Alyssa and Abedin, Mumbai

Some love stories seem written in the stars. Alyssa Chesson and Abedin Sham found true love through their passion for work and moved across borders to be together. Their charming Mumbai wedding was planned to perfection by WeddingSutra Favorite – Mpire Events. Below are a few glimpses of the celebrations.

How They Met
Abedin and Alyssa met in February 2018 during a photoshoot featuring entrepreneurs for his hotel in Mumbai, Abode Boutique Hotel. Alyssa, who owns and operated Bono Boutique Icecream specializing in unique flavors, was invited with her sister to be included in the shoot. She shares, “I didn’t actually get to meet Abedin as he was based out of Sri Lanka and Dubai at the time, but we had exchanged numbers for coordination and we eventually started chatting. We met for the first time when he came to Mumbai and invited me to a live jazz event at his hotel, and we instantly hit it off.”

The Proposal
“On one of our work trips to Sri Lanka, I had been picking up on small hints. Even though it was a work trip, we were staying at a grand hotel and being treated to fabulous meals, which I found a little suspicious, and I kept finding hidden bottles of champagne. Somehow, he still managed to keep his plan under wraps.” Under the pretext of going to dinner with one of his friends, he got her dressed up, and to add to her confusion drove past the intended restaurant to a villa. Walking up to the dark property, Alyssa was thoroughly bewildered when the music started playing suddenly, and she saw hundreds of candles came into view. Strewn with rose petals, the pathway led up to him kneeling on a giant heart made of rose petals.

“It was pure magic. All my favorite songs were playing and there was a beautiful pool lit up with candles and rose petals and he even had a photographer on standby to take pictures. Like every other girl, I had always dreamed of this moment but when it happened I stood there frozen. It took a while to settle in that I was getting engaged! I couldn’t wait to tell my family, but he dropped another surprise bomb by saying they already knew as he actually had gone to take their permission.”

Wedding Venue
With lots of work commitments, the couple wanted to have a stressless wedding and decided to do it in their home city of Mumbai. After the bride’s mehndi ceremony at her home on Altamount Road, the mehndi sundowner function took place at Gallops restaurant, while the wedding and cocktail took place at Tote on the Turf, both at Mahalakshmi Race Course.

Wedding Planning
The busy couple decided to entrust the planning and execution of their wedding to a professional team that could be trusted to carry out their vision to perfection and picked Mpire Events to do the same. Green venues and luxurious yet minimalistic decor by Dream Designs looked magical when everything came together, and all the heady moments were captured by Recall Pictures. Makeup artist Bianca Bee gave the bride a glowing visage for the functions, and her hair was styled by Ritika Kadam.

Wedding Functions

Twinning, now and forever.

Intricate patterns for a life partner.

Let’s get this party started!

And here comes the bride…

The beautiful setups at the wedding planned by Mpire Weddings, especially this one against a natural backdrop charmed all.

We love this arch of foliage and flowers framing the vibrant lovebirds!

  ”Of all the walks we have ever taken, this is the one I’ll remember forever.”

A shy smile as the rituals get underway…

And now, you may kiss the bride.

And so a new adventure begins…

The Wedding Makers
Venues: Gallops (Mehndi Sundowner), Tote on the Turf (Wedding, Cocktail)
Wedding Planner: Mpire Events
Decor: Dream Designs
Bride’s Outfits: Papa Don’t Preach by Shubika (Mehndi), Cherie D (Wedding)
Makeup: Bianca Bee
Hairstylist: Ritika Kadam

Photography and Videography: Recall Pictures

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