"Love Can't Wait" - Heena and Anish's Wedding in Costa Mujeres
Why wait for a year or more when you can’t wait to start your love story?
Planned in under 4 months from start to “I Do”, Heena and Anish’s wedding was a beautiful affair in a brand new resort in paradise! With just a few months to get it all done, Heena and Anish turned to Shaadi Destinations to make the magic happen!
Author - Heena Patel, Bride
How it all began
We met through my brother (Sachin). Anish and Sachin went to university together. And Anish and I connected via Facebook several years after they graduated and all. We dated for 2.5 years before getting married.
It was a surprise proposal on my 29th birthday. Anish told me he would be out of the country for work and I was just having an average day at my own job and when I came home I opened a bunch of presents from him that he had "mailed" to my sister in law to give to me. the Last surprise was in the backyard and he was waiting for me with my niece (Zara) on one knee. :)
Let's start planning
We had actually began the process a few months before the proposal because we knew we wanted to get married in 2019.
We wanted a destintation wedding from the beginning of the wedding process because choosing between the US and Canada was going to be difficult. We also wanted a more intimate size, relatively for a hindu wedding. We choose Mexico because it would be affordable for our guests especially in such short notice. Our resort was newly built less than a year ago at the time and it was getting down to the wire so we had limited choices at the time, but the Grand Palladium was beautiful. We really liked that it was a brand new venue, close access to the private beach area. Also we found that our guests really enjoyed the Zentopia Spa. While most couples opt for a beach wedding ceremony in Mexico, we were one of the rare couples that decided ahead of time that we did not want a beach wedding. When we were shown the Village Deck, we knew it was the perfect spot for us. It allowed us to have the beautiful views of the water, and an entrance via the electric boats, and more.
You are the ONE!
We had spoken to a few different companies beforehand and we had the best experience and ease of communication with the Shaadi team. Once MC joined us, it was the best decision we had made! Our time crunch definitely played a big factor of us needing a wedding planner from the beginning. We probably had a total of 3 months to put everything together. For future couples, we can’t emphasize enough how much you want someone on your team who knows the venue well.
(Editor’s Note - Shaadi Destinations not only planned the first Indian wedding at this brand new resort, but has already planned more than 10 in just the first year of this resort opening! As a result, Shaadi Destinations clients earn extra perks here worth in many cases, more than $10,000 that would not be saved if working directly with the hotel or if using another agency)
Also, it was really nice that our planner had such a good relationship with Shaadi Destinations because they were organizing all the travel for our guests - this goes hand in hand with planning a destination wedding. After our first Facetime meeting our planner, we knew we could trust her to get the job done. She was well versed with Grand Palladium Costa Mujeres, and the ins and outs of Indian / Hindu weddings.
Hashtag Goals
We definitely had a hashtag for our wedding weekend so we could easily see all our pictures on social media - it was #KeepingUpwiththeKhithanis as a play on the Kardashians! My sister in law (Hetal) and best friend helped me create it!
Here are our top tips for future destination wedding couples!
Anish and I wanted a simple but opulent theme for our wedding, so greenery and white flowers was an easy choice in our mind. I used Pinterest to gather inspiration, which I shared with Shaadi Destinations and Maricarmen brought back other weddings and pictures she had planned in the past. I think because our planner had a good understanding of what we wanted and our budget, it was almost seamless in the decor choosing process. When we came for our site visit, the decor team brought plenty of options so that we were able to pick and choose things we liked. We also recommend trying to space events and photoshoots out more with fluff time so you don’t feel rushed. Most importantly remember to enjoy each and every moment!!
Memories for a lifetime
One of our favorite memories outside of our awesome events was going to Costco with MC and Abbie to get stuff for the wedding the day before everyone else arrived. It was memorable because it was fun hanging out with our wedding planner Maricarmen from Shaadi Destinations. She is great company, and of course eating Costco Pizza like a local with our new friends was fun :-)
Probably something that we splurged on, but that was totally worth it was the extra hour extension at the end of the reception!
Shout outs!
My husband and I decided to work with Shaadi Destinations for our wedding in Mexico. We only had a few months to plan everything and Shaadi Destinations and their team made the experience very stress free. Milan and Shree were always available via email, and even phone/text when needed.
And Maricarmen from Shaadi Destinations, (WOW) where do I begin. MC definitely made things in terms of planning so much easier and fun, especially because we couldn't be there (Mexico) in person. She has great relationships with all the vendors and works really hard to make sure we stay within our realistic budget. She was so fun to chat with and bounce ideas off of for all of our events. Basically, anything we needed MC was there. She’s sweet and knows how Indian weddings run; she’s good with crowd control and all parents love her too! MC is truly the master of all trades! If we had to do it all over again we would choose Shaadi Destinations without a doubt.
Catering and Photography teams were just fantastic. Patravali's food was amazing, all of our guests really loved all the menus at the events catered by them. Our photography company Lunic was so fun to have on our team and so many of the outdoor shots were beautiful.
Our list of vendors:
Destination Wedding Agency - Shaadi Destinations (Website - Instagram - Email)
Wedding Planner - Shaadi Destinations (Website - Instagram - Email)
Photographer - Lunic Photography (Website - Instagram - Email)
Hair and Makeup - Alex Corbanezi Beauty & Co. (Website - Instagram - Email)
DJ and MC - Crown Entertainment (Website - Instagram - Email)
Special thanks to Lunic Photography for these fabulous pictures! Contact Lunic 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.
