Maharanis! The pristine waters of Cancun, Mexico are our next destination! Claire and Rishi are the beautiful pair that tied the knot at paradise and the fantastic Sarani Photography traveled with them to captured their best moments. After some auspicious pre-wedding celebrations this lovely pair held a lovely western ceremony backdropped by the scenic views of the ocean at the highly exclusive Dreams Riviera Cancún. The blushing bride, Claire went for a stunning bridal hair and makeup look thanks to Styling Trio glam squad. She opted for a gorgeous white gown she combined with a precious cathedral length veil that gave her the most elegant flair while her dapper groom Rishi said I do in full white! The violets and whites reigned and were even included in the fabulous bridal party dresses. What an unforgettable day! Check out the gallery for more of this Cancun soiree!
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How did you meet your Groom and when did you know he was "the one"?
My best friend has been telling me about this great guy she worked with and been wanting to introduce me too. Finally, I met Rishi at my best friend’s birthday bash in NYC. During the entire party, he did not leave my side, so I could tell he was smitten with me. After the party ended, I returned home to Long Island, and we lost touch with one another.Our paths didn’t cross again until one year later when I gathered enough courage to call him and ask him to attend a party with me in the city. He agreed. I am a shy person, but that night, we ended up talking for hours. Rishi was persistent in prying me out of my shell in an attempt to get to know me. I was intrigued by him when he told me he was taking tango lessons and wanted a travel companion. I love dancing and traveling! It was at that moment that I knew I wanted to get to know Rishi more.Initially, I wasn’t sure that we were a perfect match because we are complete opposites. I am introverted and reserved, while Rishi is the life the party. But over time, I began to see just how amazing Rishi’s is, and I cherished our conversations and time together.
Share the scoop on your Proposal Story!
⁸I decided to tag along with Rishi on his medical conference to New Orleans. We are big foodies so I was so excited to. After all week, being in the conferences, he told me to get dressed up that Friday so that we can go out to a nice dinner. I was really excited because I love getting dressed up. When his conference ended I had his and my outfit ready so we can just leave right when he got home. He didn’t tell me where we were going because it was a surprise.We were walking by the water and he asked a stranger to take a picture for us and all of the sudden he went down on one knee. I was so excited I couldn’t speak or believed it just happen. I felt like I was in a dream. In the background, there was a photographer taking pictures of the entire proposal as well.Not only did the photographer take our pictures during the proposal. We went all over New Orleans taking pictures. My favorite part was when Rishi had the street Jazz band play “I can’t give you anything but love” for us to dance to. What to the night off was that evening there were beautiful fireworks. I felt like his proposal was planned just perfect from where he decided to propose, surprise proposal, the hired band, and dance, delicious food and fireworks to end the night.
How did you select your bridal lengha or wedding dress? Did you have a favorite color in mind?
We had 9 events (shagun, haldi, Filipino welcome party, American Ceremony, mehndi, sangeet, Indian ceremony, cocktail hour , reception)not including 3 after parties in 3 day so I had 14 outfit changes.
For shagun I wore a classic red shawara
Haldi I-a colorful yellow lehenga
Welcome party (island theme) a Filipino dress known as a filipiniana
American ceremony I wore a sweetheart chiffon ballgown
Mehndi (Bollywood themed)I wore a tasseled gold saree
Sangeet (beach themed) I wore a mermaid cut aqua gold lehenga resembling a mermaid. My husband had a custom matching kurta made.
Indian ceremony: I wore a custom made pink lehenga to resemble a barbie doll and my husband had a matching custom kurta made
Cocktail hour ( Gatsby themed)I wore a feathered wedding gown. My husband wore a tail coat suit .
Reception: ( Hollywood glamour themed) White gold dress with crystals all over. My husband had a custom made maroon velvet tux . Our first dance(tango) he switched to a sparkle black Versace tux and I had a sexy red dress and switch into a White marchese halter dress similar to Megan Markle's reception dress.
What did your guests particularly love about your Wedding?
That every event had a different theme and it just got better towards the end.
For events other than your ceremony, please tell us as much as you would like about the decor, style, dances, and all the special details.
We kicked off our wedding with a vow renwal ceremony for my parents 48th anniversary. Great example of how we want our future marriage to be. Because of you both, the world knows that truth and love exist. Keep these beliefs alive and cherish one another.You are the parents that all kids hope to have, you are the couple that all lovers hope to be and you both are the pillars of support that every family wishes it had.
Filipino Welcome party Filipinos pride themselves in their Matatag spirit, respect for community, our unyielding loyalty, generosity and of course our hospitality. Filipino hospitality is reflected in the way we welcome relatives, friends and strangers alike. It is standard practice to shower guests with food, music, drink and last but not least dancing....plenty of dancing. So to stay true to my Filipino roots, we decided to have a true Mabuhay celebration. The phrase carries various meanings including "long live", "may you live", "cheers", "welcome", and "hurrah". This was our way of welcoming our guests in the most extraordinary way possible!!! Mabuhay!!
The Mehndi Ceremony is a fun and exciting pre-wedding ritual, where we had 2 Henna artist apply henna on a me and my guests thus marking the kick off, of the wedding celebrations.
We hosted our Mehndi event on the beach. During the mehndi ceremony my bridesmaids, my husband and I had a suprise performance for everyone. We had a blast doing our performance for everyone.
For our Sangeet decor we decided to have a Bollywood Fiesta theme. The Sangeet, is a celebration of coming together of the two families in the union of their children.Sangeet is one of more fun and vibrant functions of the big fat Indian wedding. Like most cultures, Hindu customs, too, incorporate music as the soul of a wedding celebration and so the Sangeet function too is abound with enthusiastic dancing and singing against the background of live performances. We really enjoyed the performances by our family members and groomsmen. Our guest enjoyed the surprise drum show we had for them.
For our Sangeet decor we decided to have a Bollywood Fiesta theme. The Sangeet, is a celebration of coming together of the two families in the union of their children.Sangeet is one of more fun and vibrant functions of the big fat Indian wedding. Like most cultures, Hindu customs, too, incorporate music as the soul of a wedding celebration and so the Sangeet function too is abound with enthusiastic dancing and singing against the background of live performances. We really enjoyed the performances by our family members and groomsmen. Our guest enjoyed the surprise drum show we had for them
Our Wedding Reception!!! Being that all 6 of our wedding events were either outside or on beach. We wanted a change of scenery and so we went indoors. We decided to have a dramatic and elegantly styled wedding reception so we transported our guest back in time to the era of glitz and glamour in Old Hollywood! With an exquisite cake, stunning fashion, a red carpet draped tunnel entrance, glam tables and a venue dripping in gold, roses, disco ball, feathers, and crystals it was real showstopper!
Join me in our following feature and delight yourself with another visual treat!
