A Destination Wedding Photography story
Hong Kong based investment banker ties the knot with Dubai based advertiser in a destination wedding in Hua Hin Thailand – a true global-desi wedding, if ever there was one! The bride tells us how it all came together, in her own words.
How we met
Anool is a Hong Kong-based investment banker turned HR Head for a Swiss private investment solutions company with a very soft spot for me. I am a creative thinker, co-founder of a Dubai based advertising company, lover of kathak and my big fat family. We met at a friend’s wedding in Cebu, Philippines but it all really started when we both missed our respective flights back home. Initially both of us thought nothing of it but, despite the distance and time difference, our similar interests and attraction towards each other made us come together. Our very first phone call will always be a memorable one (it lasted close to three hours) and, like many other long distance couples, we have paid a fortune in exorbitant phone bills and flight tickets.
Anool surprised me with a proposal in Mumbai, where he had brought both sets of parents together and asked my father for his permission before going down on one knee. Even though everything was moving quite fast, it felt right. Being with Anool felt right and I accepted his proposal.
Our Destination Wedding Venue
We both wanted a destination wedding by the beach at a resort where family and friends from both sides can come together with no distractions so that they could cherish all the functions and have the time of their lives. We narrowed it down to Thailand so that it could be relatively central for our guests from UAE, Hong Kong and India. We looked at many venues in Kao Lak, Phuket, Bangkok and more but none of them fit our requirements like The Sheraton, Hua Hin. It is a spectacularly beautiful resort with direct access to the beach, oceanfront lawn venues, and a lovely lagoon pool which runs through the entire property. The ballrooms were just the right size to accommodate our friends and family, they have chefs from across the globe to handle all of our complicated food requests and a whole bevy of warm and friendly staff. There were plenty of vendors to choose from in Bangkok so it was convenient for them to be available at Hua Hin and for us to coordinate with them.
Our Destination Wedding – Functions and Themes
We had a big, fat Sindhi wedding with great pomp and fanfare. A lot went into planning it – both families took multiple trips to Thailand to finalise the decor, food and the logistics for everything. Even though we had hired a great wedding planner, we all took personal interest to stay on top of things and maintain a personal touch with all our vendors. Both, Anool and I, are very detail oriented and wanted to be involved in everything.
The wedding theme was something that took us a lot of time to come up with. We wanted something that had a flow to it, and could give meaning and substance to all our functions. We finally decided upon “Seasons of Love”, i.e. (White) Winter Engagement, Summer Mehendi, Monsoon Sangeet, Spring Pheras and an Autumn Reception. These seasons and colours were reflected in the decor, in the food menu and even our outfits for each and every function.
One of the most special part of our wedding decor was that we wanted to always get married in a Thai-type temple structure and that was made possible by Oriental Events.
And we are delighted that our photography team, Arjun Kartha Photography, was able to capture the beauty of our wedding with their unique destination wedding photography. They made us very comfortable and were fun and friendly to work with.
Wedding Shopping
Wedding shopping is always the most stressful aspect of a destination wedding – we made multiple trips to Mumbai for a lot of our things including our outfits as well as outfits for our families. Although we used a few different designers, Anool and I generated a lot of our own ideas and details which were beautifully executed by them. The planning and shopping phase lasted the course of a year but it went by like a breeze. It gave us even more time to work together on the wedding like a project, gain a deeper understanding into each other and our respective families. It brought everyone closer together and this beautiful phase will always have a very special place in our hearts.
Wedding Makers
Designers for Taruna: Nova Krishnan, Rubina, Shantanu & Nikhil
Designers for Anool: Just Men, Badasaab, Seema Mehta, Brandy & Co.
Planners & Decor: Rimjhim Events & Oriental Events
Music & Entertainment: DJ Manoj Punjabi, Trav Saxsingh Panesar (Sax), Anish Percussionist, Rodney (Singer Performer), Anushka Manchanda (Singer Performer), Paul Veer & Gursewak Singh (Dhol)
Cinematography: Doodle Studio
Destination Wedding Photography: Arjun Kartha Photography
This article first appeared on Wedding Sutra – you can view the original article here.
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