"Roses and Bulldogs" - Shehzadi and Adil's Wedding in Riviera Maya
Weddings can be seamless; you just need the right partners on your side
Shehzadi and Adil were friends for years before getting engaged and planning their wedding! They knew right from the start they wanted to enjoy the process and the way to do that was to have a destination wedding in paradise planned with the help of their dream team of planners and vendors!
Author - Shehzadi, Bride
A Foundation of Friendship
We met through our religious community, Ismaili Jamatkhana, where we both volunteered. It took several years of us being friends before we finally started dating. We had been dating for 5.5 years when Adil proposed. By the time our wedding came around, we were together for a little over 7 years.
Hearts at Herty Field
Adil and I graduated from the same university, the University of Georgia (UGA). Adil proposed at the most beautiful and our favorite spot on campus, Herty field. There were pictures of us throughout the years that lined the walkway to the spot where he would propose. The walkway was covered with rose petals and at the end of the walkway were the letters S&A in red and black (UGA's colors). Once I said 'Yes!', our family and friends were hiding in the bushes to congratulate us! It was really such a memorable day.
Let’s plan a wedding!
We started researching wedding venues.about 6 months after the proposal and 3 months after our engagement party. Adil and I always talked about having a destination wedding even before he proposed.
I was born in Los Angeles and Adil was born in Miami. We both loved the beach and knew that we wanted to get married on a beach. Florida did not seem like a destination to us so we started looking into a wedding outside of the US. At one point even Thailand was an option but that was too far and we knew a lot of our friends and family would not make it out. Growing up, I took a few family vacations to Cancun so we started looking into Cancun.
That's when we found Shaadi Destinations. We did not realize that South Asian Weddings was such a big deal down there! It was very appealing to us that we can have the type of south asian wedding we always envisioned in a beautiful location like Cancun! Adil and I went down to Cancun with my parents to scout resorts, a trip which was arranged by SD. After visiting about 4 resorts we knew that everything we were looking for was at Generations/El Dorado. We did not want a resort that was too much of a party feel like Hard Rock. We liked that the Generations/El Dorado resort was so big! It gave more options on places to relax, wedding venues for each event, and so many restaurants for our guests to enjoy! At the end of the day it was the different venue options within the resort that really convinced us that this is the resort for our wedding.
From our first phone call we could already feel that we could trust Milan and Shree. They had so much knowledge to share with us and we knew for a fact that there was no way we could do this on our own. Milan, Shree, and the entire SD team were truly our Partners in Paradise. We were definitely in good hands!
Listen up
We put together some of our top tips for future destination wedding couples!
Tip One - Have a set budget. Prioritize what you want to spend your money on (i.e. decor, entertainment, etc.)
Tip Two - Don't be afraid to ask for help! Reach out to Milan/Shree, talk to other couples, and ask plenty of questions! We're all here to support each others dreams.
Tip Three - Enjoy the process as much as you can. Once all of it is over, you'll look back and miss it!
Memories aren’t just made at events
We had a candlelight dinner on the beach the night before all of our guests would start arriving. It was so perfect to have this time to ourselves to be relax and enjoy each other's company before the hectic wedding weekend! I definitely recommend all couples to either go for a private dinner or a massage to truly feel relaxed before the wedding.
Our favorite event splurge was definitely the Churros Station <3! We love our churros!
Paradise Extended
We were able to get in a little mini-moon after our wedding at UNICO 20°N 87°W in Riviera Maya. Shaadi Destinations was able to set this up and arrange the seamless transfers as well! So glad we did that! Shaadi Destinations also booked our more official honeymoon in Hawaii where we will be staying at the Four Seasons on Maui!
Shout out time!!
Since the beginning, Shaadi Destinations has gone above and beyond for us. They have always been so responsive to our emails and have had our back every step of the way through our 15+ months of planning. They recommended the best resort, planner, and vendors that fit our style and budget! We received so many compliments from family and friends about how seamless the booking process was thanks to Milan and Shree. Wedding planning is definitely stressful but with Milan, Shree, and their team on our side, we knew we were in the right hands! Thank you team for making our dream wedding a reality!
Our planner/coordinator/decorate, Juan Carlos from JC Castillo Weddings was also amazing. He was able to bring our wedding dreams to life and for that we would recommend him to anyone considering hiring a planner. At first I was hesitant hiring a planner since the resort has their own team but we are so glad that we did! Thanks to JC and his team we were able to relax by the pool the day of our wedding!
I would also definitely recommend Sara Tamargo and her team for Hair and Makeup. For south asian weddings we need to have a different look for so many events! Sara and her team were able to understand what look I wanted for every event and followed through beautifully! They even did makeup for our mothers, sisters, and bridesmaids.
Loto Mehndi is another vendor I would recommend! Gaby did such an amazing job and all my guests were very happy! Some even commented that she did a better job than mend artists back home. She is very detailed and precise. She even accommodated the fact that I wanted to use my own mehndi! Her mehndi is great too but it just takes an extra day or two for the color to get dark.
We flew in our photographer, videographer, and DJ who we would highly recommend. Blink Films from Houston. FengLong Photography from New York, and DJ Jaz from Atlanta. Drums In Paradise was a great vendor as well! We booked their fire and water drum show for our welcome night which all our guests enjoyed! We also had the LED dhol for our Sangeet which was amazing!
Our list of vendors:
Destination Wedding Agency - Shaadi Destinations (Website - Instagram - Email)
Wedding Planner - JC Castillo Weddings (Website - Instagram - Email)
Photographer - FengLong Photography (Website - Instagram - Email)
Hair and Makeup - Sara Tamargo (Website - Instagram - Email)
Special thanks to FengLong Photography for these fabulous pictures! Contact Feng Long 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.
