This Traditional And Timeless Indian Wedding In Tuscany Is Insanely Beautiful

[section title=”The Planning”]
[field title=”Wedding Colors”]

Haldi: Fuschia, Marigold, Jungle Green

Sangeet/Welcome Party: Ruby, Gold, Midnight Blue, Dark Teal Wedding

Ceremony: Rustic Rose, Blush, Cream, Wood, Green

Reception: Cream, Sage Green, Gold, Blush

[/field]
[field title=”Design / Vibe / Vision”]

Since we had multiple events over 2 weekends and 2 continents, we wanted each event to feel like a unique experience for our guests. We also wanted to have each of our wedding events outdoors to take full advantage of ideal Tuscan summer weather, so we tried to have each event complement the outdoor spaces. For our Haldi, which took place at my childhood home in Baltimore, Maryland, I wanted to create a colorful atmosphere which played into the lighthearted and festive nature of this specific event. My Dad and I DIY-ed all the decor and florals ourselves, and the theme was tropical and whimsical. I incorporated the hummingbird pillows, which are one of my favorite animals, and colorful drapery to decorate the couch, and used my Dad’s plants and trees from his own garden for the background. I ordered fresh flowers from India like lotus flowers, jasmine flower garlands, fuschia rose petals and marigolds for the ceremony and my Dad grew the flowers for the larger pots and centerpieces. It truly was a family affair, and it was almost meant to be that it also happened to be on Father’s Day and that I could have the memory of making this event come to life with him. For our Sangeet/Welcome Party in Tuscany, our theme was Rennaissance Reverie. We wanted lots of jewel tones and gold to accentuate the sun setting behind the Tuscan hills for our evening event. We kept the table decor minimal but colorfully royal and did a mix of tables as well as lounge seating for a more relaxed vibe. When guests walked into our outdoor sangeet, we wanted the focus of attention to be on the vine arches with chandeliers framing our couch and the stunning Villa Medicea as the backdrop to our event. The theme for our wedding ceremony was “Florentine Fairytale” and we wanted the color palette and florals to accent the backdrop of the Tuscan countryside. Our Mandap perfectly framed the medieval Borgo village in the background and we specifically designed to look like a picture frame for our ceremony. We wanted the florals to be romantic and full of roses with accents of snapdragons to bring in the whimsy. Our reception theme was “Tuscan Sundowner Soiree” and we wanted to take advantage of the sun setting over the Tuscan hills for our cocktail hour. Guests were then ushered through the villa to the back of the property where they were surprised and welcomed to dinner and dancing under a sky full of stars in the form of thousands of fairy lights. We wanted the romantic lighting to be the focus of design so we also incorporated large gold candelabras and candles of varying heights.

[/field]
[field title=”Proposal Story”]Kiran and I planned our dream trip to Maui, Hawaii in July 2022 and had the experience of a lifetime filled with stunning beaches and coastline, waterfall hikes, and relaxation. Kiran decided to wait until the very end of the trip to propose to keep it an absolute surprise, and planned a sunset view experience on top of volcano Mt Haleakala, which sits above the clouds at over 10,000ft. We watched the sunset dip below the clouds and everyone else on the volcano decided to make the trip back down to sea level, and just as all the other cars left and every star in the sky came out, Kiran got down on one knee and retold the story of when he first met me. It was an intimate moment, just the two of us, under the Milky Way! The next day he planned an engagement photo session for us on the oceanside cliffs of Maui’s western shore![/field]
[/section]
[board_carousel title=”Getting Ready”]


[/board_carousel]
[board_carousel title=”Bridal Portraits”]









[/board_carousel]
[board_carousel title=”Flat Lays”]



[/board_carousel]
[board_carousel title=”First Look”]





[/board_carousel]
[section title=”The Fashion”]
[field title=”Wedding Gown”]

