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Love Actually- Ankita Asthana and Akash Agarwal’s Platinum Day of Love

Our new initiative- ‘Love Actually’ is a photo series featuring engaged couples who actively seek ideas and inspiration from WeddingSutra. The series celebrates the beautiful people in love as they start their lives together. Because real love can only begin, never end. Over coffee, a makeover and a photo shoot we get to-be-weds to tell us how they met, show us their platinum love bands and talk about their day of love.

Ankita and Akash left the comfort of their homes after their 12th year of schooling, and headed to the same college for graduation in Nagpur. He came from Dehradun and she from Chennai. But they got to know each other only after their second year in college. Says Ankita, “I was in the Architecture department and he was in Engineering, so we didn’t interact much during our first year. We briefly met during the freshers event in college when a senior had sent him to ask my name. But I didn’t divulge the information and we went our separate ways. After my second year, my dad got transferred to Dehradun, where I had spent my childhood. I had to go home during my college break and a common friend suggested I get my tickets booked along with Akash. And with that train ride to Dehradun, our journey together began. It has been 7 years since then and we have travelled a long way together.”

After graduation, Akash moved to XLRI, Jamshedpur to pursue his MBA and Ankita pursued her Masters in Photography from NID with a brief exchange program in UK. She started working in Delhi and Akash was placed in the Treasury Department of a Private Bank in Mumbai. Says Ankita: “I moved to Mumbai in 2011. At the same time, I established my own photography company with Akash’s help. We began spending time together discussing the financial aspects of photography or the creative process of shooting, editing and processing. And a little later we started shooting together and taking up big assignments with an experienced and talented team of photographers and cinematographers.”

There wasn’t any formal proposal, and as Ankita quips they didn’t feel the need for one, “because right from the beginning we knew, it was just a matter of deciding the right time for it,” she says. They both happened to casually start discussing it on their flight back to Mumbai, after they were returning from Akash’s elder sister’s wedding in Dehradun, after which they decided to introduce both their parents formally.

After their engagement, the couple handed over the responsibility of wedding planning to their parents. Says Akash: “Parents love planning their kid’s wedding, it is what they dream of all their lives and we did not want to deprive them of this joy. The wedding had to be in Dehradun because both set of parents were there.” Adds Ankita: “And I was very happy about it because I always wanted to get married in a forest and my dad works at the Forest Research Institute (FRI). Me and Akash conveyed two things to our parents- the wedding should be in April and on a weekend. The weather in Dehradun is very pleasant at that time, and as April is the next financial year most of our friends would be able to take leave from work and be a part of the celebrations. Even though we’re having the wedding in our hometown, we want to have a destination wedding kind of a set-up, so we will be putting up our relatives and friends close-by so both sides can interact more and enjoy all the functions together.”

Ankita and Akash are tying the knot in two weeks, and are excited as they near their big day. Says Ankita, “Had I not met Akash, I would not be the person I am today. I believe that in a certain way, we both have moulded each other and grown together.” Adds Akash: “We both share a common passion for living life in a grand way, and we’re looking forward to making the most of it by travelling, exploring and enjoying every moment of it together.”

If you’re getting married in 2014 and would like to be a part of ‘Love Actually’ write to us (editor@weddingsutra.com) with the link to your FB profiles, wedding date and ‘how you met’ story. Selected couples will be invited for the shoots in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Chennai.

Platinum Jewellery (Love Bands, Bangle, Earring and Necklace) by ORRA
Makeup- Maya Mehta
Location- Vivanta by Taj- President, Mumbai
Photographs by- Jhalak Singhal and Ashwin Mishra (Shades Photography)

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