Mayuri and Salil at Banff National Park in Canada and Assam, India

Our series, ‘Featured Weddings’ brings you wonderful moments from weddings held at the finest venues across different cities. Here, we feature the wedding celebrations of college buddies turned soulmates Mayuri and Salil, which took place at Mayuri’s hometown in Sibsagar, in Assam. She tells us more about how she and Salil met and their wedding festivities.

About Us
Mayuri hails from the town of Sibsagar in the lush tea-producing north-east Indian state of Assam. She moved to Toronto in Canada as an exchange student in 2009. “I have been calling Toronto home ever since. I work in the Operations Supervisory team at Canada Post,” she shares. Salil is from Pune, in Maharashtra, and also moved to Toronto in 2009 after having worked in India for three years. Currently he is an Assistant Manager for Walmart Canada. The couple are based in Canada.

How we met
Mayuri and Salil met on their first day at Business School. “I still remember the day – September 8, 2009. All the students were taking turns introducing themselves and sharing their future plans. I was seated in the third row when I heard someone introduce himself as Salil from the back of the classroom in a very confident and charming voice. After class ended, I introduced myself to him and we both walked out together – and have been together ever since as classmates, friends, partners and now my family,” says Mayuri, adding, “All these years, the one thing that has not changed since the first day of college is us walking together and being with each other at every step of the way…”

‘Just-Us’ destination wedding in Canada
Describing their intimate nuptials in Canada, Mayuri shares, “We dreamed of a romantic, stress-free occasion where the two of us could exchange our vows. Keeping that in mind, we opted for a ‘Just-Us’ destination wedding in Canada. It took us six months to plan everything, from my bridal trousseau to hiring the right photographer and getting a marriage license in Canada. Since this was a destination wedding, we arranged for a local wedding planner – Rocky Mountain Wedding Planners – who arranged the outdoor venue, photographer and also the officiant who is authorised to legally perform marriages in Canada.”

“Salil and I had always wanted to do something special to celebrate our love. In 2011, we visited Banff National Park on our first vacation together as a couple. So we decided to choose the beautiful Canadian Rockies as our wedding venue. Our ‘Just-Us’ wedding was simple and beautiful with only the officiant, wedding planner and photographer present. We held our outdoor ceremony surrounded by enchanting mountain views, and our officiant Carl Shields said, ‘You have chosen a great venue for your wedding, these mountains signify your strength as a couple, of love and spirituality.’”

Mayuri did not want to wear white so she opted for a blush mesh A-line gown from Le Chateau’s Wedding Collection and beautiful earrings, necklace and bracelet from Swarovski. Salil gifted her a lovely bridal ring – a combination of an engagement and wedding ring – from the Vera Wang Love Collection. “The ring has a hidden sapphire it in which signifies faithfulness and unending love. It makes me feel like a bride every day,” shares Mayuri with a smile.

Traditional ceremonies in India
Mayuri and Salil also had a traditional celebration in India, and organising it was a whole different story. “My family wanted a big celebration and the entire planning took six to eight months. Living in Canada for the past seven years, a lot of the customs and nuances back home were very new to me. Other than choosing the color of my wedding dress, I relied completely on my mother to select the jewellery, mehndi patterns and other things. We didn’t hire a planner for the reception. Rather, my parents took care of all the arrangements from the catering to florists at the venue – Hotel Shiva Palace in Sibsagar in my home state of Assam.”

Mehndi and Sangeet
Mayuri arrived in India a week before the wedding ceremonies were slated to start. “I only had a few days to prepare an impromptu Rajasthani-themed mehndi and sangeet ceremony which were held in my house. Around 30 guests attended these functions. I wore a pink kurta-skirt ensemble for both the mehndi and sangeet. Our house was decorated with bright orange marigolds and gaddis (cushions for seating) with Rajasthani motifs,” recounts Mayuri.

‘Havan’ puja
Mayuri and her family in Sibsagar also hosted a traditional ‘havan’ puja where the priests and elders in the family and community could bless the couple. For Mayuri, it was a beautiful opportunity to connect with loved ones who she had not met for years. “Most importantly, I felt that the entire town was blessing us while bidding us farewell,” explains the happy bride.

Reception
The reception at Hotel Shiva Palace was a grander affair with 2000 guests attending the function. Mayuri opted for the traditional Assamese version of a saree called ‘mekhala chador’ which she bought from Silkalay, a boutique in Assam’s capital Guwahati. “My jewellery consisted of old, precious pieces from my mother’s collection,” shares Mayuri, adding, “I was particular about getting good make-up and photography for the reception. So I approached Alluring Stills Photography, based in the town of Golaghat, to do the bridal shots and wedding reception photos – they did a fabulous job! For hair and make-up, I chose to go with Sima Hatiboruah from Guwahati based on the recommendation of a friend – and I was glad I did as I was really happy with the outcome.”

Most Memorable Moment
“Our wedding ceremony in Banff National Park was the most memorable! Marrying the person of your dreams and starting an amazing life together in the midst of enchanting mountains was an unbelievable experience. Weddings are big affairs but it takes two to live that life of happiness, with trust and harmony. Our ceremony in Banff just highlighted that as we were away from the crowds so Salil and I could savour every moment without any distractions,” explains Mayuri.

Mayuri’s advice for to-be-weds
– “Find that unique ‘thing’ that you always want or dreamed about for your wedding, be it special people around you, a unique destination, particular jewellery, personally drafted vows… anything at all. The important thing is that it should be important to you and your partner. For us, the destination and photography were very important. We were fortunate to coordinate everything online with our Banff planners and Indian photographers – Alluring Stills Photography. Both did an amazing job.”

– “The key word at your own wedding is ‘Enjoy’! There will be many things that you want and many things others want as weddings in India are a family affair. Our ‘Just-Us’ wedding was a special time for us. We enjoyed our day and made promises alongside memories. Thank you Rocky Mountain Wedding Planners for making it all happen so beautifully!”

The Wedding Makers
Wedding Planner: Rocky Mountain Planners, Banff, Canada
Bridal Trousseau: Le Chateau in Canada & Silkalay in Guwahati, Assam
Venues: Two Jack Lake in Banff, Canada & Hotel Shiva Palace in Sibsagar, Assam.
Make-up Artist: Sima Hatibaruah (for the reception in India) and The Botega (for the wedding ceremony in Canada)
Mehndi Artist: Taniya from Sibsagar, Assam
Photography: Alluring Stills Photography from Golaghat in Assam, and Pam Doyle in Canada

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