Reni and Dharan, JW Marriott Mumbai Juhu

Reni and Dharam planned innovative concepts and themes for their wedding functions such as an ‘Adam and Eve’-themed ring ceremony and cocktail party to an English Reception at JW Marriott Mumbai Juhu. Here, bride Reni shares some highlights of the grand #Redha celebrations captured in beautiful frames by CCP by Nishith Dayal.

How We Met
Reni met Dharan through a family member. They didn’t have much in common initially but bonded over their ideas of life and adventure. Reni explains, “When we first met, we didn’t have anything in common. But we couldn’t resist being together and became really good friends. Gradually, our relationship blossomed into love.” Their parents were pretty excited when they learned about their relationship and everything moved smoothly from thereon.

Wedding Proposal
Every moment of their time spent together has been wonderful, but for Reni, the proposal is one memory that stands out. “It was just a regular day for me when Dharan called me and told me to reach Colaba immediately. His driver dropped me at the Gateway of India and guided me to a yacht. I had no idea what was going on till I saw Dharan approach me all suited up. Suddenly, he gifted me a beautiful red gown and shoes and told me to change into it. Initially, I thought it was just a break from our crazy wedding planning schedule, but then, he surprised me with a chocolate cake and a platinum band in the ring box. I couldn’t believe my eyes and instantly said ‘Yes’ to the most amazing man in the world. The evening ended with champagne and dinner at the Taj.”

Wedding Venues
“We visited multiple five- and seven-star venues in Mumbai. We had decided on our concepts and themes for our functions, and were clear that we wanted an unconventional wedding. Our families left everything to us and gave us full freedom to plan our wedding the way we wanted. So we selected a venue which would fit most of our concepts well. For the pheras and reception, we chose The Grand Sangam Ballroom at JW Marriott Mumbai Juhu.”

Wedding Functions

Ring Ceremony and Cocktail
“The theme of this function was ‘Adam & Eve’ and we used ‘aam peti’ (mango cartons), fake apples and creepers to create a forest-like environment. Each table had a small theme with suitable table pieces and the room was done up with white trees, fairy lights, an ‘Adam & Eve’ photo booth and a white stage with floral decor.”

Mehndi
Pink, green, yellow and blue with Rajasthani ‘katputli’ (puppets) decor with umbrellas and a swing was the highlight of this function. Special welcome gifts were arranged for the ladies that included a handmade ‘maang tikka’ (forehead ornament) of blue, red and pink color and a waist belt. The function even saw some surprise performances by the Reni’s mother and friends.

Pheras
“The theme for this beautiful ceremony was Laxmi Narayan. A lotus-shaped stage was set up and the bride’s welcome ‘chaadar’ (floral canopy) also included lotus and bells. For her grand entry, an arrangement of all the bride’s cousins and friends each carrying a bell, diya and rose petals and a floral chaadar with floral garlands on the sides were arranged. Dharan and I decided to go with a beige and peach color theme for our outfits. To make the lehenga a memorable one, we got our wedding logo embellished on my lehenga in the center, as well as girl and boy motifs with ‘varmalas’ (garlands) in their hands around the logo to capture a wedding moment. Our Hastmelap cloth also had a 3D ‘baarat’ (groom’s procession) and ‘doli’ (bridal palanquin) logo in it facing the respective sides of the bride and groom.”

Reception
“Unlike the traditional reception, we thought of giving ourselves and the guests a break from the long queues and long photograph sessions on stage. So we hosted an ‘English Reception’ for which we took waltz dance lessons. The evening began with the first dance of me with my father and then moved on to me dancing with Dharan. This was followed by our family members dancing on a choreographed waltz number. We had an open dance floor for all guests, Before the wedding, we even sent dance lessons videos to all our guests via Whatsapp for them to learn the moves at home, and much to our surprise, quite a few of them surprised us with their finesse on the dance floor.”

Wedding Makers
Venue: JW Marriott Mumbai Juhu
Decor: Groomart Designs, National Decorators (Mumbai), Bride’s Brigade (Mumbai) and Simit Khajani
Wedding Cake: D Cake Creations (Mumbai)
Bar (Mixology): Udit Sethi of Hops Cork- The Drink Lab (Mumbai)
Bride’s Outfits: Bansri Majethia, Aza, P&C, Avinash Punjabi
Makeup Artist and Hairstylist: Urmi Kaur Wachher (Mumbai), Ritika Kadam and Aafung
Mehndi Artist: Anupama Sarvaiya
Jewellery: J Kirtikumar Sonawala (Mumbai) and K Jewels (Mumbai)
Choreography: Rahul Saxena for Reception (Mumbai)
Entertainment: Stefan Fernandes and Vipul Vyas

Photography: CCP by Nishith Dayal

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