Anant and I met one cold December morning at Paris airport (2014). Least to say it was the best 10 days of our lives. I remember getting on the flight to Paris and thinking - "Wow Tanisha, this is probably going to turn out to be the best decision you ever made or the worst one you ever made".I think we both knew this was it BEFORE we met in Paris but we were too afraid to admit it, it went against everything logical in life. A recommendation from a common family friend to both our dads resulted in Anants dad endlessly nagging him to email me. That polite Canadian email then turned into endless phone calls and hours of Skype which resulted in us meeting in Paris about 2 months after that first email. As one quotes at our wedding said, "It was love at first Skype" hehe
My style and what I wanted:
- 180 guests --- which then ended up being 200 but I still feel accomplished. I really wanted an intimate wedding
- simple, elegant and fun
- personalized
- budget friendly
- A traditional South Indian wedding with a modern twist (for the groom)
- GREAT food (which was the main reason we picked The holiday inn resort as the venue cause their food is so underrated)
Some challenges I faced:
- I wanted to have a small fat Indian wedding (yes that's a thing)
- The groom was Indian but had never been to an Indian wedding. All he had been to were 60 people American / Canadian weddings.
- I had to plan the wedding while sitting in Canada (Calgary)
Things I did right: - Wedding hashtag: #WifeOfPai (the grooms name is Anant PAI). Everyone that heard this loved it and laughed about it and most importantly remembered it.
Photographer, hair & makeup. They were also people that I ended up spending the most time with during the 2 days of the wedding. They didn't just do their "job" but they were there with all their heart and that's why their work was so good! I can't thank them enough.
Photographers: My decision to hire @pixel-story# was based on good instinct and chemistry, the minuite I chatted with Sudha (the wife from the husband-wife duo who's secret life is wedding photography) I loved her and I just wanted them to capture our wedding. They were probably one of the best decisions I made for the wedding. They also surprised my husband and I with a live edit at the reception. That live edit now has 4778 views on Vimeo and I'm sure 4000 of those was my husband and I playing the video on loop while we were honeymooning in the Maldives.
Hair: The person who did my hair was a VERY dear family friend. He took this wedding so personally and did his work with so much love that I was overwhelmed. He and my mum coloured and styled my hair since 6 months before the wedding to get the right look and he also cut off all my hair post the wedding.
Makeup : The makeup artist was recommended by Wendall Rodricks and I didn't need to think twice before hiring her. Every look was bang on the brief I gave her. She also really pushed me to use airbrush makeup which was so awesome. It was lightweight, sweat proof and totally worth the extra money. Highly recommend it.
Outfits - Obviously, I love my designer Lehenga and the works but I did not want to splurge on every outfit, I just wanted to be practical but also find my dream outfits.
I splurged on my wedding Kanjivarams and the Reception outfit - A saree gown by Tarun Tahiliani + classic Black louboutins.
I was really practical about my Sangeet Lehenga (which everyone thought was spectacular) but was my cheapest outfit which I bought from a random store and then got it fitted with a designer (it's all about the fitting). It also went perfectly with our 'Sky Full of Stars" themed Sangeet.
Detailing - There were so many little things in the wedding that most people might or might not have noticed. But they were my favourite things.
- The invite with no envelopes. A hexegonish shaped card that folded in itself and was sealed with gold wax seal. It was hard work but totally worth it. The mastermind behind be design and concept was Shreena Doshi(a very special friend) & the team at 'All That Jazz'
I got a Caligraphy artist To hand write the names. Someone very dear to my mum and I was the mastermind behind the design and concept.
My favourite details:
- The grooms cufflinks at the reception: They had the coordinates of the Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris where we first met
- Giveaways: I got custom fortune cookies made (The fortune was customized to be a thank you note)
- #WifeOfPai hashtag as part of my Mehendi ui
- Pathway decor leading upto the beach Mandap: my husband and I both sat down and made up quotes that made the pathway decor and they were cute, funny and an insight to our relationship that everyone laughed about
- The pandit : our pandit was a highlight of the ceremony. He had beautifully crafted English explanations to some of the main parts of the ceremony. It wasn't just great for our friends we were there from other parts of the world but also everyone who was there from India appreciated it.
- Bridesmaids outfits : my mum gets a lot of credit for helping me pick the right Saree that would look good on all my girls. Each one wore a different coloured blouse and rocked it !
- The months leading up to the wedding: I really milked it and loved all the attention. I had 3 bachelorette parties : one with my best friend in vegas (we got married 1 month apart and had a co-bachelorette party), a surprise Bachelorette party thrown by my aunt in Seattle while I visited her & one thrown by some of my best friends in Bombay - like the classiest most elegant champagne brunch where everything from the decor to the food was handmade/homemade. Even the giveaways were handmade coffee vanilla lips rub. Right out of Pinterest!
