short time. When he moved to another institution in another country, my world came down. The guy I depended on and laughed with had left. That’s the day I realized that I loved him. Once he came back, we continued being best friends. We then opened Moshi, I was handling the marketing and being his overall support. This got us closer, and people who saw us at our workplace said, ‘You guys are like a married couple.’ It then clicked in our heads that we had wasted all these years, so we decided to take the plunge!”

Proposal
“Rahul had planned two proposals. The first was at Guru Darbar in Jebel Ali, a place that we call heaven in Dubai and try to go to at least once a week. The second was when he chartered a seaplane and took me around Dubai for around 30 minutes making me fall in love with the city and him all over again. Dubai is where we were born and raised. It was such a great feeling to see our city from that perspective. Upon landing, he had his groomsmen, and my bridesmaids hold individual letter balloons that spelt, ‘Will you marry me? This entire day was a big surprise.”

Wedding Venue
“After looking around at a couple of resorts in Bangkok, Phuket, and Pattaya, we knew we wanted a place which is close to Bangkok as the travel time from Dubai to Bangkok is long, and with a place further away, the drive would get exhausting for our guests. Being just one hour away from Bangkok, Dusit Thani Pattaya made for the perfect location. It overlooks the sea and has a cliff which makes for a beautiful backdrop for a dreamy wedding. Wiracha is the Director of Events and Weddings there, and she was our biggest support throughout – right from planning to execution. She ensured everything was smooth for us. On the wedding days, she would make sure that she and her team were around us in case we needed anything. She was also one of the main reasons we booked this property. She always made our families and us feel comfortable and went out of the way to fulfill quite a few of our needs. The hotel has three huge ballrooms, and we used a different one each night.”

Wedding Planning
“Seema and Suman from Magnificence Events made sure that everything was smooth and gave us a lot of time so that things could be planned our way. Their team executed our events and ensured that all our guests were treated well. Photographs of your wedding day are what lasts you a lifetime, and we had DotDusk Studios take care of our photography, and they captured stunning candid moments. We also had Pooja Studio from Dubai working alongside them.”

“Natasha Moor and her assistant Gary were a blessing and hiring them was the best decision my mother and I took. She is genuinely the nicest, and her makeup is on point. She even styles you to ensure when you leave the room you look gorgeous. These are the best and most stressful days for a bride, and you want to be in the best hands.”

“Hitesh Rajani did the dance choreography and skit for our wedding and had become like family by then. All my family members and friends loved the way he taught them their steps. He makes dancing easy even for non-dancers!”

“When I became a bride, I put mehndi on my hands after 14 years! Therefore it had to be something that I love. Fortunately, I found Mira who is a Dubai-based henna artist. We planned all the details of my design together, and it took her about 13 hours to cover my hands with that design! She was very patient through it all! It was rather exhausting, but both of us loved the result!”

“I also want to emphasize how important decor is and that Peera Pach is the best in Thailand. They make your ideas come to life, and they gave me my fairytale wedding. Nikko helped us with the schemes and suggested what ideas would look good.”

Wedding Functions

Mehndi
“The decor for this function looked like a ‘mela’ (fair). We had a truck bar, floral ‘jhula’ (swing), carts with mehndi favors, ‘dholwalas’ (traditional drummers), alongside lots of food, drinks, and dancing. Rahul and I entered in a tuk-tuk as I love auto rickshaws. I did a surprise performance for Rahul with my cousins and friends. The dress code for this event was ‘Pastel Paradise’ as I didn’t want people blending in with the decor. DJ Jeff was amazing as he kicked off the wedding celebrations with a bang.

Yoshita Couture gave me a perfect lime yellow outfit with 3D flowers and tassels on my dupatta. Rahul wore a white side cowl kurta with a cross buttoned bandi jacket which matched my outfit.”

