Sun, sea & ceremony

Sonu married Rajeev Shah at the Grand Hyatt Goa on 16th November 2015. She says: “I’ve been planning my wedding since I was a little girl, so when Rajeev proposed, I could finally dig out my wedding bible (filled with hundreds of images and ideas) and free my inner Bridezilla!

We both wanted a beach wedding so Goa seemed like the perfect option. And due to the beach venue, we felt a more contemporary vibe would be appropriate for the Big Day. For most people the mere mention of a beach equals vacation, so it seemed right to create a relaxed feel to the wedding - we call it modern Indian.

The Grand Hyatt Goa is one of the most stunning beach resorts I’ve ever seen. The class and finesse is untouchable and its capacity was huge, particularly the wedding grounds and the banquet hall! That was an important element for us, because Indian noise restrictions mean you can’t carry on all the night outdoors. But the hall allowed us to party until 6am every night! The staff were so helpful, which made it a lot easier for us to plan the destination wedding of our dreams.”
The Ceremony
“I wanted to tie the knot with Rajeev at sunset so the wedding was scheduled to take place in the evening. If you’ve never seen a Goan sunset, let me tell you – they’re spectacular.
However when the time came, the sky wouldn’t behave! The ceremony was supposed to start at 5pm, but the  pink and orange sunsets you’d normally see at that time had failed to materialize.
So in true Bridezilla style, I stubbornly waited until the heavens changed to an acceptable hue before I allowed my uncles to lead me down the aisle. We laugh about it now, but if things can’t be perfect on your wedding, when can it be?”

The Mehndi
“We hosted all our guests for three days at the Grand Hyatt Goa and it was also where we had all our events, from the mehndi, to the sangeet, Chudda, wedding and reception.”

The Makeup
“My bridal look was created by a makeup artist from Banglore called Aruna - the woman has magic in her fingers. She did my friend’s makeup for her wedding and that’s where I first fell in love with her work. I knew I had to book her for my own day! A team of three people created my hair and makeup looks for each of my events.”

The Dress
“I’ve been a long-time fan of Sabyasachi. His work is so refined and traditional. I always knew I wanted the pleasure of wearing one of his pieces on my special day. I wanted red to be more dominant than white, and I ended up choosing the first piece I saw when bridal shopping in India. It was meant to be.”

Décor
"My Big Day colour palette was pink (my favourite colour) and white, so that was the general tone. I adore chandeliers so my  wedding planner flew to Mumbai to get the one I wanted for the mandap. It was definitely worth the trip; everyone commented on how beautiful it looked."

Photography
Anil and Beena from Zurihsia Studios were my only choice. I booked them six weeks before the wedding, which was a bit of a risk, but?it was fate as they were available!

The Venue
The Grand Hyatt Goa is one of the best hotels in Goa and such a beautiful resort! I knew as soon as I saw it that it was the one for us.

Catering
The hotel created a mix of food stalls and buffets for our three-day event. They were really creative with the dishes and even made my traditional three-tiered vanilla wedding cake.


The bride: Sonu Rajani, 27 
The groom: Rajeev Shah, 29 
Married: 16th November 2015 
Venue: Grand Hyatt Goa, India 
Photography: Zurihsia Studios, +44(0)7786 433 907