Punita Hemnani and Abheet Manghnani – Petchburi, Thailand
Punita and Abheet enjoyed their wedding celebrations at Dusit Thani Hua Hin. Here, Punita shares their whole experience with us.
How we met
Ours is an arranged marriage that grew into love. Our parents introduced us. We started talking on the phone and from our very first conversation we knew there was a lot of potential. He lived in Tenerife, Spain and I live in Mumbai. When he came to visit, we went out on four or five dates and decided to get engaged. My parents only speak Sindhi and he’s not very fluent, but he managed to win them over.
The Wedding Venue and Functions
Abheet is originally from Chennai and because I’m from Mumbai, we thought we’d choose a third place to get married in. We had three options: Thailand, Colombo or Kerala. Abheet wasn’t very excited about Kerala… Then he and my brother made a trip to Thailand and fell in love with the hotels and hospitality there.
They recced four hotels: Rayong Marriott, Anantara Riverside, Sheraton Hua Hin and Dusit Thani Hua Hin. Despite Rayong being a new property, they thought it looked a little worn out. The Anantara was good but when they saw Dusit Thani, they were so taken with the grandeur of just the lobby that they didn’t want to look further.
We hosted five functions: the mehndi, a pool party, a sangeet, the wedding and a reception. We didn’t want to experiment too much for fear that the experimentation can go too far and sometimes, the culture of our Indian weddings is lost. Also, because it is a once in a lifetime thing, we wanted to make it absolutely perfect and not repeat any colour theme or look to any event.
The mehndi was an outdoors event with fireworks and rustic cabanas in shades of yellow. The pool party theme was vibrant and fresh in shades of blue and green. The sangeet was an upbeat event. The ‘haute galli’ theme translated into neon green and pink décor The wedding colours were gold and peach.
The highlight of course, was the reception. Our wedding planner, Nipunika excelled. It was commendable. The lighting was spectacular, the décor was peach and so elegant. She really saved the best for last.
Wedding Planning
We aren’t from Thailand and it was our first time doing an event there. We needed assistance in coordination in all aspects, hence we hired Elan Events by Nipunika as our planner.
A lot goes into a wedding and its easy to get tempted and include a lot of enticing things in the hope that it will be the best possible day of your life. But remain grounded and be reasonable. Include only the important, meaningful things and stick to your budget. That is key. Handling that equation though, can be challenging.
The wedding eventually was the most fun. Our guests all had a great time and everything was well organized. The best part was that we, as a couple, enjoyed each and every bit of our own wedding.
Advice and Recommendations
I’m extremely happy with the way my wedding went and wouldn’t change a thing. I’d advise anyone getting married that the key to a good wedding is to enjoy yourself. Once the guests see how in tune both families are, they get comfortable themselves.
Also, hiring performers for the entries or entertainment is absolutely brilliant but it is more fun when your own families come up with different things to do during the wedding as entertainment.
What worked for us is that the events moved up in a crescendo. Usually receptions are boring but thanks to Nipunika, our décor was best on the day of the reception. We had RDB perform, so the entertainment was also the best on the last day creating a memorable end to the festivities for all our guests.
Getting married is your dream and every bride and groom should create a canvas exactly as they want.
Wedding Planner: Elan Events by Nipunika
Makeup Artist: Ablaze by Simran Takkar, Thailand and India
Photos Courtesy: Shades Photography
