Megan and Nirvam, Sintra, Portugal
Megan and Nirvam's wedding decor was inspired by the rich history and heritage of Portugal.
Megan and Nirvam hosted their wedding at heritage venues in Portugal as she loves places with a rich past. Each function offered a refreshing take on traditional Indian festivities. Megan takes us through some of the decor inspirations and other highlights of the celebrations.
How They Met
“Nirvam and I met when I was studying abroad in London for a semester in 2013. I knew him through my cousins, and we started hanging out. Our connection was almost immediate, and soon, our friendship developed into a relationship. Unfortunately, I moved back to New York, but we kept our friendship alive. Three years later, he started coming to New York, and we decided to give our relationship one more shot. A while later we didn’t want to wait any longer and got engaged shortly after he proposed at Central Park.”
Wedding Venues
“I love the charm of old buildings and learning about a place’s history. Therefore, it was clear to me from the beginning that I wanted to get married at a place with a rich heritage and where our loved ones could experience a new culture along with us. That said, we needed our venues to understand the complexities of an Indian wedding. Lisbon has a huge South-Asian community, and some of our families stay there. The day I went to the Ritz Cartlon Penha Longa Resort in Sintra, Portugal, and got a venue tour, I knew I couldn’t get married anywhere else. The property used to be a monastery in the 14th-century and a lot of the venues within the hotel had the original structures intact and still retained some traditional Portuguese tiles from that time. How special is that!”
Wedding Functions
Mehndi
“We threw a Portuguese farmhouse party for our mehndi, which was a family only event, and had portuguese folk artist share their traditional dance and music with us. All of us spent time bonding with each other, taking in the festive spirit and having a blast; it was the perfect start to our wedding. I wore a hot pink Indo-western outfit by Masaba Gupta, and Nirvam opted for a bandi and kurta creation by Rohit Bal.”
Welcome Lunch
“’Poolside Chic’ was the theme we chose for our welcome lunch. We let the aesthetics for this one be very clean and minimalistic with white as the only color across all decor elements. A relaxed soiree, this event made for the perfect opportunity for all our loved ones to get to know each other.”
Sangeet
“Our sangeet was a Moroccan-themed night with a Portuguese twist. The decor featured lots of Middle-Eastern elements like lanterns, rugs, ottomans, low seating and sheesha. For the performances, we swapped the traditional raised stage with a informal dance floor to create a more welcoming vibe and above it, we suspended strings of bistro lights and paper lanterns. The concept came to life wonderfully, and the spirit of the function had our guests dancing until the wee hours of the morning.”
Wedding
“The beautiful 15th-century fort in Penha Longa was our wedding venue. While planning the decor for this function, we ensured that we weren’t choosing colors or designs that would clash with the structure’s existing aesthetic. Therefore, we went ahead with a rustic chic theme that used white flowers with foliage and complemented the fort’s personality perfectly, thus giving us the wedding of our dreams! I wore a blush Anamika Khanna lehenga for the ceremony while Nirvam opted for an achkan ensemble by Sabyasachi Mukherjee.”
Reception
“We went all out on the glamour quotient at our reception with a ‘The Great Gatsby’ theme which was hosted at Sud Lisboa. Black, gold, and white were the colors of the night, and the highlight was our captivating art-deco style wedding cake.
For the function, I went with a striking black gown from Berta, while Nirvam looked dapper in a white tuxedo.”
The Wedding Makers
Venues: Villa Cerrado das Fontainhas (Mehndi), Ritz Carlton Penha Longa Resort (Welcome Lunch, Sangeet & Wedding), Sud Lisboa (Reception)
Wedding Planner: Unique Dream Weddings
Bride’s Outfits: Masaba Gupta (Mehndi), Alexis (Welcome Lunch), Arpita Mehta (Sangeet), Anamika Khanna (Wedding), Berta (Reception)
Groom’s Outfits: Rohit Bal (Mehndi), Shantanu & Nikhil (Sangeet), Sabyasachi Mukherjee (Wedding)
Makeup Artist: Neeraj Navare
Hairstylist: Tania Desousa
Mehendi: Henna By Antara
Choreography: Archi Vira
Photography: Ricardo Catarro
Videography: VIP Weddings
