Ishani and Garry, ITC Sonar, Kolkata

Ishani and Garry’s wedding in Kolkata was a coming together of cultures from two vastly different parts of the world. WeddingSutra Favorite Krafted Knots, did a great job of bringing their dreams to life, while Malvika Periwal Photography didn’t miss out on capturing a single special moment. Bride Ishani tells us about her nuptials and special moments below.

How We Met
“I met Garry in Singapore in the summer of 2014, through a colleague during drinks after work. We chatted for a while, but didn’t exchange any details. That only came a couple of months later when we both swiped right on Tinder! We discovered that we had a lot of mutual friends and a shared love for travel and the outdoors. A close bond formed between us, and in October 2016, Garry proposed to me!”

Proposal
“We both love Thai food and Garry planned a beautiful romantic weekend away at Phuket, Thailand, under the guise of a birthday trip for me. He wanted to propose to me on an evening cruise. Unfortunately, the weather did not hold up, but he had a solid backup plan – he booked a villa and had it decorated with roses and candles. That’s where he got down on one knee!”

Wedding Venue
“I grew up in Singapore. However, Kolkata is special to me. I visited the city a lot when growing up, and it is where my grandmother and extended family live. Thus, our idea was to have a destination wedding in Kolkata. Since we would have a lot of friends and family flying in from overseas, it made for a convenient destination for them too. We hosted our nuptials at ITC Sonar, Kolkata, since we liked the feel of the property and delectable food served there.”

Wedding Planning
“We did most of our wedding shopping in India within five days. Since both of us have hectic jobs and limited annual leave, we had to be very efficient about it! Ekta Sharma and her outstanding team at Krafted Knots helped plan our wedding and did a good job of turning our ideas and vision into a reality. Having them on board allowed us to enjoy events as they coordinated the not-so-fun elements such as vendor negotiations, procurement, and logistics. They took great care of our guests, who gave us excellent feedback on them! I think this was the first time Krafted Knots had a client who was so punctual; Garry is half-Swiss, and we told guests that we were operating on Swiss time, not Indian standard time. Fortunately, all our events ran according to schedule! Krafted Knots even helped us design our wedding booklet. Malvika Periwal Photography captured moments of our wedding in beautiful frames, both still and in motion. The team even put together a small teaser on the same day as our wedding which turned out to be one of the highlights of our reception.”

Wedding Functions

Mehndi and Welcome Lunch
“This was our first event, and we wanted a fun, relaxed atmosphere where we could catch up with our guests for the first time. We hosted this at PC Chandra Gardens, and the theme was ‘Indian Kitsch’ with pink and yellow as the primary decor colors. Marigolds were used to decorate a swing and a rickshaw. In store was some great entertainment provided by Neepabithi and her dance troupe who are known for their mastery over a variety of Indian dance forms and singing. Sujay Prasad was the emcee for the event. Besides mehndi artists, we also had a palm reader and a balloon shooting station. The catering was done by Chikki Madan, and there were different stalls dishing out delights like kebabs and dosas. Daytime cocktails, bubbles, and beer were on offer too, and the bar was handled by Imran from Flair Motion. I wore a pink lehenga by Ritu Kumar for this function, and Garry selected an orange kurta and a bandi jacket from Manyavar.”

Sangeet
“This evening event was held at the same venue as the mehndi. However, the space was transformed to look like a forest of sorts. We had a green gable walkway decorated with white flowers and lots of fairy lights. We kicked off the function with a professional dance recital by Shyamal Mallick and his troupe whose performance was a depiction of my late grandfather’s blessings. After that, we enjoyed performances by friends and family! This was followed by lots of dancing with DJ Tabby at the console and a Bengali dinner at 6 Ballygunge Place. For this function, we both opted for blue color outfits. Once again, my lehenga, was by Ritu Kumar while his outfit was from Manyavar.”

Haldi
“This was a simple lunchtime event at the ITC poolside, where we started with an overview of the haldi or the ‘gaye holud’ as the Bengalis call it, followed by the ceremony itself. Lunch comprised different Indian street foods and we had ice cream and jalebis for dessert.”

Wedding
“We had a traditional Bengali wedding at 5 pm, and since we had a lot of non-Indian guests, my mother had written an English translation of the main wedding rituals. Decor-wise, we had a mix of red roses, white rajanigandha, and brass elements. The venue looked amazing, especially the beautiful mandap, and the wall made of red roses, which our guests thought was a great photo op! I wore a traditional red and gold Benarasi saree for our wedding while Garry wore a gold kurta and a red dhoti tailored by Darzee.”

Reception
“Following the wedding, we had drinks and canapés for guests when Garry and I went to change. We kicked off the reception with a same day edit video put together by Malvika and her team which captured great highlights of the events till then. We had two segments in the evening which included speeches from both sets of parents, the two groomsmen, and bridesmaids, as well as Garry and I. This was followed by our first dance to ‘Home’ by Edward Sharpe. We may have looked like naturals, but in reality, we had secretly taken four hours of private dance lessons in Singapore before this first public dance appearance! We chose Western outfits for our reception. For me, it was a blur gown from Gowns Warehouse in Singapore, and for Garry, it was a dark grey three-piece suit.”

Advice For Couples
“Schedule time with your other half to dedicate to wedding planning. Turn it into a fun activity. Stick with your gut! It’s your day so you should get what you want. Various people will give you advice, but remember it’s your call at the end of the day. Once the wedding starts, just enjoy it. If something doesn’t go according to plan, it is likely that no-one will notice except you!”

The Wedding Makers
Venue: PC Chandra Gardens (Mehndi and Sangeet), ITC Sonar, Kolkata (Haldi, Wedding, and Reception)
Wedding Planner: Krafted Knots
Bride’s Outfits: Ritu Kumar (Mehndi and Sangeet), Benarasi Kuthi (Wedding), Gowns Warehouse, Singapore (Reception)
Groom’s Outfits: Manyavar (Mehndi and Sangeet), Darzee (Wedding)
Makeup Artist: Aniruddha Chakladar (Mehndi and Sangeet), Polly Yu (Wedding and Reception)
Choreographer: Melvyn Low Dance Studio, Singapore (Reception)
Wedding Invitations: Poonam Khandelwal
Caterer: Chikki Madan (Mehndi)
Bar: Imran from Flair Motion (Mehndi)
DJ: DJ Tabby

Photography: Malvika Periwal Photography

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