Welcome back, Maharanis! Today, we set sail to the dreamy Cancun and into an underwater adventure for Claire & Rishi's grand Indian bash! The gorgeous Dreams Riviera Cancun Resort and Spa was the place choose by our lovebirds to tie the knot and thanks to the romance and liveliness of its ambiances, truly makes it one of the ultimate and favorite places to celebrate love. The steamy sands and the warmth of the Mexican culture completed the idyllic scenario where Maharani Claire accepted to spend the rest of her life with our lucky groom Rishi. So dreamy! The couple took it up a notch and had an over the top underwater photo and video session that was pure glam and creativeness. These lovebirds' wedding vision was so grand, that we just had to share it with you, ladies. So, hit play below and relieve all the heartwarming moments thanks to Sarani Weddings and grab a big dose of inspiration! 

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! 

 

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