Boy oh boy does this pair have some stamina! Though living in New Zealand Darshna and Pretesh chose to host a traditional Indian wedding over four days at The Pearl South Pacific Resort in Fiji with some 600 plus guests, one of those being of course their fabulous photographer Sayher Heffernan.
“We wanted an island vibe but also a bit of formality with little old Bollywood glamour mixed in”, says Darshna who knew her dreams of having a small, personal wedding were always going to be compromised.
“Our wedding was a traditional Indian wedding so we had the works over four days, the Henna ceremony, the Pithi/Haldi (turmeric ceremony) followed by the actual wedding and then a massive reception for everyone. All of this with sticky hot weather, rain, lots of yummy food, Bollywood and chai!”
Florist and stylist Amey Mejak from Pack A Perfect Party was a godsend when it came to orchestrating their four-day extravaganza, of which a mish mash of photos are featured below. Helping out not only with the beautiful hanging flower installations and table settings but also ensuring that everything went according to plan. Day one as she explains, “is a celebration of the bride. Herself and her guests are decorated ready for the formalities to begin in the coming days.” Day two “are prayer and blessing ceremonies for the bride. Later in day two the ‘welcoming of the barrat’ occurs which is the welcoming of the groom, his family and friends.” Day three is the actual wedding day during which a two to three hour ceremony takes place, while day four is an opportunity for the wider community to celebrate the marriage over dinner.
And choosing what to wear seemed just as big a feat! Darshna tells us, “In total I had five outfits… but my main wedding outfit was designed by Sabyasachi Mukherjee. My mother disagreed with me when it came to many of my wedding sari options, I wanted a simple look and she was not happy. She kept saying that I had to look like a bride’ needless to say I recall visiting Sabyasachi’s boutique that morning and trying the outfit on, I think it took a grand total of 45 mins to decide on my outfit, Mum’s outfit and my sisters outfits! I was happy, mum, well, she got used to it.”
CREDITS Photos Sayher Heffernan // Bridal gown Sabyasachi // Flowers and styling Pack A Perfect Party // Jewellery Nemichand Bamalwa & Sons // Bridesmaids dresses Sabyasachi // Grooms suit, shoes and tie Crane Brothers // Ceremony and reception The Pearl South Pacific Resort, Fiji // Catering Bhikha Bhai and Company // Cake Rocket Kitchen // Stationery Kish + Co // Hair and makeup Victoria Martin // Calligrapher Kitty Lo // Henna Usha Chauhan.