Ashmita and Jeet, The Leela Kovalam, Kerala

They swiped right on each other’s Tinder profiles, little knowing that it would lead them to a dreamy wedding in lush Kerala down the line. Here, the bride shares with us pictures of her wedding as captured by WeddingSutra Favorite The Creative Lens and tells us about their story.

How We Met
“Jeet and I met each other through Tinder. At the time, the app was still relatively new, so I downloaded it to see what it was like. We found each other there and chatted for about a month after which he finally managed to convince me to meet him on a date. I remember that I was late by an hour and he was convinced that he was getting stood up. He waited nonetheless, and we ended up having a good time there. While I did think he was a fun person and good friend to have, I never saw him as someone who I would marry. However, as weeks passed by, little by little we got more serious. We dated for two years before we decided to get married.”

Proposal
“He proposed to me on our trip to Bali. We were staying at ‘Hanging Gardens Of Bali’ which is a hotel atop a hill and has a beautiful poolside. He arranged for a vegetarian gourmet dinner in the middle of the swimming pool with ‘Will you marry me?’ written on the side of the floor. It was splendid!”

Wedding Venue
“Jeet and I were very keen on having a destination wedding. However, since we were getting married during the monsoons, we had to rule out a lot of places. The Leela Kovalam was a property that he had always loved, and so we decided to go ahead with it. There were so many reasons why this property stood out. Its location, the gorgeous views from every room, the fact that you could hear the sounds of the waves at every point and the sheer expanse across which it was spread out made it an ideal location for us to tie the knot.”

Wedding planning
“Mpire Weddings was our wedding planner. Vikram is a friend and having him on board was an obvious choice. Our wedding was photographed by The Creative Lens and working with them was such a good experience. Soumak and his team were very accommodating and willing to include our ideas too. They managed to put us at absolute ease. Their presence was not only reassuring but also very positive.”

Wedding Functions

Mehndi
“We had our mehndi at ‘The Terrace’ which was by the pool. Since this was the first event, we wanted people to relax and get ready for all that was to follow. Keeping this in mind we had called a few masseuses to give our friends and family shoulder and foot massages. The colors that were used as part of decor were yellow, orange, white and green. A cart with giveaways and favors was set up at the venue. We had traditional singers and drummers at the venue too to set the mood. For this event, I picked a green and golden lehenga by Sawan Gandhi in New Delhi.”

Wedding
“We decided to have an unconventional order of events by hosting the wedding on the first day itself. We wanted to enjoy our wedding and party hard. However, when the wedding is scheduled as one of the latter functions, the bride and the groom often don’t end up indulging in all the madness because they want to sleep well and not look hungover on the big day. So, we got married at the beach. The ceremony began in the evening and got over by the time night had set in. The weather was pleasant, and the setting proved to be perfect. We went with a white and lilac color scheme for this function. Since the location of so peaceful and pretty, we didn’t want bold colors to take away from its natural beauty. We had artists who sang for each phera and the sounds of the waves served as the background score.I wore a baby pink lehenga by Prerna Nagpal for this event.”

Reception
“Regarding the decor, the reception followed the same mood as the wedding, and the look of white and lilac drapes was enhanced further with the use of fairy lights. We had a sit-down dinner in the ballroom. Since both Jeet and I are very close to our nephews and nieces, we included them in our bridal entrouage as ‘flower girls’ and ‘page boys’ who decorated our path with white rose petals as we entered the banquet. Our family and friends raised some very touching toasts. We had a percussionist at this function. For the kids, we had set up separate tables where we put lots of things to keep them busy such as coloring books, candies, Lego sets and so much more. Once the dinner was over, DJ Anurag took over the console and had everybody grooving till the wee hours in the morning.”

Sadhya Lunch
“Since we were in Kerala, we wanted to give our guests a taste of the place, quite literally! Though this wasn’t a function, it was a unique occasion. The lunch was set up on a long table where banana leaves were laid out, and the hotel staff served everyone a lovely Kerala style meal. This came highly recommended by the hotel, and we weren’t disappointed one bit. To add to the mood, we gave our guests traditional white dhotis and sarees and had people present there who helped them draped those.”

Pool Party
“Our sundowner pool party was held at the infinity pool which wasn’t a venue that was easy to get, but no other place could have been more perfect. We had decorated the area with baby’s breath blooms, white drapes and planks of wood to add a rustic looks. Canopies were set up, food was laid out inside the restaurant, and relaxing music played in the background. You could see the wide expanse of the sea and the weather that day was quite windy. We had beer pong, sheesha, and cocktails for guests to enjoy. Since this was a pool party, I was very particular about the fabric for my outfit. Prerna Nagpal designed my attire using scuba fabric. I wore shorts that came with a wrap-around skirt and a crop top.”

Sangeet
“My father-in-law arranged for a surprise for the two of us during this function. Just before we entered the banquet, he had members from both the families create a tunnel by joining their hands for us to walk through. It was a simple yet touching way to see both the families come together to celebrate our union. The backdrop of our stage was gorgeous. We had a golden laser-cut lotus made of acrylic. I wore a sky blue lehenga by Natasha Dalal for this function.”

Advice for Couples
“Individuals, especially women, who are getting married often get so overwhelmed with the preparations and balancing everyone’s opinions that they forget to have fun. Don’t let that happen. Yes, focus on details that would make your parents and guests happy, but don’t get so caught up in all that, that you forget to enjoy yourself. After all, the wedding is for you too!”

The Wedding Makers
Venue: The Leela Kovalam, Kerala
Wedding Planner: Mpire Weddings
Bride’s Outfits: Sawan Gandhi, (Mehndi) Prerna Nagpal (Wedding, Reception, Pool Party), Natasha Dalal (Sangeet)
DJ: DJ Anurag
Photography: The Creative Lens

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