Sadikchya and Vineet, The Palayana Hua Hin, Thailand

While most weddings can be quite ceremonial, Sadikchya and Vineet wanted their guests to not only celebrate, but also get to know each other and understand the rituals.

Striking a fine balance between formal and fun, the couple set up a successful meet-and-greet dinner, a pool party with an arty twist, a set of hilarious tasks for the groom to accomplish to win over the bride and a wedding ceremony whose rituals were explained so that everyone knew the significance of what was happening.

The bride shares with us how WeddingSutra Favourite Keeran the Wedding Planner’s team made sure that the duo’s wedding at the gorgeous The Palayana Hua Hin was nothing less than perfect! She gives us a glimpse into her big day.

How We Met
I’ve lived in Bangkok for the last 11 years. When Vineet moved here four years ago he was looking to make new friends. We met for the first time at an Indian Independence Day party but it was super casual. However, my friend’s fiancé got along very well with him and they became best friends. So for a while after, we were acquaintances with a mutual friend. When my friend was getting married, Vineet and I were both at the wedding and that’s when we hit it off. We bonded over food and Bollywood and realized we also shared the same vision of life. We realized we’d found the love of our lives.

Proposal
In April last year we went to Phuket for a quiet vacation. We’d booked our stay at The Naka and on arrival, we were greeted with an envelope which said that the hotel would offer us a complimentary private dinner in exchange for a photo shoot for their marketing promotions. I absolutely love photo-shoots and getting myself clicked and we agreed. But as we made our way to the waterfront, I saw that the entire beach was decorated with flowers, swings etc. The whole time I thought it was all for the photo shoot until they started the fire show and lit up a gigantic fire display that read, “Will you marry me?” That was the best day of my life! I said YES!

Wedding Planning
We were blessed with the best of the best professionals, each remarkable at their jobs. The wedding was planned by Keeran the Wedding Planner, Indian Wedding Photography Thailand took care of the documenting the wedding and Swanti Sethi was the woman behind all my makeup looks.

It took just one initial meeting with Keeran the Wedding Planner’s for her and her team to bowl us over. We didn’t need to look anywhere else. Even the staff at the hotels we went to swore by Keeran’s capabilities and said she was the best planner to work with. They have earned a great name for themselves in the industry and we got to hear a lot of positive feedback so we were confident they were the right decision.

We worked very closely with both, Keeran and Meghna. They were always on top of things and worked beautifully as a team. Meghna is the creative genius and Keeran is the budgeting expert. There were never any hidden costs and this helped in making the entire process smooth. Both of them gave us so many great ideas to incorporate into our nuptials and were open to the wildest suggestions that we could make. Having them take care of our wedding and help us plan the whole affair was such a pleasure!

Wedding Venue
Right after Vineet proposed, we got straight into wedding planning. Vineet wanted a beach wedding, so we went around looking for venues in Thailand. Our wedding planner – Keeran introduced us to The Palayana Hua Hin , and we fell in love with the property the moment we entered. It was just wonderful. The size of the property was ideal to accommodate all our guests. The staff was amazing, always smiling and willing to go the extra mile to serve us. The food there was phenomenal too. From non-vegetarian dishes to vegetarian and also vegan, everything they made was mouth-watering!

Wedding Functions

Welcome Dinner
We hosted this dinner the night most of our friends and families flew in. We wanted everyone to get to know each other before we dived into the festivities so there’d be no awkward moments. Every one was introduced to every one and by the end of the evening we were all friends. The vibes were kept super casual since a lot of the people had had a long journey and we didn’t want to pressure them with the need to dress up, get their hair done and so on.

Engagement
In Nepal, we have this function called Swayumbhar which is essentially an engagement but we wanted to spice this up a little and make it more fun. With support from Keeran and Meghna, I decided to have six surprise tasks for Vineet which he would have to complete in order to be eligible to marry me. The tasks were designed to test his intelligence, cooking skills, pain endurance (for which I made him wax his leg!), movie knowledge, focus and ambition and last but not least bravery. The last test was a true challenge because he had to catch a lizard and set it free from a bottle! For those of you who do not know Vineet – he is petrified of lizards. It was so entertaining to watch him go through each level but he did pass the test with flying colors and I said yes once again.

Wedding
We had a Nepali style wedding by the beach. The customs in Nepal are a lot like North Indian Hindu weddings with some minor variations. Our Master of Ceremonies explained the ceremony to our guests so they weren’t bored and didn’t feel lost.

The outfit that I wore for the ceremony was very special; a friend had designed it for me and the color palette resonated with the entire venue which had been decorated using the colors white and gold.

Pool Party
The theme was Arty Farty Pool Party and as the name suggests, the concept revolved around art. We had a live band and the stage was open to anyone who wanted to go and sing. Besides that, there was a section where our guests could paint. Some of our friends and family made some really great artworks. A favorite amongst these is a picture a friend painted of me at the mandap in my wedding attire.

This again was a very relaxed function where the only two rules were to jump into the pool and get drunk! To add a festive feel, we used paper flowers and paper lanterns in pastel tones as decoration and there was a big balloon in the shape of our wedding hashtag thrown into the pool

Reception
Blue and golden dominated the reception decor with round table seating for everyone. Some of our closest friends and family performed for us and with the dances and speeches the evening was packed with a lot of fun. After wearing traditional clothes for the previous two ceremonies, I wanted to change my look. So I opted for a gown in a soft pink with a bodice embellished with small pearls and a voluminous skirt. Vineet also stuck to the western theme by wearing a classic black tuxedo

Advice For The couple
Don’t stress too much, just go and have fun! It’s the most important day of your life, don’t waste it by worrying about anything. And remember, not everything will go the way it had been decided, but it will still be perfect because no one except for you knows what was planned!

Wedding Makers
Venue: The Palayana Hua Hin, Thailand
Wedding Planner: Keeran the Wedding Planner
Makeup: Swanti Sethi

Photography: Indian Wedding Photography Thailand

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