Saumya and Shatanjay, The Ungasan Clifftop Resort, Bali

Quirky cookies, a proposal high in the sky, and a vows exchanging ceremony straight out of a rom-com were just some of the memorable highlights of Saumya and Shatanjay’s wedding celebrations at a beautiful cliff top venue in Bali which commanded endless views of the Indian Ocean. Here, bride Saumya shares details and inspirations behind their planning.

How We Met
“Shatanjay (who I call ‘J’ fondly) and I are both bankers, and we reside in Singapore. We met each other for the first time in 2006 through a common friend. The irony is that from the beginning of our relationship we never lived in the same city until our wedding. He was initially based out of New Delhi and then moved to Singapore, while I was working in Hyderabad. In a very short span of time, our casual friendship graduated into a serious relationship. We have helped each other to become better versions of ourselves and I believe that’s what defines our relationship.”

Proposal
“Being in a relationship for close to 10 years, we can recall a string of proposals we made to each other. I would like to mention the one formal proposal by J in December 2016. We were going out for dinner to Marina Bay Sands. On the way, J insisted that I see the Singapore Flyer first. I thought that he had gone crazy, delaying our dinner for touristy visits. Yet I went with him. When we reached, a private capsule with a bouquet of flowers, champagne and sumptuous dinner was waiting for us. In that rotating capsule against the backdrop of Singapore’s skyline, J asked me, ‘Saum, let’s get married and put an end to visa applications for you!’ Yeah, that’s my romantic man!”

Wedding Planning
“We were clear from the beginning that we wanted a very private wedding with only our closest family and friends in attendance. Bali’s natural beauty and cultural closeness to India were the two reasons why we chose it as our wedding destination. J and I did our end-to-end wedding planning like a joint venture and it turned out to be a good decision. Be it our very frequent trips to New Delhi, Hyderabad, Singapore and Bali for shopping and planning, our late night discussions, impromptu coffee breaks or meeting wonderful people, we thoroughly enjoyed the four months of planning. Exploring the country from a totally different perspective, and our togetherness made it all fun.”

Wedding Venue
“We were looking for a seaside cliff top venue with an endless sea view which was not too crowded. After checking out more than ten properties, we finalized The Ungasan Clifftop Resort as it suited our vision the best. Not only does it have a breathtaking view of the Indian Ocean but even their villas are architectural delights. Having stayed there before during a vacation, we were confident of their most amazing hospitality.”

Wedding Invitations
“We didn’t want to send only a wedding card as an invitation. The wedding was such a special and happy occasion for us and we wanted to extend that joy to our loved ones as well, so we decided to send all of them a hamper. Our invitation box consisted of our wedding cards; hard paper boxes in the shape of luggage bags, a mini saxophone, vintage radio stuffed with chocolates; a ‘Save the Date’ note and small cut outs depicting touristy things of Bali along with fridge magnets. We also included a pair of Balinese bride and groom in metal and hand fans as wedding keepsakes from Bali; as well as a miniature idol of Lord Ganesha in brass.”

Wedding Functions

Haldi
“The ‘haldi’ (turmeric application) was held on the same day as the mehndi function. We chose personalized cookies for this event – there were two series of square cookies with images of Homer and Marge from The Simpsons lovingly looking at each other. Choosing these characters for our haldi ceremony felt just perfect! There couldn’t be a better way to incorporate one of our favorite series on the day when we resembled their unique yellow faces.”

Mehndi
“This was a simple private function with close family members in attendance. I chose my mehndi artist from Malaysia. He created beautiful images of a bride and groom, Lord Krishna and Ganesha, amongst other traditional Indian motifs. We kept this day very casual and informal as a celebration of our love. We offered guests hand-shaped cookies with henna-like designs on them.”

Wedding Vows
“This function is very close to my heart. Having thrived on rom-com movies, TV series, story books and everything possibly romantic, our wedding would have been incomplete without a serene vintage themed romantic celebration. Standing on a floating platform that was decorated with pastel flowers, on an infinity pool against the Indian Ocean, we exchanged our rings and vows. The color scheme was pastel. The decor included fairy light bulbs, Moroccan lanterns, floating candles in the pool and a big letter that spelt ‘LOVE’ which accentuated the sweet romantic mood. After our ceremony, guests were entertained with Balinese dance performances.”

“For my look, I knew it had to be a vintage style gown with a trail. I wore a custom-made sea green off-shoulder gown and golden high heels. As a true reflection of my personal style, the makeup was very minimal and jewellery was restricted to a pair of classic diamond studs from Lee Hwa in Singapore. My hairdressing team gave me a beautiful romantic bun and matched the flowers in my hair with J’s boutonniere. J looked every bit my Prince Charming in his royal blue suit. The windy evening and the overwhelming sound of ocean waves immortalized the day for us.”

Pheras
“Our aim was to keep the decoration minimalistic so that it would not overshadow the pristine natural beauty of the venue. We had a floating stage mandap covered with pastel drapes and crystal strings contrasted against vibrant flowers. The wedding decor had an emphasis on red and yellow which are the Indian festive colors.”

“Complementing our theme, I wore Anita Dongre lehenga in blush pink with hints of aqua blue and paired it with matching embellished Badgley Mischka pumps. I picked my wedding jewellery from the Shubham and Divyam series of Tanishq since we loved the traditional temple inspired intricate designs on their pieces. In order to let the look truly shine, I opted for very subtle makeup. J wore an ivory Anita Dongre kurta pajama and a red ‘safa’ (turban) by Raghavendra Rathore that matched the roses in my hair and bouquet.” “My favorite memory from our pheras is of J trying to cheer me up during the ceremony. The rain gods hadn’t been kind to us on this day and it poured throughout the day. Obviously, there was a lot of chaos and the schedule became quite tight due to my reluctance to shift the ceremony indoors.While we were seated in the mandap, the sky was dark blue and we could occasionally see lightning in the sky. J lovingly said to me, ‘We can recreate clear sunny days for any of our future events but oh boy, this backdrop is impossible to recreate!’ He sure knows how to make me smile. In fact, my favorite photo from the entire wedding is the one where we were talking to each other while it was still drizzling.”

Advice for Couples Getting Married
“A wedding is a very personal event. Getting inspired and taking cues from latest trends is good, but blindly imitating the trends or someone else’s wedding is pointless. Let the wedding be a reflection of your journey, your style and taste. Also, stay calm, as there are a lot of things, which may go wrong or may not go as per plan. It’s a day of celebrating togetherness and all the other things are only fringe elements.”

The Wedding Makers
Location: The Ungasan Clifftop Resort, Bali, Indonesia
Bride’s Outfits: The Gown Warehouse, Singapore (Vows ceremony), Anita Dongre (Wedding)
Groom’s Outfits: Boggi Milano (Vows ceremony), Anita Dongre (Wedding), Safa (Raghavendra Rathore)
Jewellery: Lee Hwa, Singapore and Tanishq
Hair Stylist: JazB Beauty Space, Bali
Mehndi Artist: Vicky D’Shaaz, Malaysia
Desserts & Cake: Ixora Cakes, Bali
Photography: Veli Photography, Bali

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