Sangeet
“Rahul wanted a French touch to our sangeet, and so we called it ‘Soiree De Musique’ with decor that included feathers and masks for that Moulin Rouge vibe. The bar was made to look like a carousel reminiscent of Paris during Christmas. I love candles and lights, so we made those the focal points of the stage decor. The dance floor had our wedding logo. Rahul had a Thai Navy inspired entry where entertainers dressed like soldiers brought him in on their shoulders while I entered in a ‘palki’ (palanquin) on the soundtrack ‘Azeem O Shaan Shahenshah’. For this function, our family and friends put up a skit, and Rahul and I surprised each other with a dance performance. We partied until 6 am and had color-coded t-shirts for everyone to wear during the after party. I wore a Falguni & Shane Peacock outfit and Rahul wore a customized navy Shantanu & Nikhil jacket with a center cowl kurta.”

Pheras
“This day started with the Ghari Pooja which was followed by the baraat. Rahul chose to come in a vintage car as I entered with my brothers under a ‘phoolon ki chaadar’ (floral canopy). We knew we wanted a beach wedding, but when we saw the cliff at Dusit Thani Pattaya, it stole our hearts away. It truly is one of a kind, with a view of the faraway mountains and ocean. Our mandap had a Ganpati and was set against the backdrop of the beautiful blue sky which was lit with fireworks that came as a surprise to me.”

‘Sufi Night’
“Rahul wanted a ‘Sufi Night’ after the pheras so that everyone could sit back and relax. He heard Shahid Shahbaz at a house party and instantly decided that he wanted him to perform at our wedding. We flew down Shahid and his team, and they regaled the audience till 5 am.”

Rave Night
The youngsters left the ‘Sufi Night’ by 3:30 am to go to the rave party. It was our very own mini ‘Tomorrowland’ (electronic dance music festival) themed event. We had tried to plan a visit to Tomorrowland with our friends but something always came up, and we ended up not going, so we decided to come up with ‘RKLand’ and have a party of our own. Here we had the CO2 guns, girls in LED costumes, a sun-shaped backdrop on the stage, an LED screen in front of the DJ and an LED table.”

The Eternal Vows
“I have grown up watching English movies, and I always loved the idea of exchanging vows. I walked down the aisle wearing a powder blue gown with my father by my side. The weather was perfect and the decor even better than I had imagined. I bought rustic wooden glasses for the two of us to drink champagne from, and they read ‘MR’ and ‘MRS.’ We released balloons at the ceremony. The most special part of this ceremony was the surprise that had been arranged for me. We had an artist who painted the scene of our vows live as it took place. It’s something I will cherish forever.”

Reception
“Our love for London winters was the inspiration behind the decor for our reception. Rahul and I had a photoshoot there, and we felt that this was the best time to put those pictures up on display. We set up a red telephone booth and exhibited those photographs inside it. The room was made to look like a snowy day, and a white walkway fringed with candles and white trees ran through the center of the ballroom. ‘Cinderella’ has been my favorite fairytale since I was a little girl. Therefore, my Gaurav Gupta gown was chosen to keep the character’s style in mind. Taking it one step further, Rahul and I even entered the venue in a carriage that was evocative of Cinderella’s magic pumpkin carriage.”

Advice to Couples
‘A lot of things don’t go as planned at weddings. Always look at the positive side of things because often everything turns out the way it does only for the best. Planning and executing a wedding can get extremely stressful. However, you must not let that keep you from enjoying to the fullest. I recommend taking some time out and conceptualizing the details of your events including their names yourself. These small touches play a big role in personalizing your wedding.”

The Wedding Makers
Venue: Dusit Thani Pattaya, Thailand
Wedding Planner: Magnificence Events
Decor: Peera Pach
Bride’s Outfits: Yoshita Couture (Mehndi), Falguni & Shane Peacock (Sangeet), Jay Makhija (Pheras & Vows), Richa Chaudary (Sufi Night), Gaurav Gupta (Reception)
Groom’s Outfits: Deepak Parwani (Mehndhi) Shantanu & Nikhil (Sangeet), Shop In (Pheras and Sufi Night)
Makeup Artist: Natasha Moor
Choreographer: Hitesh Rajani
Bartenders: Flaming Trio Thailand
Catering: Red Catering Thailand
DJ: DJ Jeff, Nitesh, DJ Manoj (Dubai)
Photography: DotDusk Studios & Pooja Studio Dubai
Videography:Pooja Studio Dubai

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