I flew to India twice within 4 months to first choose all the pieces for my wedding trousseau and then going back for fittings and alterations. Green is my favorite color, so I knew going into the wedding shopping process, I wanted to incorporate some shade of green in every outfit I chose. Our aesthetic for our wedding trousseau was timeless and heirloom worthy elegance that would be passed down for generations to come. As soon as I tried on my lehenga on at the JJ Valaya store in New Delhi, I knew it was the one; it has gorgeous shades of blush pink and sage green with hand embroidery on raw silk and beadwork throughout the entire lehenga and took over 3 months to complete. Kiran’s wedding sherwani from Shyamal & Bhumika was also customized by one of the co-founders, Bhumika, to match the color of my lehenga, and we incorporated sage green as his jewelry accents. My Sangeet lehenga was from Frontier Raas, and had motifs of tropical birds in handsewn bead work throughout the whole skirt and paid homage to the amazing wildlife we saw during our engagement trip to Maui. Kiran’s matching sherwani from Gargee Designers, as well as my lehenga, were color customized to the perfect shade of maroon matching Villa Medicea’s red doors and architecture seen throughout the property. When my family saw me try on the mint reception gown from Dolly J they immediately knew it was the one, with its dramatic cape sleeves, train, and beadwork which would glisten under our canopy of lights. Kiran decided to select a timeless and elegant velvet black tux from Indochino with cufflinks gifted from our stylist. After dinner and speeches, I changed into a fully sequined and festive emerald green saree from Sabyasachi for our afterparty which lasted until 2 in the morning. Our other wedding trousseau outfits were sourced from Premya by Manishii, Sureena Chowdhri, and Nikasha. My sangeet and wedding jewelry was from Purab Paschim and the co-founders, Ankit & Peeyush, curated the pieces for me. My best friend, Nimit, was our personal stylist for all of our wedding events, and curating each look with him are some of my favorite memories from wedding planning!

[/field]
[field title=”Bridesmaid Dresses”]

We didn’t have set bridesmaids and groomsmen, since we share similar friend circles and wanted to keep it gender neutral, so we decided to have a blended bridal party. We had our bridal party select their own outfits in similar shades across a color palette, since we wanted everyone to love, cherish and re-wear their outfits for years to come. For those that didn’t have access to Indian clothing stores, I helped pick outfits for them from Manyavar through Facetime! We loved the aesthetic of perfectly imperfect matching bridal party outfits, and we think our bridal party pulled it off flawlessly!

[/field]
[field title=”Groomsman Attire”][/field]
[/section]
[board_carousel title=”Wedding Party”]




[/board_carousel]
[board_carousel title=”Ceremony”]
















[/board_carousel]
[board_carousel title=”Cocktail Hour”]



[/board_carousel]
[section title=”The Details”]
[field title=”Food & Drink”]

Food & drink is one of the most important aspects of an Indian wedding, which is why we specifically chose Tuscany for our wedding location since it is the culinary and culture epicenter of Italy. The quality of ingredients there is just simply unmatched, and the focus on cuisine and hospitality is the best. Since our Haldi was a daytime event, we decided to have a “Dosas & Dhoklas” Brunch where we highlighted our favorite breakfast foods from our respective backgrounds (Dosas are from South India where my family is from and Dhoklas are from Gujarat where my husband’s family is from) A Sangeet is a fun and festive event filled with dance performances by our loved ones as a way to begin the wedding celebrations. Because of this, we wanted to keep the food fuss-free in a station format to encourage guests to mingle and get to know each other, since it also served as our welcome night in Italy. We had a hybrid of Indian and Italian cuisine with different live stations guests could visit in between performances or the dancefloor to grab a bite. Some stations we had included choose your own chaat, Indo-Chinese, and pizzas made live in a wood fired oven they brought on site. For lunch after our wedding ceremony, we selected our favorite traditional homestyle dishes from both of our Tamil and Gujarati backgrounds and accented it with a gelato cart, so guests could cool down from the peak summer heat. We wanted the food after our ceremony to honor our grandparents and be reminiscent of the comfort food we had whenever we visited them. We incorporated a traditional Italian Aperitivo in to our events, with multiple different stations like cheese & charcuterie, finger foods and passed hors d oeuvres, bruschetta and traditional Tuscan appetizers, greens and raw corner, and of course never-ending Aperol and Hugo spritzes We finished off our wedding events with a reception dinner menu curated by Kiran’s uncle who used to work in the restaurant industry in London and featured some of his own recipes, like methi chicken. Haveli also had a live tandoor making fresh garlic naan to complement the North Indian cuisine and a pasta station which featured my favorite cacio e pepe.

