Shweta Naik & Anjan Vincent – Chennai, India

Shweta moved to Melbourne in 2006 to pursue her Masters and has been working there since 2008. Anjan moved there in 2011, he now works for Ford in Australia. Says Shweta: “We first met through his cousin sister in 2011. A few weeks later, we met up for coffee along the banks of the river Yarra in Melbourne. Starting then and in the weeks and months to come, we embarked on a wonderful journey of discovering each other– the things we had in common, what we admired about each other and most importantly, what we love about each other. We dated for about two years before Anjan took me back to the place where we first met and he proposed on one knee. I obviously said ‘YES’!!”

Wedding Venue
After informing both their families the couple excitedly began wedding planning. “It was months of work, but the support of our loving parents, family and friends made it exciting and fun. Since we are originally from India and most of our family is there, we decided to get married in India. We were keen on a beach wedding and since Anjan’s hometown is Chennai, we wanted to find something close by. After doing some research on the options we shortlisted two resorts in Mamallapuram near Chennai- Radisson Blu Resort Temple Bay and Vivanta by Taj-Fisherman’s Cove. We visited both the properties and finalised the Taj property,” says Shweta. The rustic vintage feel to the property, she says, worked well with their theme. Add to that the uninterrupted view of the beach and the hotel’s reputation for quality food and exemplary staff helped the couple make a quick decision. “The staff of Vivanta by Taj was incredibly helpful and friendly throughout the whole process,” says Shweta.

Wedding Events
Both Shweta and Anjan wanted to spend time with their guests for multiple days, which is why they had a couple of pre-wedding events such as the Mehndi (Henna) Ceremony and Cocktail dinner at Savera Hotel, Chennai a day before the wedding. The colour theme for the Mehndi was orange and fuchsia pink, as they wanted a bright and positive vibe to the function. “We had a bangle, jasmine flowers and bindi stand and my bridesmaids and cousins made sure the guests indulged in them. For the Cocktail, the decor was simple but we played with lights. We had a fuchsia pink/lavender lighting effect which really lifted the mood and was perfect for mingling and lots of dancing,” says Shweta.

The Wedding Ceremony and Reception at Taj-Fisherman’s Cove were held the following day. “The weather was just perfect for a beach wedding- sunny at 26 degrees with gentle breeze. We wanted a very rustic romance sort of feel to the wedding, so the colour scheme was coral pink, ivory and dull gold. Being the only child of my parents, I walked down the aisle with both mom and dad,” says Shweta.

Shweta and Anjan believe that it is the little yet unique details that make an occasion truly special, so they decided to include as many personalised elements. They incorporated various DIY elements, to make it a reflection of their personality and style. “We ordered our ring box from Teomil with our names and wedding date engraved on it. We had something called a ‘tree of love’ where our guests added their thumbprints and signatures on a frame.

To fit our vintage theme, we loved the idea of a simple wedding cake. We ended up getting a chocolate cake with white chocolate layers, and we topped it up with a customised Mr & Mrs Vincent cake topper from Etsy (The Pink Owl Gifts). We also had a photo booth at the wedding. The props were from PhotoBooth girls and some of the customised props were handmade by my friend Dolly Singh. We had our childhood and family pictures as part of the decor, along with a few sign boards such as a ‘Thank you’ chalkboard, a board with our favourite bible verse, and wooden direction boards for a very warm and rustic feel. For wedding favours, we gave away homemade chocolates placed inside some cute bride and groom-shaped boxes,” says Shweta as she sums up the glorious nitty-gritties that made their wedding so special.

Post the ceremony they moved to the reception area where they had a canopy of fairy lights, candles and paper lamps for a very dreamy feel. Shweta’s mother, Anjan’s brother and Anjan himself made speeches, and Shweta recalls how “every speech was quite funny yet emotional”.

A few days after their wedding, they had a traditional Indian reception in Shweta’s hometown- Delhi which marked the end to the week-long festivities. Her outfit for the Reception was designed by Delhi-based Shubhangini Singh and Anjan’s outfit was from Diwan Saheb. The moments at this event were captured by Simply Push Photography.

Advice for to-be-weds
-Ensure your day is built around what you and your partner love and value.
-Make sure you take a moment together during and after the wedding to reflect on the day, it will be one of the most memorable days of your life but it goes by very quickly, so soak it up!

The Wedding Makers
– Wedding Planner: Our planners Neethi and Sowmya from Purplerings, Bangalore were extremely professional given that we did most of the planning from Melbourne.
– Photography & Video: Coffee Stains were our official photographers and they did a great job. We were also blessed that one of my very close friends Prasheila Lookhar from Going Bananas Photography was able to attend our wedding and made it super special with the amazing pictures she took! It was great to see the wedding through her lens. A short video created by Rahul Datta from Starving Artist Videos added to the nostalgia of the entire wedding celebrations.

Photographs courtesy- Coffee Stains and Simplypush Photography.

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