Mitali and Ali, Planet Hollywood, Goa

A bridal entry on a bike with a puppy, a white wedding theme sunset engagement, a Holi party, custom made Paithani lehenga, a Peshwa groom and a complete customized matching trousseau for their pet Panty (that’s their pup’s name!) Mitali and Ali’s fun filled wedding was an ode to effortless style and unlimited imagination and ideas brought to life!

The ‘WeddingSutra Effect’
Around six months prior to our wedding, WeddingSutra had a contest where you could send in your love story and win a free photo shoot. I sent in our entries for fun and was surprised when we got chosen. Coincidentally, WeddingNama happened to be photographing us and we had an instant connection with Ankita and Akash. We met them after a couple of times and decided to go with for our wedding. Neelam, Parthip and Urvi were kind enough to have me as a part of the MasterClass where I could ask all of my trousseau and décor related queries, which helped me plan the wedding with a better perspective and clarity.

On the Photographers- WeddingNama

I think the best thing about WeddingNama is that they not just make amazing memories come to life, but are also as equally invested in your wedding as much as you are. This was the reason that reaffirmed our choice in them. We absolutely loved their “Let’s Do It” attitude with every single crazy idea I had. If we had to get married a hundred times again, there is only one photography team we would want and that would be ‘WeddingNama’.

How We Met
Ali had just moved back to India from New Zealand and my best friend had moved there, and it was through her that we got to know each other. Ali needed help with buying a gift for his friend and since he didn’t know anyone in Mumbai, I offered to assist him. On our first meeting, I took him to all the fun but not so touristy restaurants and we bonded over our love for beer and street food at Chowpatty. However,with each meeting, we knew we were falling for each other.

Wedding Proposal
Ali dragged me to a boring Hindi movie one day. I was surprised because he didn’t really like any Bollywood movies but nevertheless, I tagged along. It was a mini theater and since it was an old movie and an afternoon show, it happened to be only the two of us and my mom. In the middle of the movie, they both had to use the restroom and I suddenly saw Ali appear on the screen in a tux, with a video, which showcased all the places we had been on dates to! He then asked me to marry him in front of both our families and best friends.

Wedding Venue
My mother-in- law (Sakina Shakeer) wanted the wedding to be hosted in Bali but we couldn’t fly our dog (our daughter) Panty out of the country and therefore decided on having the wedding in India. Since I wanted a beach wedding, Planet Hollywood in Goa fit the bill perfectly. The young, fun and happy vibe of the hotel was completely in sync with the kind of wedding we had always wanted. Also, the hotel management was a dream to coordinate with and was very helpful.

Wedding Functions

Engagement
Since I was a little girl, I had always dreamt of walking down the aisle in a white gown and we made it come true with our sunset beach engagement. My white gown was flown in from the US and was a surprise gift from my sisters. All the bridesmaid’s dresses were designed by Eye Candy from Kemps Corner and perfectly coordinated with the groomsmen bow ties. I trained Panty to get the engagement rings, just the way I had trained him in our ‘Save the Date’ video

Mehndi
I knew I wanted all my favorite things to be included in my mehndi design. Halima was quite surprised when I told her I wanted paw prints, a beer mug, bhindi (okra) prints (my favorite food in the world) MitAli logo with an actual Panty (our puppy’s name!) and a silicone spatula as that’s what Ali started his business making. She was so patient and thoroughly custom designed it so beautifully for me. As a child, I remember my favorite Halloween moment was when I had dressed up as princess Jasmine! In a way, I wanted to recreate that look for my mehndi. The décor for the function was Moroccan which matched with my princess Jasmine inspired outfit which was a complete surprise designed by my mother-in-law, Sakina Shakeer.

Pheras
Since the Pheras were Maharashtrian style, the inspiration was Bajirao Mastani for both our outfits. I wasn’t too keen on wearing a Paithani Nauvari saree as I didn’t think it looked grand enough. Therefore, my mother-in- law (Sakina Shakeer) and I discussed the possibility of making a lehenga out of a Paithani saree. Little did I think she would manage to custom make an entire Paithani Lehenga that took nearly eight months to be completed! It was a dream come true and very well complemented Ali’s Peshwa costume. Since Panty and I get around Mumbai on my scooter, it was only fitting that we got to the mandap like that too. Ali actually managed to borrow the scooter from a sweet but random couple that he saw on the streets of Goa a day before the wedding. Until the last minute I wasn’t sure if I could manage it in my lehenga but we did with a lot of encouragement from my girls, Jasmeet (my makeup artist), Ankita (WeddingNama) and my sisters. Ali had a vintage car for his baraat with the traditional Nashik Dhol beats in the background.

Sangeet
I wanted to save the sangeet for after the pheras so we could party all night and let our hair loose. We danced to a medley of all our favorite songs that we had bonded over the past seven years. We couldn’t thank our amazing choreographers, Anisha and Rishina enough for choreographing magic! Ali’s groomsmen also cracked everyone up with their special mujra performance which was hilarious. I knew I wanted my sangeet outfit to be royal blue, and keeping that in mind, my mother-in- law (Sakina Shakeer) created an exquisite zardozi work lehenga which was a crowd favorite and matched well Ali’s sherwani too!

Holi Party
Since the wedding celebrations were three days after Holi, we took advantage of the occasion and have a separate Holi party. The outfits had to be simple and economical but had to have that fun factor associated with it too. Ali, Panty and I decided to wear matching jackets for the event. The holi blasters arranged by Ali and the quirky vodka golawala added to the fun vibe of the function.

Reception
I knew I wanted to wear a saree for the reception and therefore, my mother-in- law (Sakina Shakeer) made a beautiful gold sequin saree for me to match with Ali’s all black tux. In all, I had a complete blast at my wedding and was lucky enough to have a perfect team to pull it off effectively. I wouldn’t have it any other way, it truly was a dream come true!

The Wedding Makers
Venue: Planet Hollywood, Goa
Outfits- Sakina Shakeer, Eye Candy
Hair and Makeup: Jasmeet Kapany and Gaurav Chawla
Choreographers: Anisha and Rishina
Decor: Knot This Way

Photography and Videography- WeddingNama

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