Aashna and Rahul, Hotel Sahara Star, Mumbai

Deciding on a life partner two days after you first meet them may sound to a lot of people like whim. But for Aashna and Rahul, they knew when it’s right, it’s right!

With WeddingSutra Favorite Shamita Gogia taking care of her makeup and WeddingSutra Favourite Whatknot in charge of photography, each picture of the bride looks absolutely stunning.

She shares with us the highlights of their big day.

How We Met
Rahul and I were introduced to each other by a mutual family member and I was the first ‘potential’ he’d been shown. We clicked with each other immediately and when I say immediately, I mean we were engaged two days after we first met.

Wedding Venue
Having decided to forego a destination wedding, we now had the freedom to pick from the huge variety of wedding spaces Mumbai has to offer. We decided to host our sangeet at The Lalit Mumbai and our wedding was held at Hotel Sahara Star.

Wedding Planning
While our families were involved in planning everything, we had Mr. Satyen Gawade’s team to help us with preparations for the sangeet and wedding ceremony. Ms. Priyal Khara of Meraki Designs designed our beautiful wedding cards for us. Ms. Shamita Gogia and Ms. Chandini Mohindra were the makeup artists we hired for the functions. My lehengas for the sangeet and wedding were bought from Disha Patil Pret Couture and Saroj Jalan (a Kolkata based designer) respectively. Rahul, on the other hand, picked his outfits for both these functions from TISA. WhatKnot was in charge of documenting our wedding and freezing some of our most treasured memories for us to revisit at will.

Wedding Functions

Cocktail Night
We started the wedding celebrations with a cocktail party at TAP Resto Bar, a lounge and restaurant with a great vibe. The venue was decorated in black and gold for a glamorous atmosphere and to take the excitement a notch above, we even gave away prizes for stuff like best-dressed, best dancer etc.   

Mehndi
The next day we hosted the mehndi function. Inspired by Rajasthani melas, right from the decoration to the entertainment, everything was done keeping in mind the aesthetic of bright, ethnic color and joy. We had a group of ladies playing the dholak as they sang Rajasthani songs. My cousins did a few performances that included a dance to the song Ghoomar from the movie Padmavat and a few dedications to Rahul.

Sangeet
The mehndi was followed by a grand sangeet on the same night and the color palette was red and black. We had a split LED setup as backdrop to the stage that helped add a little bit of drama to the whole affair. Our performances followed a storyline that depicted Rahul’s quest for a suitable bride and the performances were complete with the support of 10 background dancers.

For this function, Rahul wore a black bandhgala jacket with a white patiala from TISA and I wore a heavy gold lehenga and jacket from Disha Patil Pret Couture.

Haldi
We had the haldi ceremony on the morning of the wedding day – an intimate family affair to which all of us wore yellow.

Wedding
Our wedding commenced in the evening with a baraat that was followed by a varmala with a ‘Ram-Sita’ theme. I entered the venue in a doli with dancers leading the way.

When we reached a designated spot, they surrounded me, hiding me from view. On cue, Rahul entered on a chariot pulled by two men. He went on stage and broke the dhanush (bow) to signify that he had won his bride. After that, I joined him on stage with a varmala in my hand and the ceremony was completed.

We then had the reception, followed by the pheras and my vidai. Rahul opted for an off-white sherwani from TISA paired with a red velvet dupatta that complemented my bridal lehenga from Saroj Jalan.

Advice To Couples
Make sure you feel comfortable in your wedding outfits, especially in the ones you choose for your sangeet so you can move around freely.

It is also very important to not compromise on the makeup artist. Make up enhances your features but also hides natural tiredness and you’re going to be the prettiest person in the room and in the pictures.

Get enough sleep and stay rested. I know this one is a little difficult to achieve it, but this is the only way you will be able to enjoy your functions thoroughly.

Be happy and keep smiling because you never know what candid moment will be captured by the photographers.

Wedding Makers
Venues: The Lalit Mumbai (Sangeet), Hotel Sahara Star (Wedding)
Groom’s Outfits: TISA (Sangeet and Wedding)
Bride’s Outfits: Disha Patil Pret Couture (Sangeet), Saroj Jalan, Kolkata (Wedding)
Makeup Artists: Shamita Gogia, Chandini Mohindra
Invitations: Meraki Designs

Photography: WhatKnot

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