A Four Day Indian Wedding Extravaganza

Tanya and Jai  (originally from India) always wanted their Wedding outside of their home country, and not in Dubai. They wanted an exotic location, where everybody could be together in one place, enjoy the festivities and feel like they were on a magical  holiday.

They looked at a number of places for their wedding and weighed up the pros and cons of each. After deciding Thailand was the best option, they visited a number of resorts to see which one suited their vision best.

The couple eventually settled on the Anantara Bangkok Riverside Resort and Spa, a beautiful resort a little away from the city of Bangkok, but not too far out.

Tanya and Jai’s wedding was full of personal touches, like the cards, wedding favours, décor, hospitality and food.  Being of Indian origin they had a total of six events, quite common in Indian culture, and this resulted in an epic four day wedding extravaganza.

As Bride and Groom, Tanya and Jai were with their wedding guests until the end of the four day party, and although they were exhausted beyond imagination, they wouldn’t have it any other way. Bride Club ME are delighted to feature their stunning wedding in Thailand as Tanya talks us through her journey.

The proposal…

Jai and I had been dating for 5 years before we got engaged, and were engaged for a year before we got married. We started dating while both of us were at university in London. I was in my first year; Jai was in his last year. We always knew we would get married, and Jai very casually asked me to marry him over a family dinner! It was more like an announcement than a question!

The wedding theme…

Indian weddings compromise of a number of events, each event has a different theme. We had six formal  events during our wedding, and a welcome dinner for our guests who arrived the night before the start of the celebrations. Here is a little about each event, and the theme we chose for each:

24^th Dec Night – We had a welcome dinner at Benihana, where there was live tepanyaki; our guests were seated around tepanyaki tables, and enjoyed the different culinary tricks the chefs did with the food and knives. All our guests said it was the best tepanyaki they had ever experienced and eaten! A lot of dancing followed, which ended up with family and friends actually dancing on top of the tables and the bar! It was an amazing start to the wedding celebrations.

25^th Dec Afternoon – Mehndi (Henna Night): This event took place on the Riverside Terrace. We wanted a very bright and colourful atmosphere; the theme was vibrant, hence the decor was filled with lots of colour. This created a beautiful, yet, traditional ambience, with drapes, flowers, and gorgeous umbrellas of all sorts scattered everywhere. Lots of massages, nail painting, tatooing, henna designing and a spectacular performance by the Bhangra Boys and Rajay the Dhol Player kept all our guests entertained and relaxed (Bhangra Boys and Dhol Players are typically specialized in a fast ‘Punjabi’ dance and loud drumming which is usually played in Indian weddings).

25^th Dec Night – Sangeet (Music and Dance Night): This was the Bollywood night which was held in the Chao Phraya Ballroom. The décor was glamourous. We entered in a bling tuk tuk, adorned with swarovski crystals. We had skits performed by both sides of the family and there was a live performance by one of the Indian Idol superstars, followed by DJ Zubair playing till the early hours of the morning. Everybody was on the dance floor till 6.30 am, including the dhol players!

26^th Dec Afternoon – Rain Dance: The theme for this event was Boys in Pink and Girls in Blue; this was a fun and chilled out event, and the riverside terrace was decorated with customized Jai Weds Tanya balloons. We entered on a tricycle rickshaw. I had Jai pedalling me onto the Riverside Terrace.

26^th Dec Night – The Neon Party: This event was held at Trader Vics and was one of the most spectacular and fun events during the wedding. We focused on lighting and had neon coloured springs and chains hanging from the ceiling. Lots of party favours, such as LED glasses, rings, bracelets, straws etc added a quirky element to the whole theme. Mostly retro music was played for this event.

27^th Dec Afternoon – Pheras (Wedding Ceremony): Different shades of pink combined with cream made the decor elegant and beautiful. The whole mandap (a wedding canopy supported by four pillars under which the bride and groom are seated and exchange their wedding vows around the sacred fire.) set up on the Riverfront looked magnificent. The Bride’s entry, the entire wedding ceremony, the translations of the vows, the fireworks and the exit of the Bride in the beautiful palki (a palanquin, sedan chair) left our guests overwhelmed with tears in their eyes.

27^th Dec Night – Reception: This was in the Chao Phraya Ballroom, and had a white decor to complement the Heavenly Angel theme. Beautiful flowers and crystals, and candles in abundance created a serene and romantic atmosphere. Unicorns, angels and Roman pillars added to the beauty of the theme. Lots of speeches, including speeches from the bride and groom were given, and the highlight wedding video created by Colomono was screened, leaving everyone mesmerised with the magical moments that took place over the 4 days of the wedding.

The wedding cake….

We had a five tier wedding cake, which were placed on different platters, in different sizes. The cake was a typical chocolate and vanilla sponge with marzipan icing and flowers.

The dress…..

With the number of events in an Indian wedding, the same number of dresses are also required! Typically, Indian brides wear extremely colourful dresses, with lots of intricate embroidery using coloured stones, crystals, etc. These were the outfits I wore for the different events:

A wardrobe full of Tanya’s stunning bridal attire

Selection of the jewels adorned by Tanya during her wedding events

Mehndi: I wore a Sabyasachi lehenga (a traditional Indian outfit which has a long skirt, a blouse, and a dupatta; this can be draped in many ways to give the lehenga a different look); this outfit had a gold skirt, red blouse and pink dupatta, which all blended together beautifully and was very vibrant for the colourful afternoon event.

Sangeet: I wore a very glamorous gold jacket, and pink skirt, with a royal blue – turquoise shaded dupatta. This was designed by Rimple and Harpreet Narula.

Rain Dance: I wore a simple designer maxi dress, in two shades of blue.

Neon Party: I wore a coral neon coloured fitting gown from one of my favourite designers, Meeta Mulchandani. The top of the gown had some beautiful broaches, and small swarovksi crystals were scattered throughout the gown.

Wedding Pheras: I wore a lehenga with different shades of pink; this outfit was adorned with different types of stones and crystals.

Reception: I wore a Victorian Arjun and Anjalee Kapoor Lehenga, which was a salmon pink colour.

Most enjoyable part of the planning process…

Choosing wedding outfits, planning the themes, food choosing and food tasting, and being with the family on different occasions, i.e. for wedding favours, gift packaging, brainstorming ideas, was the best part of the entire planning process.

Most testing part of the wedding planning process as an expat bride…

Since I was an expat bride having a destination wedding, the logistics, organization of the wedding events, and chasing people to RSVP was the most challenging part!

Top three tips for a bride-to-be…

1)   The bride always has to look her best on her wedding day, so health care, skin care, and diet is very important for a natural glow.

2)   Be organised in what you want; make lists for everything, whether it is your clothing, jewellery, wedding guests, wedding favours, wedding purchases, etc, and delegate tasks and responsibilities.

3)   Sit back, relax, and be happy.          

The Brides Little Pink Book

Wedding Planner –  Neelam Tourani // Venue – Anantara Bangkok Riverside Resort and Spa, Thailand // Photographers and Videographer – Colomono from Penang, Malaysia // Make up artist – Ojas Rajani from India // DJ  – Dj Zubair from Dubai // Compere (MC) – KP Singh from Singapore/ Jewellery – Lucky Jewellery from Dubai.