We’re thrilled to share Dipti and Rikin’s jubilant reception gala in sunny Cancun! We’re swooning over the breezy ceremony setup at the Grand Oasis Cancun Resort by the design aficionados from Dipti Munshi and Latin Asia Destination Wedding Decor. We so wish we’d gotten an invite to this lux, beachy gala. We’re obsessing over the red and orange parasols and red mandap dotting the white beach side ceremony space. The sweet and emotional ceremony featured sunny skies, splashing waves, and the most delightful Indian bridal fashions. So gorg! After the lovebirds were pronounced husband and wife, everyone was raring to get the bangin’ reception party started! Guests chowed down on tropical bites and creamy desserts by Taste of India Cancun as a majestic sunset drenched the evening. While planning an international getaway can be daunting, Dipti Munshi and Oweddings helped the couple every step of the way for this sensational bash. As darkness fell, DJ Omar Figueroa Bautista played the latest and greatest Bollywood hits and set the dance floor on fire! The grand finale included dazzling sparklers that were the perfect symbol of Dipti and Rikin’s fiery and beautiful love story. Hurry over to watch this wedding clip by WeddingNama to catch all the loving moments between this gorg duo at their tropical paradise wedding! And scroll below for all the inside scoop by the bride herself.
Welcome Party / Game Night:
Our wedding weekend kicked off with an informal “bienvenidos fiesta” or welcome party. This event took place on a terrace garden surrounded by a beautiful coy fish pond. Since most of our guests had just arrived that day, we wanted to give everyone a chance to meet and greet. That evening, we handed out personalized welcome bags. It consisted of a welcome packet - a thank you message, itinerary for the weekend, map of the resort highlighted with where the events are going to take place, and helpful spanish phrases. It also had a few essential items, a handy hangover kit, and customized ladkewale/ladkiwale tshirts. We asked all our guests to wear these t-shirts to the game night which took place later that night to represent their respective side. This was the perfect icebreaker between both sides as everyone got super competitive and super comfortable with each other. Obviously, the ladkiwale team won by a landslide.
Haldi / Pool Party:
The haldi was a cute little informal ceremony held on the infinity deck with a breathtaking view of the beach. We asked our guests to be dressed in yellow which made for incredibly vibrant pictures. After the haldi, all the aunties and uncles stripped down to their bathing suits and jumped in the pool and we all spent the afternoon getting wild at the pool party.
Sangeet:
The sangeet was held poolside and was Bollywood themed. It had a laid back set up with white lounge furniture but very pop-art, colorful, and kitsch décor. We included the poolside cabanas as part of the seating arrangement so our guests could laze whilst watching the performances. The décor included vibrant pillows, kites, pinwheels, Chinese lanterns, neon parrots that Rikin and I spent countless hours cutting and gluing together (he still hates me for that). We lit up the surrounding palm trees with bright and multicolored up-lights and fairy lights. The highlight was the Bollywood photobooth backdrop that we created ourselves. Our guests really enjoyed posing in front of the unique backdrop with fun props that included lots of Bollywood dialogues. On one of our first dates, we watched the Bollywood movie Andaaz Apna Apna and since then it’s been a staple in our relationship. We pretty much watch the movie every month and frequently talk to each other in dialogues from the movie. Because of our obsession with the movie, we knew it had to be a part of our wedding. We created props with dialogues from the movie and used them as fun centerpieces and photobooth props as well. “Gogo ji, aapka ghagra” was my favorite! The evening comprised of jaw-dropping surprise performances by our guests. More than half of the guests that attended, put up a choreographed performance. Instead of doing speeches, our friends and cousins gave a “roast” of the bride and groom, sharing hilarious mishaps and jokes about us. My sister and bridesmaids put together an amazing skit about the couple that was made solely from Bollywood dialogues that had all the guests in splits. The performances were followed by countless tequila shots and an open dance floor. Our playlist that night was all bollywood with mostly our favorite 90s dhinchak music.
Wedding:
As the 1.2km of Cancun’s ocean and white sand beach have a magnificent beauty of its own, it was important for us to keep the wedding décor simple yet elegant. Our color theme was pink, peach and red with white flowers which looked striking against the turquoise water in the background. We knew it was going to be a hot day so we had to think of creative ways to keep our guests cool. We gave everyone bright parasol umbrellas that matched our color scheme. In addition to providing kulfis, ice slushies, and coconut water, we also gave personal fans that attached to your phone - these were quite a hit.
The groom entered in style on a jet ski and then danced down the beach with his baraat. The bridesmaids and groomsmen entered the mandap to a choreographed performance of “abhi toh party shuru hui hai”. We had a hindu wedding ceremony which was perfectly condensed to under an hour.
Reception:
Our reception was on the beach as well. There was a storm coming that night so the calm before the storm brought by an incredible breeze and you could tell the weather gods were smiling down on us. Our decor was an all white dream. Our goal was the create a classy and romantic setting. We choose white tiffany chairs, white chair sashes, white linens, white backdrop, white victorian sweetheart sofa, white bird cages, and white flowers with some peach and blush pink accents. We lit up the place with hundreds of candles and had multiple ornate free standing chandeliers marking the isle and surrounding the periphery of the venue. Our table placement cards were very unique. The evening started on a fun note as we put all our guests pictures with their table numbers in a tequila shot so they had to ‘take a shot, and take a seat’.
Words from the Bride:
Right after Rikin and I danced down the aisle as we entered the reception, my dad came up to us, gave us a hug and said “Look at what you have created, it’s incredible”. I couldn’t help hold back my tears. Seeing how beautiful the reception looked and how our years worth of hard work had culminated to this one, perfect night, was the highlight of the whole weekend.
Our first dance was choreographed by one of our best friends. It was quite a production as she had the task to teach us how to dance with our two left feet! We started with a waltz to “Aaj jaane ki zid na karo” which is easily my all time favorite song and paired it perfectly with fireworks. It went on to “Rukmini Rukmini” at the groom’s insistence which was rather scandalous but hilarious. We ended it with the Friends theme song “I’ll be there for you”, which is a daily staple in our life. This was followed by very emotional speeches by our parents, sisters and best friends that brought both of us to tears. After that each and every one of our guest got up and performed in a surprise flash mob to “Tujhko banakar ke le jayenge, badri ki dulhaniya” which was so amazing! Right towards the end of the night, we had a few minutes of rain which was such a blessing. The music stopped for a few minutes and all the guests embraced the drizzle and continued to sing in tandem and danced along till the music restarted. After the reception was over, everyone migrated to the nightclub in the resort and continued the party till five in the morning. After a while the night club DJ and the local crowd embraced our craziness and started playing Bollywood music. It was simply incredible - from what the two sober people remember since everyone else was entirely wasted.
Have a wonderful Thursday Maharanis!
