Sukrti Nagpal and Sameer Trikha – Goa, India

By Jaspreet Soni

Sukrti and Sameer are both doctors born and brought up in UK. They met around three years ago and the high point came when Sameer proposed to Sukrti on a visit to the Temple, and later under the stars at the most romantic destination, Goa.

The Leela, Goa

Sukrti says, “We both had talked about getting married in India. Sameer really liked Delhi, while I was keener on a more picturesque place with less hustle and bustle. We set about looking at locations and narrowed it down to Udaipur in Rajasthan and Goa. I had grown up by the sea in the UK and Goa appealed to me that little bit more. Upon visiting The Leela, Goa with my mother we were sure where we wanted it to be- the beach brought back the feeling of a home away from home and The Leela was a picturesque venue with so much natural beauty, so couldn’t think of any other place.”

Wedding Planning

Sukrti came down to India to do her shopping, specifically in Mumbai, and also spent 2 days at The Leela having meetings with the Wedding planner known to Leela. Says Sukrti, “My masi’s daughter who was getting married a week after us gave me the blueprint akin to her research and then I started putting together my ideas to bring everything together.”

Vibrant Mehndi 

“I wanted traditional greens, oranges and yellow. I love marigolds, so the Weddign Planner suggested a Rajasthani theme, we had bells and marigold pomanders hanging from the trees along with marigolds flowing from ghadas. During the mehndi, we had traditional singing with my father playing the harmonium, my father-in-law the dholak and the ladies singing”, says Sukrti.

She wore a mango yellow lehenga with big borders and a beautiful dupatta having pink, orange and green lucknowi work which she bought from Marine Lines. Sameer wore a light yellow kurta pyjama.

Peacock themed Sangeet

The Sangeet being the main party of the weekend had to be a really cool one and with the primary colors blues, greens and purple, it turned out to be even more mesmerizing.

Sukrti says, “We held the Sangeet party in the main Ballroom. I had seen a peacock floral arrangement while surfing the web, and I wanted those colors to go with the table linen. I also really loved the concept of a photobooth and had seen it here in the UK. We recreated this using a frame in the foyer of the Main Ballroom. This worked really well for the night. We had our ring ceremony, Chunni followed by family performances where we had a lot of singing and dancing.”

Her Sangeet lehnga was a Peacock blue velvet heavily laden with zardozi work. Says Sukrti: “Many guests told me it looked even more amazing thanks to the night, twinkling throughout the ballroom.” Sameer wore a peacock blue Achkan.

Elegant Wedding

“I had always wanted a very simple structured mandap of bamboo / wooden pillars with flowers. I went with the colour theme of orange, fuschia and purple. I gave my planner some pictures of different archways and a brief on the mandap, and left them to do the rest. The hotel gave us some umbrellas which were incorporated into the decor”, says Sukrti.

Sameer’s Baraat came up the main drive of The Leela with the Milni under the main dome of the entrance providing a very picturesque setting. The Mandap was set on the lawns just overlooking the beach making the ceremony very romantic.

For the wedding, Sukrti wore a beautiful raspberry red lehenga for which she hunted all over Mumbai. In the end she had a vague idea of what design she wanted and managed to find a designer who would put the look together. She says, “Over the next 2 months she sent me swatches of the work which I liked and we put together the outfit. It was nerve wracking not being able to see the work as she did it but my cousin was also having her lehnga made by her so she could keep an eye. And when I saw it after coming back to India – I loved it!” Sameer wore a cream white sherwani with red and gold stone work.

Says Sukrti: “A special thanks to our parents for supporting us through everything. I didn’t realise that Makeup would be a big concern for me in the nth hour, my talented sister did my hair and makeup, and she did a fantastic job, to give me a natural and classic look. “She is not a makeup artist by profession, but she has a talent for it!”

Photographs courtesy-
Edric George
www.edricgeorge.com

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