Chandni and Akshay at Fort JadhavGadh, Pune

Our series, ‘Featured Weddings’ brings you wonderful moments from weddings held at the finest venues across different cities. Chandni and Akshay got introduced by a family friend almost a decade ago. Here, she shares the story of their romance – from their first meeting to their wedding as well as a venue planning tip for couples.

About Us
“I’m a travel and social media fanatic, and Akshay is into his dad’s real estate business. Our fathers are common friends, and we met each other way back in 2008. Little did I know that Cupid had struck Akshay from the very first time he met me. For five years he was silent about his feelings. I went to the UK for my Master’s degree and we were only in touch through social media. He would happily ‘stalk’ me online and see bits of my life there – and he said he always wished that a girl like me would be in his life one day.”

Wedding Proposal
“Little did we both know about how the future would pan out. After almost six years since we first met, he suggested we meet casually to discuss work – and when we met, we discussed much more than just work. And that one meeting led to us getting together daily! I did not know his feelings for me then so I would keep revisiting my checklist of qualities I wanted from my ‘perfect’ man. My parents were actively looking for a groom for me. Meanwhile, I had begun to realise that Akshay was ticking all the points in my checklist. And with every conversation he fitted in more and more perfectly. After two weeks of meeting constantly, he asked me out for a dinner date and said that since our ‘perfect partner’ checklists matched so well, maybe we should try completing it together. And I happily agreed!”

Engagement
“We got engaged at Lonavala. This destination function was small in scale with just family and close friends, but it was very memorable. We did not know what was on our cards for the Big Day! All we knew was it had to be at a place which we could always go back to, to recreate memories, a place that had its own culture and special place in our hearts.”

Wedding Venue
“Initially, we had no idea when we would have our wedding or where. We had nothing planned, not even the date. I love traveling and exploring new places so I was quite sure that I did not want a typical banquet wedding at some hotel. We visited Fort JadhavGadh near Pune and I instantly knew that it was where I wanted to hold my destination wedding. The 300-year-old heritage property combined with stunning views of the Sahyadri mountain range took our breath away! The core part of the venue was that it allowed us to get married in the most traditional way at the 300-year-old Ganesh temple within the fort’s premises. The agelessness of this venue together with its grandeur made it a truly auspicious place to exchange our vows. We both agreed that it was the perfect venue for our wedding. However, Fort JadhavGadh couldn’t accommodate more than 200 people and that was just fine with us as we were expecting around that number of guests. Both of us wanted an intimate wedding with just our close family and friends.”

Rain Shower Welcome
“Our guests were welcomed with a rain shower, ‘dhol’ beats and ‘tutari’ (traditional Maharashtrian bugle-like instrument) performance by the fort’s guard. This added a regal vibe to the proceedings and I had a great time dancing and welcoming our loved ones.”

Wedding Ceremony
“Akshay and I love minimalism and elegance so our wedding décor followed the same sensibility. We used a lot of fairy lights which brought the historical fort to life! There were wooden frames hung to create picture perfect angles at every corner of the venue – and this was something that a total photo enthusiast like me loved! The ancient stone bastions were lit up with bushes covered in fairy lights which created the effect of the perfect ‘aisle’ for our grand entry. Flowers and twinkling lights were also entwined around pillars and trees together with brass birdcages thus making the evening setting truly magical.”

“I made my grand entrance towards the ancient Ganesh temple for my ‘pheras’ in a ‘doli’ decorated with flowers which was carried by my guy gang! The temple twinkling with lights was the perfect setting. I couldn’t help but admire the beauty and significance of this sacred place where my ‘perfect man’ was waiting for me.”

“The wedding function was a traditional Marwari-style ceremony and was held at the foot of the temple. There was no stage or ‘mandap’ as we wanted to feel the authenticity of the venue. Akshay made a grand entry on an elephant, and everyone danced their hearts out!”

Wedding Outfits
“I wore a red and peach lehenga with a double net dupatta by Chamee & Palak which I felt made me look like a regal bride. My maang tikka and legacy nose ring by Soni, and the uncut diamond jewellery was handpicked and designed to exude an exquisite look. Akshay wore a peach sherwani by Mumbai-based Tisa Studio. He looked every inch like the prince of the fort in his light golden ‘safa’!”

Wedding Planning
“We were clear that we did not want mainstream wedding planning for the most significant event of our lives. Since it was the first destination wedding on both sides of our families, everything was well thought out and designed to suggest a royal touch by us, with support from the creative minds of our families – from the colourful invitation cards to the décor and handcrafted wedding favours which had motifs of palaces, ‘jharokas’ and flowers. We wanted everything to give off a regal destination wedding vibe and succeeded.”

Advice for other to-be-weds
“Choose a venue that connects to both of you and your story – it should speak to your identity and passions as a couple as your wedding will be one of the most important and significant events of your lives.”

The Wedding Makers
Wedding Location: Fort JadhavGadh, Pune
Bride’s Wedding Lehenga: Chamee & Palak
Bride’s Wedding Jewellery: Soni
Groom’s Wedding Outfit: Tisa Studio, Mumbai
Photos Courtesy: Adityaraj & Sukriti, 42fps Productions, Mumbai

Watch this space for more such spectacular destination wedding ideas.

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