Diya and Sid, Mapple Emerald, New Delhi

Diya and Sid hosted a grand four-day wedding for their loved ones which included hit music, heavenly decor and a host of fun events. Here, bride Diya shares a few highlights of the celebrations whose magical moments were captured by WeddingSutra Favorite – Sam & Ekta.

How They Met
“Sid and I first ‘met’ in 1991 as soon as we were born in the same hospital, just a few hours apart. We crossed paths many times after that, but we never really came face to face until 2015, when a mutual friend introduced us in San Francisco.”

The Proposal
“Sid and I were travelling through Rome, Italy, when he proposed at a terrace overlooking St. Peter’s Basilica. Sid had planned this surprise for me, with a violinist playing our favourite song ‘I’m Yours’ by Jason Mraz in the background. I, too, had been carrying a ring in my wallet for months and was ready to slide it on his finger. So we both walked out of that terrace with rings on our fingers.”

Wedding Planning
”We booked Sam & Ekta to capture the revelries of our big day. I think it is one of the best decisions we made! Words aren’t enough to describe what they gave us. Their pictures and videos make us relive the best four days of our lives leaving us teary-eyed every time. What more can you ask from your photographers? I love how REAL they keep it. You literally feel like you are there!”

Although the couple planned the wedding themselves, Gauree Sharma from Forelsket helped the couple extensively in planning the aesthetics for the wedding. Artistically using the dominating colours of the city of San Fransisco, Gauree ensured that the entire range of stationery used in their wedding, right from invitations to itineraries, room key holders, welcome letters, thank you cards, gift bags and money envelopes were in sync with the theme and designed to perfection.

Wedding Functions

Holi Party
“Sid and I have both lived away from our families for over ten years and had not celebrated Holi with them for a long time. So we decided to kick start the celebrations with a colorful Holi party. The idea was to get our loved ones from across the world under one roof so that they could get to know each other. Everyone wore white outfits and we gave them colorful scarfs to go with the theme. Sid and I wore lemon yellow outfits with mirror embellishments. The party was all about enjoying bhaang, playing games, and getting drenched in colors.”

Cocktail
“Our cocktail soiree was comparatively a more formal event and also served as our engagement ceremony. The dress code for the night was gowns and tuxedos. We had the popular band Doorbeen perform English and Punjabi retro songs. After a few rounds of drinks, the night became a fun party in which our guests danced till they dropped to the beats spun by the DJ.”

Mehendi
“Our mehendi ceremony was an intimate function dedicated to our family and close friends. The function started with the elder ladies of our families playing the traditional drum and singing old folk songs, which was followed by speeches and dances performed by everyone present. The theme was ‘Bohemian-Moroccan,’ and included low seating sofas, lamps and tents. However, the function was to be hosted outdoors and it suddenly started pouring heavily. So we moved everything inside, and the very helpful staff of the hotel helped us put something together in one hour. We had to host all the dances and speeches indoors. But now that we look back, we feel really thankful for the rains. Due to the smaller indoor space, everyone stood around in a circle to watch the performances which symbolized warmth and love for us.”

Haldi
“Our wedding ceremony was preceded by the haldi ritual. Our closest friends and family members smeared turmeric paste on us as well as on each other. This was followed by the ritual of tearing the groom’s kurta.”

Wedding
”After the haldi, Sid entered the venue with his baraat! It took him around five hours to enter the venue and the wait seemed never-ending! I was so excited to see all the fun that I too decided to enter with my own baraat. Our pheras were quick yet magical. The wedding was truly a union of two families. After the wedding ceremony was done, we danced till our feet started hurting.”

Advice for couples
“Just have fun and let go of all worries at your wedding. It’s your special day!”

The Wedding Makers
Venue: Mapple Emerald, New Delhi
Bride’s Outfit: Sonal Mehta (Wedding)
Makeup: Misha Vig (Mehendi), Jasmeet Kapany (Cocktail, Wedding)
Invitations: Forelsket by Gauree Sharma

Photography & Videography: Sam & Ekta

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