[/field]
[field title=”Florals & Decor”]

For our Haldi, my Dad and I DIY-ed all the decor and florals ourselves, and the theme was tropical and whimsical. My Dad even grew the container flowers as well as draping our pergola. I also ordered fresh flowers from India like lotus flowers, jasmine flower garlands, fuchsia rose petals and marigolds for the ceremony and my Dad grew the flowers for the larger pots and centerpieces. For our Renaissance Reverie Sangeet, we kept the focus of the decor around our couch, which the two vining arched chandeliers that perfectly framed us against the Tuscan sunset. Rather than having a distracting backdrop behind the dancefloor, we wanted the villa to be the backdrop, since the sun casts golden hues against it as it sets. We had a custom monogram dancefloor designed for us by V.Eyegraphics, which incorporated renaissance motifs and jewel tones. We had a mehendi corner under the trees that had pillows and string lights, to provide a secluded area for guests to have their mehendi done while watching performances. For our “Florentine Fairytale” wedding ceremony, our Mandap perfectly framed the medieval Borgo village in the background, and was covered in blush pink roses, Italian ruscus and snapdragons, designed by Fiore all’Occhiello. Since it was the peak of summer, we wanted our guests to be comfortable so we provided draped awnings in tones of blush and wood above the seating. We had accents of gold and mirrors with custom messaging so that guests could take selfies to remember the day. Our “Tuscan Sundowner Soiree” reception focused on romantic lighting and emulating a sky full of stars. Our guest tables and dancefloor sat under thousands of fairy lights, set up by Kaleydo Entertainment, and our guests said it was the most magical experience. We wanted the romantic lighting to be the focus of design so we also incorporated large gold candelabras and candles of varying heights. We kept the floral colors to ivory, blush and sage to accent the dark wood tables. We had a photo corner with a custom neon sign that said “That’s Amore” which was an absolute favorite photo opportunity for our guests

[/field]
[field title=”Wedding Cake”]Just like in traditional Italian weddings, our wedding cake was mille-feuille with layers of puff pastry, pastry cream, chocolate shavings and strawberries, that was live assembled by the chef on site! It provided great entertainment for guests as they were finishing up dinner to watch the chef assembler every layer and was absolutely delicious.[/field]
[field title=”Readings, Ceremony Music, Reception Songs”]

Our favorite part of our wedding ceremony was how our priest, Sri Hemang Bhai composed and incorporated custom music for us throughout the ceremony which included our names and dedications to family members. Our ceremony songs were in both of our languages and honored both of our families and backgrounds. At the end of every Hindu wedding, there is a ceremony called a “vidaai” which is traditionally is the bride’s farewell to her family as she leaves to join her new family. Generally, this is a tear-filled conclusion to the wedding, but we decided to go against tradition and opt for a “happy vidaai” where we celebrated the joining of two families rather than the bride leaving behind her family. At cocktail hour, we had a live Italian folk band that entertained guests with Italian classics as well as some of our favorite songs. For our first dance as husband and wife, we chose “Before You” by Benson Boone, specifically because his lyrics reminded us of the first night we realized we had feelings for each other.

