Karishma and Aditya at Taj Palace Hotel, New Delhi

Our series, ‘Featured Weddings’ brings you wonderful moments from weddings held at the finest venues across different cities. When Mumbai boy Aditya and New Delhi girl Karishma decided to tie the knot, it finally put the Mumbai versus New Delhi debate to rest! The bride tells us how everything came together in a beautiful three-day wedding at the Taj Palace Hotel in New Delhi.

About us
“When my parents first brought up the idea of marriage, I was still in my final year of studying Interior Architecture. I was a bit hesitant at first but decided to go ahead and meet the boy they had in mind. Aditya, on the other hand, was worried about how a New Delhi girl like me would possibly adjust to life in Mumbai, and kept putting off flying to New Delhi to meet us till his dad booked him a ticket and instructed him to go. But when we met for the first time, it was love at first sight or rather first slip because I had fallen down a flight of steps the day before. It has become a running joke in the family that I fell into love with the anticipation of meeting him even before we set eyes on each other. After the wedding, I relocated to Mumbai where I work as an interior designer, and Aditya continues to run his company which manufactures engineering plastics.”

Wedding Venue
“We were married in a lavish three-day wedding in New Delhi. Even though my family is from the capital city, we wanted to have the feel of a ‘destination wedding’ with everyone staying together. So we booked the Taj Palace Hotel and both our families moved in for the duration of the wedding. It’s one of the premier hotels in the city, with elegant and plush rooms and lovely outdoor venues. It also helped that the hotel is very centrally located. We held all of our day functions and lunches at the hotel, and the evening sangeet & wedding at our family farmhouse in Pushpanjali.”

Wedding Functions
“Our wedding had all the elements of a destination wedding. We slotted in ample time and space for both sides of the families to spend quality time together, thereby bonding them in a way that only a big, fat Indian wedding can manage to do.”

Day 1
“The wedding festivities began with a laid-back mehndi lunch at the hotel. This event was mainly an icebreaker for the extended parts of both families to get acquainted so we kept it simple. Karishma wore a bright yellow lehenga with a multi-coloured embroidered hem, rani pink blouse with a back bow, and light orange net dupatta with gold trim border. She opted for a chic braid and had her head ringed with a white blooms. Her rather unusual earrings featured pink flowers fixed to pearly hoops. Aditya was laid-back and casual in his blue shirt and brown trousers.

“That evening, we also hosted a traditional Punjabi sangeet with folk singers, dances, ‘boliyan’ (Punjabi couplets) and ‘jaggo’ (a traditional ‘wake-up’ song and ritual dating back to decades ago where ladies carried pots on their heads) by our families. We had lots of folksy decor using marigold flowers, lights, lamps and urns.” Karishma was resplendent at the sangeet in a royal blue lehenga with intricate gold thread work all through the skirt and blouse. Aditya matched her look very well in an all-black kurta-pyjama-jacket ensemble. The couple matched steps on a colourful mat, while twinkling fairy lights lit up the farmhouse environs alongside a vibrant stage set-up that was draped in

Day 2
“The ring ceremony was held the next evening, followed by the cocktail party which included lots of music, dancing and family revelry. We had singers Hari and Sukhmani sing beautiful folk songs to entertain all, and this was followed by crazy dancing.” A formal red gown for the bride, and a dapper tuxedo for the groom were a perfect choice for this Western-themed event that saw champagne, a lovely cake, stage shows by family and friends and couple performances, against a stage with the a dark blue backdrop, light up the evening.

Day 3
“The following day we had the traditional ‘haldi’ and ‘choora’ ceremonies in the late afternoon. The wedding ceremony in the evening started with the ‘jaimaala’ ceremony, followed by the actual wedding pheras.” Gold reigned supreme when it came to Karishma’s wedding ensemble – a stunningly ornate lehenga with intricately embroidered dupatta, and deeper gold jewellery. Aditya also chose a light brown sherwani with all-over gold threadwork and buttons, cream-coloured churidaar and a light brown ‘safa’.

The Wedding MakersLocation: The Taj Palace Hotel, New Delhi
Wedding Planner: Richa Ahluwalia (Bride’s Mother)
Makeup Artist: Gen Reilly (Mumbai)
Photography and Videography: Arjun Kartha: Facebook I Website

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