Hitha and Kiran, Panchavati The Pavilion, Bangalore
This showbiz couple opted for sustainable choices for their elegant and eco-friendly wedding.
They say the secret to a happy marriage is to marry your best friend. Hitha Chandrashekar and Kiran Srinivas’s wedding was an ode to their friendship, love, and shared values like caring for the environment. Here the bride shares their story along with a few glimpses of the big day.
How They Met
Hitha and Kiran, both actors by profession, first crossed paths when they were cast in the same movie. It was during a road trip with the cast members that the two got to know each other. Hitha shares, “We instantly connected on so many levels. We could talk about politics to metaphysics to family to literally everything! We discovered how similar we were in so many ways and how different we were in others. However because I was seeing someone else at the time, I never considered anything more. Little did I know then that I had met the man I would end up marrying.”
The Proposal
“My parents are actors too, and they happened to meet on the set of their first-ever regional TV series. They had always been friends, and when their respective families started searching for a spouse for them, they opted to spend their lives with their best friend and tied the knot. Being a romantic at heart, I never understood this, but having married my best friend now, I finally get it. In 2017, my parents started searching for a groom for me, and every time I would meet a guy, I would compare them to the vision I had of an ideal groom, and would share my disappointment with Kiran. We discussed this at my birthday dinner, and the more we talked about it, the more it made sense to us. After some musing, he popped the question! Post that, everything just fell in place and we got formally engaged in Bangalore on May 1, 2019, and wed on December 1, 2019.”
Wedding Venue
“We wanted to tie the knot in my home city of Bangalore. We also wanted our venue and our wedding overall to be as sustainable as possible. We chose Panchavati The Pavilion, off Kanakapura Road, in Bangalore, for our Muhurtham for its pleasing aesthetics and South Indian charm. A mandap in the center of the courtyard surrounded by lotus ponds was very scenic. The venue management team is also very eco-friendly in terms of water conservation, waste segregation, and plastic usage, which ticked off all our boxes.”
Wedding Planning
All the precious moments of the couple’s big day were captured in candid frames by Bangalore based Mayartha Productions, while the decor and themes were a collaborative effort of the bride and her best friend which was executed by film art director Varadaraj.
Wedding Functions
Sangeet
The festivities kicked off with an indoor sangeet at TV Club. It was designed as a red carpet event and was an intimate affair with just close friends and family. “We had three days of events, including the wedding ceremony. The minimalistic yet statement decor of the sangeet mimicked the look and feel of a film premier, adding a whimsical aura to the night.”
Haldi and Mehndi
The haldi function was a fun affair held at the bride’s place exclusively for her side of the family. This was followed by a mehndi ceremony in the second half of the day. With vibrant handmade paper fans, buntings, and kites, the function was a riot of color as the bride got her hands decorated with intricate henna designs and spent quality time with her friends and cousins.
Wedding
The wedding was a breezy, outdoor affair with sun-kissed decor in citrus hues and lush greenery. Yellow and orange drapes, flowers and mango leaves gave the function a very charming traditional vibe, while the highlight was a wall of plantain leaves that created a lovely backdrop. “We wanted to be as environmentally conscious as possible. My father rented 2,000 odd steel tumblers, bowls, spoons and other cutleries to avoid the use of plastic. The food was served on banana leaves and water was served in a steel glass that was refilled time and again. We wanted our big day to be special but we also wanted to do our part for the environment”.
Advice for Couples
“It’s important to remember that the wedding day is the most important day for the bride and groom, and that it should all come down to what you both want, instead of trying to please everyone.”
The Wedding Makers
Venue: Panchavati The Pavillion, Bangalore
Decor: Varadaraj (Art Film Director)
Bride’s Outfits: Kalasthree by Tejaswini Kranthi, Bangalore
Makeup: Makeup Diaries by Ashwini
Photography: Mayartha Productions, Bangalore
