Vidhi Arora and Jonathan Elis, W Goa

Vidhi Arora and Jonathan Ellis’ destination wedding by the serene shores of Goa resembled a tailor-made fairytale. Weaving the milestone moments of their courtship into each celebration, the cross-cultural wedding was designed by WeddingSutra Favorite – Castle Rock Events.

Wedding Planning
Pooja Ghotage from Castle Rock Events shares, “Vidhi and Jonathan were an adorable couple to interact with. While Vidhi is Indian Punjabi, Jonty is English, so, it was to be a cross-cultural wedding. The groom had only one request – the British White Wedding had to be simple, elegant and romantic! He wanted it to be an unplugged ceremony and the ceremony was to be just as it would be if hosted in Britain.

On the other hand, Vidhi was very clear on what she wanted for the rest of the functions. Especially the Mehendi where she wanted an ‘English Rose Garden’ and for the Indian Wedding, she wanted a royal yet contemporary feel to the event. The rest of the functions were kept open for us to brainstorm and come up with unique concepts.

The bride wanted each event to have a little bit of their story. Right from their first vacation memory to the Clos Maguire Proposal to the first rose that Jonathan gave Vidhi, we tried to include their story in every aspect of our decor. This was a challenge as we had to make it a seamless addition to the event decor. They were also certain how they wanted the two ceremonies so it took detailed calls to understand the British culture and the ceremony was executed accordingly. We also had a rehearsal before the main ceremony as is customary so all members were in full sync.”
Vidhi shares, “Our wedding day was the most beautiful, magical and memorable day. Castle Rock Events put so much attention to detail in everything. Each event was so unique and gorgeous. It was a great experience planning the wedding with them as they loved taking my input as well and didn’t make me feel like something was not possible in the budget. They explained the layouts and decor elements with a lot of detail and it was amazing seeing everything come to life and live up to the renderings. During the course of the planning they felt like friends due to the personal approach they took.”

Wedding Functions
Welcome Dinner
Pooja shares, “The welcome dinner was a small intimate gathering with extremely close family and friends. Vidhi wanted a relaxed first evening in Goa and we thought it would be nice to have a Bohemian palette for this evening. Soothing tones of rust, terracotta and beige were the underlying colours for the dinner. Dry palms and floral, macrame details, cane furniture and Wooden elements all came together to create a warm and inviting atmosphere. We had customized welcome notes in sync with the boho theme with macrame coasters on all the tables. We also created a custom DJ Booth with surfboards and their hashtag as an ode to a memory they shared on their first holiday together in Malaga, Spain.”

Mehndi
Pooja shares, “The Mehndi was a fun event, designed to allow guests to comfortably flow through and enjoy as a majority of them were arriving at this time. England holds a very special place for our couple given that they both met in England and the groom himself is English. We designed a quintessential English Rose Garden theme for this event. Soft hues of mints and pinks, roses in shades of pink, and dainty details through coasters, candles and tea party props made the most beautiful impact on this afternoon. We had a customized English Post Box where guests could leave messages for the couple on cute English Postcards. For the mehendi seating, we designed Ogee structures. Roses and custom heart fridge magnets hung from this seating; allowing guests to pick a magnet as they passed by. The highlight of this mehendi was the Couple Seating – designed to replicate the gorgeous ‘Clos Maggiore’ restaurant – the same place where their wedding proposal took place!”

White Wedding
Keen on honoring both their cultures, the planning had their hands full as they orchestrated two weddings. The first one on the cards was a White wedding. Describing the union Pooja shares, “Vidhi is a Punjabi while Jonathan is Catholic. Both of them wanted to represent their cultures equally at the wedding and hence, we orchestrated a traditional English wedding. The brief from the couple was very clear: they wanted a dreamy, pure and classy setup that would honor the English Culture. An Altar is what we had to create for the main ceremony to take place and they wanted an unplugged vibe.
We chose to go with a serene palette of white hues. With the gorgeous ocean as the backdrop, the design was such that it showcased this view while also being beautiful on its own. A ceiling full of white baby’s breath created a cloud-like effect, while the aisle was a classy metallic with blooms on either side. Acrylic chairs with ceremony books completed the look.”

Haldi
Poojs shares, “The Haldi was a colorful morning with bright happy colors of yellow, pink and orange! Set over the shallow pool, the bright colors of the flowers were brought alive thanks to the white Greek-inspired backdrop. To beat the heat, we had Mango yellow diwans with contrast cushions in pinks and prints, acrylic hollow tables filled with genda phool dressed on top with a full banana flower stem, acrylic chairs with motif printed cushions and yellow block print table overlays with terracotta centerpiece details – all came together to once again merge contemporary with traditional elements!”

Hindu Wedding
The last event was the Indian wedding where Vidhi showcased her love for all things regal! Pooja shares, “Vidhi wanted a royal, traditional wedding but with a little contemporary edge. The glass wedding mandap was all things royal and contemporary, complete with traditional details for this evening. We decided to go with a rich red, burgundy and gold palette. The mandap was adorned with floral setups while the ceiling was filled with single red roses paired with warm bulbs. The rest of the garden was filled with burgundy and gold chairs, long tables with burgundy runners and centerpieces with a variety of goldware. Glass lounges to match the mandap were the perfect addition to this evening along with regal sofas, brass urlis, fragrant rajnigandha, and glassware with fresh red blooms. Attention to detail was through gold frames with dried red rose petals – an ode to Vidhi saving the first rose Jonathan gave her. The dinner tables also had glass charger plates with thank you notes custom designed to match the theme of the wedding.”

The Wedding Makers
Venue: W Goa
Wedding Planner: Casamento
Décor: Castle Rock Events
Production: FM Productions LLC, Prop Shop Goa
Groom’s Outfits: Shyamal & Bhumika (Mehndi, Hindu Wedding), Edit Suits Co. (White Wedding), Jayanti Reddy (Haldi)
Bride’s Outfits: Sabyasachi Mukherjee (Mehndi, Hindu Wedding), Vera Wang (White Wedding), Nidhi Tohlia (Haldi)
Makeup: Minette Pereira
Wedding Invitations: Posh Invites
Photography and Videography: Picsurely

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