"A Swan-derful Love" - Akansha and Praveer's Wedding in Riviera Maya
A Bae-Area love story that rocked Riviera Maya in 2020
These two have such a spark of joy in the way they live their life - and it carried through their entire love story that unfolded before our eyes! From their engagement story to the message engraved into Akansha’s wedding band to Praveer’s new-found love of swan towels, everything about this romance left us swooning!
Co-Authors - Akansha and Praveer, Bride and Groom; we highly recommend checking out Akansha’s Citrus & Gold which empowers South Asian women to build confidence through story telling, sisterhood, and entrepreneurship
A night to (not) remember led to a relationship they couldn’t forget!
We met at a mutual friends birthday party back in 2015. By the point our eyes finally locked, the night had taken a bit of a turn for the worst and the only thing Praveer was able to do was order a drink for the two of us (actually nevermind, he forgot to even order us the drinks). He then immediately pulled out his business card (idiot), handed it over and proceeded to run away. It wasn’t until a couple days later, he reached back out and asked me out for a drink. By our second date he had introduced me to his cousin who was living in his kitchen and I knew I was in for an adventure. 4 short years later we were engaged!
Coherent babbled nonsense
I had told Akansha that we were going to head up to Alta Plaza Park, a park right by our apartment in San Francisco, to help one of our good friends surprise his girlfriend and take some photos for their anniversary. Mini champagne bottle in hand, Akansha reluctantly scurried up the hill to join me in an impromptu self-photoshoot consisting of many unflattering jumping photos off park benches while we “waited” for our friends to arrive. As she got back up on the park bench, I tossed the camera over to our friend, got down on one knee and babbled a whole bunch of nonsense for why she should marry me. Somehow it was coherent enough for her to say yes and we have some killer sunset photos to remember the whole thing by.
Let’s plan this big fat Indian (destination) wedding!
We gave ourselves a solid 3-4 months before really kicking things into gear. We knew we were going to get the heat from our family and friends to get going but we're so thankful to have had those first few months to just sit on our hands and enjoy ourselves.
Honestly, picking Shaadi Destinations was one of the easiest decisions we made during the planning process. From the first conversation we got the sense that Milan and Shree were speaking our language having just gone through the planning process at their own wedding and were pros. Everything from their communication style, vendor knowledge and relatability made the decision to work with them a no-brainer. They’re your partner from start to finish and made our whole family comfortable and more relaxed the whole way through.
A wedding in our mind was just as much for us as it was for our friends and family. Having everyone together, care-free, relaxed, and in great weather all were key things on our list. With friends and family coming from all over the world, weddings are some of the only times we all get to bond with one another and we wanted to ensure the place we picked was intimate enough such that we could make the place feel like our own.
Generations Riviera Maya and El Dorado Royale was perfect for that, not too big or intimidating at all. The food was amazing -- chef Kaushal is the f-in man. The casitas made it such that we almost had a private wedding pool area for us all to gather during the day. The venues were gorgeous and we loved the beach side bar - JoJos - where we could keep things going early into the morning; karaoke machine intact and midnight tacos at hand.
This is what we learned and want to share with future couples!
Tip One - Make a budget but also remember that not every detail needs to be perfect. You’ll remember the people, the smiles and funny moments -- everything else is a bit of a blur.
Tip Two - Trust the local vendors. They’re great and so professional. You’ll be surprised at how well they are all able to cater to Indian customs and are all so hard working.
Tip Three - If you can swing it, take a planning trip out to the venue with your parents. They end up taking out of it way more than you will and it really makes them feel part of the process.
Mehndi apocalype and towel swans for days!
Oh gosh, so I (Akansha) got my mehndi done Wednesday night before our first events were starting. And we wrapped up pretty late but I was told the mehendi should be dry in an hour and I could go to bed. The next morning I wake up and our bed sheets are COMPLETELY covered in red/brown mehndi stains. Looks like a crime scene. I also had mehendi smeared on my arm and face. Next thing we know, Praveer and I are sitting in the grass outside of the Casita and he is scraping mehendi off my hands/feet while finding random pieces in my hair. Thankfully everything turned out okay!
For Praveer, his favorite memory before all the events started was renting bikes at the resort and partaking in all the all-inclusive activities, including towel folding. He was able to show off (or tried to show off) his Swan skills at our Welcome Dinner.
It’s your wedding, so don’t be afraid to splurge a bit to make your vision come true!
We splurged on excellent DJs and an A+ AV/Sound System. There was A LOT of dancing at our wedding. Plus, decor. Decor might have felt a bit frivolous while planning but once we saw everything come together it was completely worth it and set the tone each night.
A slam dunk baraat!
Praveer saw a basketball during this baraat and couldn’t help himself! It was 100% spur of the moment. Still running high off the Raptors 2019 Championship run, it just felt like the right thing to do mid-baraat aided by a couple rounds of 10am tequila shots.
A ‘cool’ detail for a ‘cool’ bride ;)
The ring says “Akansha is cool”. There isn’t much of a story to it other than the fact that Praveer was ordering the ring off Blue Nile on a workday evening and said “wouldn’t it be funny if I got “Akansha is cool” engraved on the ring?” We decided yes and the rest is history.
Props all around!
All of the vendors we hired were SO valuable in our entire experience. However, there were some that stood out to us the most.
Shaadi Destinations because, duh. We don’t think we would have been able to have a destination wedding without Shaadi Destinations! We would have no idea where to find vendors, what to prioritize/look out for. The extra stress would have not been worth it. But with Shaadi Destinations we felt so taken care of and confident in our decisions leading up to the wedding.
And once we got to the actual celebration, it was SO stress-free. Everything was so well-organized and communication was on-point. Even our parents were able to relax and enjoy themselves!
Juan Carlos Castillo (from Shaadi Destinations) was our right-hand man. He executed everything flawlessly and brought to life a vision that we couldn’t have even imagined without his help.
Sara Tamargo: She made me feel like a queen each day and made the getting ready process relaxing.
MVPDJs: They were a crowd-pleaser and kept the energy high for 3 days in a row
Sweet Carribean Photo: Dani and her team brought their A game! The photos + videos they shot were absolutely stunning. Grateful to have these memories captured in such an elegant way.
Chef Kaushal (from Generations / El Dorado) - he made us, our pundit, and parents SO happy.
Our full list of vendors:
Minimooning in Paradise
Right after our wedding we went to Tulums for 2 nights and it was so worth it. Stayed at a chic/cute boutique hotel where we were able to relax, eat good food, explore Cenotes, and just celebrate this new chapter in our lives!
Special thanks to Sweet Caribbean Photography for these fabulous pictures! Contact Sweet Caribbean for your destination photography needs.
Shaadi Destinations is the premier, award winning, modern-day destination wedding travel agency for South Asian couples seeking a streamlined process, incredible experiences, and a party friends and family will never forget! We save our couples thousands of dollars while throwing them the wedding festivities dreams are made of.
We live and breathe destination weddings - with just one consultation, you will be light years ahead in your destination wedding planning process. In less than one week, Shaadi Destinations will find you the most perfect resort that meets your needs, your budget, and your desires. With our vendor relationships and pre-negotiated exclusive perks at resorts across Mexico and the Caribbean, we are confident we can find exactly what you are looking for. You'll find we have the best rates, best incentives, and best booking experience.