Mitra and Amar, Angsana Laguna Phuket, Thailand
With themes inspired by places special to them, Mitra and Amar's Thailand wedding was high on artistic creativity.
Beautiful themes, glittering lights and the gorgeous aura of floral profusions all came together to create mesmerizing environments for Mitra and Amar’s wedding in Thailand. WeddingSutra Favorite – Keeran The Wedding Planner planned the fun celebrations and another WeddingSutra Favorite – Moor Designs created beautiful wedding invites and stationery for the couple. Take a peep into the classy celebrations here.
How We Met
Amar was a junior at Carnegie Mellon University while Mitra joined the school as a freshman in Fall 2010. They were both Computer Science majors and part of the CMU Bhangra team! They met at the bhangra team’s first practice of the season and became friends. When Amar graduated from CMU, he decided to move to Mitra’s hometown, Seattle, to work at Amazon. Mitra, in the meanwhile, still had two years to go back to Pittsburgh, Amar’s hometown! For the next two years, they met during weekends, bhangra competitions, school breaks, and any time they could get in between. When it was Mitra’s time to graduate, she accepted an offer to join Amar at Amazon. But coincidentally, the day Mitra started was the same day that Amar quit to join another company! When Amar joined the start-up, numberFire, he decided to stay in Seattle instead of moving to his company’s New York headquarters.
The Proposal
On December 9, 2017, Amar planned a date day for them. After ice skating and adventuring around Seattle, Amar told Mitra they were making a pit stop at their favorite macaroon shop before heading for massages. Amar convinced Mitra to buy the shop’s ‘Holiday Surprise Box’, and inside were macaroons with the words ‘Will You Marry Me?’ written on them! Their families joined them in the shop moments later and they capped off the evening with a lovely dinner with family and close friends.
Wedding Venue
The bride had always dreamed of having a destination wedding in Thailand after watching YouTube videos of Indian weddings there. When the time came, the whole family was on board almost instantly! “Our moms had visited several hotels in Thailand a year before and felt that Angsana Laguna Resort in Phuket was the best venue for us as it had amazing amenities, beautiful rooms, and great location,” share the couple.
Wedding Planning
“The team of Keeran The Wedding Planner has planned Indian weddings in Thailand for 15 years, so we knew we were in good hands especially since we had never been to Thailand before. They helped us a lot with sourcing vendors, negotiating contracts, and executing the festivities during the entire weekend. They also led most of the discussions with the decor team after taking our initial suggestions, and we couldn’t be happier with how everything turned out.”
Wedding Functions
“Our overall theme was ‘Around The World’. We based each event’s theme on a location that was special to us.”
Welcome Dinner – ‘Welcome To Thailand’
“This event officially welcomed our guests to Thailand. We had special Thai dancers walk in with us and give a quick performance. This was followed by a Thai dinner.”
After Party – ‘Tokyo Drift’
“Tokyo and loved it, so this theme fit perfectly for our after party. Our bartenders were dressed as ninjas and served ‘ninja shots,’ and the decor team put up a gorgeous Japanese themed photo booth and entry way.”
Mehndi – ‘Down By The Bay’
“To celebrate our brief stint in San Francisco, we had our mehndi at the poolside by the beach. The decor was based on pastel colors with an ‘On The Sea’ vibe with elements such as coral reefs, pearls, seashells, etc. We offered tropical drinks, Thai foot massages, and mehndi tattoos. We gave away fun handbags, bangles, and bindis to our guests.”
Baraat – ‘Dance To Seattle’
“The groom’s side brought in a turban tying team for all the men at the wedding – yellow for the groom’s side and green for the bride’s side (playing off of our respective hometowns’ teams colors). Everyone joined in the baraat and had an amazing time dancing down the hotel’s driveway, while the groom danced in a Mercedes.”
Sangeet – ‘Pittsburgh v/s Seattle’
“We played up the rivalry between our two hometowns at the sangeet. Everybody walked downstairs under a constructed Pittsburgh bridge and walked in to see a stage backdrop meshing the two iconic skylines together. Our bar was set up to look like the iconic Pittsburgh incline car, and everyone danced on an LED stage that changed with each dance.”
Wedding – ‘A South Indian Affair’
“Both our families hail from South India, so our wedding included traditional ceremonies from both our Tamil and Telugu cultures. We had a beautiful mandap on the beach and lined up overhead coverings and fans for our guests in the back. We passed out cards in the shape of fans, where each card explained the steps in the marriage. We passed out celebratory ladoos to all of our guests as it is a custom, and enjoyed a delicious ‘banana leaf lunch’ catered by the iconic Saravana Bhavan restaurant, afterward.”
Reception – ‘Empire State Of Mind’
“We had our reception in the marquee, a large tent a few minutes away from the hotel since it could seat all of our guests. The decor was very elegant, with neutral colors and metallics, flowers, and a New York themed backdrop. Before the reception, we hosted our wedding party with champagne and headed over to the event together.”
After Party – ‘On The Run’
“Mitra is obsessed with Beyonce, so we had to have this event! Our decor was glitzy, glam, and inspired by the ‘On The Run’ concert trailer. We had the LED dance floor here that was playing Beyonce and Jay-Z music videos throughout the night, and the bar served ‘Lemonade’ jello shots.”
Advice For Couples
“Do your own research and set a timeline with your planners at the very beginning. Focus on the things you care about and try not to stress about everything else, even if other people may try to stress you out about them.”
The Wedding Makers
Venue: Angsana Laguna Phuket, Thailand
Wedding Planner: Keeran The Wedding Planner
Decor Design & Conceptualization: Keeran The Wedding Planner
Decor Execution: Marisa Decor
Wedding Invitations: Moor Designs
Bride’s Outfits: Nikasha (Welcome Dinner), Lulus (After Party), Manshaa (Mehndi), Sunny’s Bridal (Sangeet), Nadine Dhody (Reception), Asos (After Party)
Groom’s Outfits: Shantanu & Nikhil (Welcome Dinner), Rohit Bahl (Mehndi), Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla (Sangeet), Vanshik and Rohit Bahl (Wedding), Hugo Boss (Reception), Macys (After Party)
Makeup Artist and Hairstylist: Reshma Patel
Bartenders: Gulp BKK
Entertainment: DJ Sunny Singh
Photographer: Koro Films