[/field]
[field title=”Special Detail #1″]Rather than having a normal first dance where our guests are seated or a sparkler exit where some guests wouldn’t be able to participate, we decided to combine both into what ended up being one of our favorite moments of the week. Before our first dance, we decided to pass out sparklers to each guest to light up around us as we took to the dancefloor. It created a surreal and magical experience for all, as we were literally surrounded by love and light. We also had a lot of children attend our wedding so it gave them an exciting experience as well![/field]
[field title=”Special Detail #2″]

We tried to incorporate as many handmade and personalized details as possible for a destination wedding into our wedding events. As part of Gujarati tradition, during my entrance to the wedding mandap, Kiran is supposed to be shielded by an “antarpat” or holy veil, which is then brought down where he’s supposed to see me for the first time. This antarpat was hand embroidered by my Mom with our names, wedding date and location and is now a cherished keepsake we have for years to come. I also handmade the necklace Kiran wore for our wedding day, to make sure it matched the shade of green of my dupatta. We also curated welcome bags for each guest when they checked in that included some of our favorite Indian and Italian snacks, masala chai packets, essentials and a gratitude note from Kiran and I thanking each guest for making the trip. During the wedding ceremony, we had customized wedding programs created by our graphic designer V.Eyegraphics that described every step of the ceremony as well as monogrammed sandalwood fans to keep guests cool under the Tuscan sun. Kiran and I wanted to honor in some way during the ceremony those who were no longer with us physically, but always in our hearts. We decided to keep one chair open during our wedding ceremony with a reserved sign in memory of the loved ones we have lost over the last few years and blessing us from above. Kiran was also gifted a watch by the father of one of his closest friends who passed away, and wore the watch at our reception in memory and in honor of him.

[/field]
[field title=”Special Detail #3″]

We chose Villa Medicea La Ferdinanda specifically for its rich history in being a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The villa was once the summer home for the Medici family, and welcomed famous guests such as Leonardo da Vinci and Galileo. The villa is also a working winery/vineyard and olive oil manufacturer, and even provided wine to King Louis XIV of France, so we of course had to give our guests bottles of olive oil from the estate as a gift in their welcome bag, along with serving Artimino wines at all of our events.

[/field]
[/section]
[board_carousel title=”Couple Portraits”]











[/board_carousel]
[board_carousel title=”Reception”]









[/board_carousel]
[board_carousel title=”Wedding Weekend Events”]

















[/board_carousel]

Share this gorgeous gallery on

 

Photography: Rossini Photography | Cinematography: Lumiere Wedding Films | Coordination: Distinctive Italy Weddings | Shoes: Fizzy Goblet | Catering: Haveli Firenze | Makeup: Manisha Ameet Shah | DJ: Kudos Music | Tuxedo: Indochino | Groomsmen's Attire: Manyavar | Priest: Sri Hemang Bhai | Wedding Venue: Villa Medicea Di Artimino | Afterparty Saree: Sabyasachi | Bridal Styling: Nimit Mehta Styling | Engagement Ring & Bride's Wedding Band: Everett Jewelers | Florals & Decor: Fiore all'Occhiello | Florence Prewedding Photos Saree: Premya by Manishii | Graphic Design: V.Eyegraphics | Groom's Pre-Wedding Attire: Ravi Gupta | Groom's Wedding Band: Brilliant Earth | Hair & Draping: Shrena Kara | Haldi Jewelry: Fooljhadi | Haldi Photography: Oscar Navarre Photography | Haldi Saree: Nikasha | Lighting & Entertainment: Kaleydo | Mehendi: Apsara Events | Mehendi Jewelry: Raabta by Rahul | Mehendi Sharara: Sureena Chowdhri | Paper Invitations: Menaka Cards | Reception Gown: Dolly J | Reception Jewelry: House of Aster Jewels | Sangeet & Wedding Jewelry: Purab Paschim | Sangeet Lehenga: Frontier Raas | Video Invitations: Customizing Creativity | Wedding Lehenga: JJ Valaya | Wedding Sherwani: Shyamal & Bhumika

© Style Me Pretty, %%03am31UTC[2024]%%. | Permalink | Comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags:
Post categories: The Blog