I had been planning my big day ever since I was a little girl. I would watch “Eastern Mosaic” on Sunday mornings and that would be my inspiration growing up.
I knew what I wanted for my wedding before I knew who my groom would be.
Our wedding day was the best day of my life. We had intimate pre-wedding events with only our nearest and dearest of family members. Our events were the epitome of grace, class and elegance. There is not a single detail I would change if I had to go back in time. It was truly magical.
I married my long-time crush Naren, in an absolute fairytale wedding on 8 April 2023. We surprisingly went to the same high school. However, we never actually noticed each other then. Destiny brought us together again when we relocated to Durban and reconnected after more than ten years.
A simple reply to an Instagram story during the pandemic got us talking and the rest is history.
We are two halves to one soul. I couldn’t be any happier. He is my best friend, husband and partner in crime.
Our wedding date was set 16 months prior to our wedding. Wedding planning was the most exciting and enjoyable experience ever! We shopped and planned at our leisure over an entire year. I had a very useful wedding planner diary from Sanskara that guided me throughout the year on a very detailed timeline.
My husband was very involved in planning from the start. Our ideas went into planning our pre-wedding functions and the big day. I have to give credit to my patient husband for taking me to every India Fair and Indian outfit shop in Durban (multiple times).
My husband is an avid fisherman and would always tease me that he will even fish on our wedding day.
The wedding venue we settled for was alongside a beautiful lake. Naren thought it would be funny to bring along his fishing rod to the wedding to annoy me. However, we ended up taking the most beautiful and funny wedding pictures with his fishing rod at the lake. It was something that was very unique to us and came together spectacularly.
Our wedding photoshoot was by far our favourite moment. We escaped the crowd for 45 minutes. It was just us and the photographers creating timeless memories.
Something that is also very special to me is that my dad cooked all the meals for my pre-wedding functions and for our wedding.
It is not very often that the father of the bride prepares meals, but it is something he wanted to do. My dad had all the meals prepared well in advance and had ample time to enjoy my wedding.
Needless to say, the food was an absolute hit and was made with the purest affection by a father wanting to make his daughter’s day extra special.
My mum and dad both did an absolutely stellar job in planning our wedding. They were well organized and independent throughout the preparations. My mum has a sharp eye for the finer details and that made everything extraordinary. They made all my dreams come true and I couldn’t thank them enough.
It was always my dream to have beautiful fresh roses at my wedding. My venue really came through with making it happen. All my decor was done with the most stunning fresh red roses. The petals felt like velvet. It added the pop of colour I was looking for in my serene venue.
You get married once and I believe every bride should never settle for artificial flowers on this special day.
Advice for other couples:
- Having ample time to plan your wedding is beneficial. When you do not have much time to plan and shop around, you will have to settle for things due to time constraints.
- Never settle for any your wedding outfits. When you have enough time, you can try on as many as you can until you find the perfect ones.
- Your big day should be everything you and your husband want it to be. Do not do anything to please anyone else but yourselves.
- Leave no major planning for the week of the wedding. The wedding week is your time to sit back and enjoy all the planning with no stress and last-minute running around.
- Plan every possible detail that you can think of. I planned my wedding down to the order of the songs that were to be played throughout the wedding day.
- Have signed service level agreement contracts with all your vendors to avoid last minute cancellations and undue stress.
- Be prepared for curve balls. No matter what is thrown at you, make sure your wedding experience is yours. Never let anyone steal your thunder.
- Enjoy every moment of the experience from the planning to the inviting and the buildup to the big day. We become so consumed with the details and hoping everything goes to plan that we forget to live in the moment and enjoy every second. It happens once in a lifetime so enjoy it.
Service providers:
- Venue: Blue Ridge Crystal, Newcastle.
- Decor: SD Events
- Photography: Studio Elle
- Videography: Ashram Productions
- Bridal Lehenga: Enens
- Groom’s Sherwani: New Savera
- Hair: Hairstelle
- Makeup: Honeybee Beauty Bar
- Bride’s jewelery: Bollywood Jewels
- Mehndi: Make-Over by Ashiya (Ashiya)
- Wedding planner diary: Sanskara SA
Dear Nishara,
Thank you for giving us the platform to celebrate the memories of our special day. The idea of your blog is a remarkable way to highlight the beauty of Indian weddings in South Africa. Keep up your great work and All the best to you! Xoxo
Hi Teshica,
Thank you so much for your kind words and sharing your wedding with us! It was great having you guys featured on the blog ❤