“Sahil and I have been family friends from a young age but we “met” at his dad’s birthday party in 2021. It was the first time we had seen each other in years and we were instantly drawn together… The conversation was easy, and there was an instant feeling of ease. I ended up asking Sahil out on a date and we have been inseparable ever since!”
Sahil runs his own business, he has a distillery in Seven Hills and produces a range of vodka, gin and ready to pour cocktails.
Sonika is a lawyer, but has recently taken a break to start her own jewellery business (the morning after the wedding, it finally clicked!)
Tell us a little about your wedding– the functions & venues
Sahil proposed on 1 Oct 2022 at our home together which he filled with rose petals and candles. He had our parents surprise us shortly after for a little engagement celebration.
For our wedding, we had the following events:
1. Engagement Party at Sahil’s home (7 Jan 2023)
We wanted a fun summer cocktail party. We started with a Sagaan ceremony from my family before all the guests arrived and then we went into full party mode with 150 of our friends and family. We had food stalls set up, a champagne trolley, a dance floor with our iconic “Beri In Love” neon sign, a couple speeches, a surprise dance by Sahil and I and of course signature cocktails that Sahil designed for the evening.
2. Sukhmani Paath at Sahil’s home followed by Dholki (15 Oct)
Sahil’s family is Sikh so it was important we started the wedding festivities with a Paath. This was a great opportunity for us to meet our Bhai Ji who would perform our wedding ceremony.
After the Paath, we did the chunni and Sagaan ceremony because it was difficult to do this at the venue due to having a desti-cation style wedding. Shortly after, Vijay Bhasin came through with all his energy and dhol and we danced into the night!
3. Bridal mehndi (26 Oct)
This was an intimate affair at The Lodge after we all checked in to the venue. Henna by Payal came and did mehndi for me, our mums and all the ladies of the family.
It was the perfect kick-off for the wedding festivities as we got to spend time with our family who travelled from overseas, have some drinks and we all just sat by a bonfire the Lodge had set up for us, listening to Mehndi Hai Rachnewali.
4. Welcome night / Mehndi (27 Oct)
We wanted to do something a little different to the traditional day-time mehndi event you see at destination weddings.
We went with a Sufi theme for our welcome night calling it a “Sufi Mehndi”. The inspiration came from Sahil and I’s trip to the Amber Fort in Jaipur where we had a private dinner and tour after hours. It was one of the most magical nights of our lives together and we wanted to bring that same vibe to the first night of our wedding.
Unfortunately we had unpredictable rain that evening, which did cause hiccups in the decor and entertainment. But, we absolutely loved that our friends and family didn’t let that stop them. We had so much fun dancing in the rain with our guests!
We had a pop up cart with all Indian trinkets for all the ladies that my mum and I ordered during our trip to India – bangles, bindis, potli bags.
Food: We had food stalls set up doing traditional Indian food from chaat stations, to smoky sigiri and a live paan station serving fire paan.
Entertainment: Vijay Bhasin brought his band for live sufi music followed by DJ Ash who just tore it up
Cocktails: Sahil and I designed all the cocktails together. It was such a fun part of the wedding planning that we would always look forward to. We had drinks inspired by each of us and they all had really fun sentimental names (our way of giving the guests a bit more of an insight into our love story)
5. Haldi (28 Oct)
We had our Haldi poolside and went for Indo-Mex vibes (another favourite holiday of ours).
We wanted to make this a really fun event, giving our guests the opportunity to recover from the night before.
We played some games: Mr & Mrs, Jutti Tug of War (ladkewale vs. ladkiwale), kaleeera ceremony followed by the Haldi di Rasam and of course the shower of water after.
Food: We had food stalls set up with fusion of Indian and Mexican food, traditional chaat station, vodka gol gappas, fresh coconut stand and sugarcane juice stand.
Cocktails: We went with a Spritz station given it was a day time event, we had a variation of Aperol Spritz’ that Sahil made himself plus a “hair of the dog” style shot.
Our friends also surprised us with a hand-made 6 person shotski which was super fun.
6. Sangeet (28 Oct)
Our Sangeet was just magical! As a young girl I could never picture my wedding, but the Sangeet I could! Anna Wang nailed the decor with vibrant colours and a really beautiful dance floor.
We had dance performances from our family which is always the highlight of any Sangeet!
Food: We had an international buffet
Cocktails: All the cocktails were inspired by Bollywood songs, fitting the theme.
7. Anand Karaj (29 Oct)
Sahil and I really loved the idea of having an outdoor Anand Karaj which is why we went with the Lodge. They had the perfect space for indoor events and a beautiful lawn large enough to host the Anand Karaj.
I had stitched into my lehenga dupatta as a surprise for my mum “Anju ki Rajkumari, Sahil ki Dulhania”. Sahil had his palla stitched with “Sonika ka Dulha”.
Sahil entered his baraat on a ’64 Impala convertible, my mum wore a pagdi which had everyone really emotional, the ribbon cutting ceremony was iconic with the ladkiwale yelling “no money, no honey”.
On our third phera, Sahil stopped and asked me to walk in front of him (that does not happen in Sikh weddings!), that surprise is just another reason why I love and respect him so much.
Because I am Hindu and Sahil is Sikh, we thought it would be special to bring the traditions from both our religions together. After the Anand Karaj, once the Bhai Ji left, we did our jai mala, sindoor, mangalsutra and ring exchange.
8. Reception (29 Oct)
We went with a black-tie affair for our Reception. Anna Wang absolutely blew our minds with the decor! We wanted a very sexy affair and she took it to another level!
Our Reception started with a cocktail hour for guests with a live sax player, more signature cocktails and canapes.
Sahil and I really wanted to spend time with our friends so instead of doing a head table, we sat at the head of a long table with our friends and spent the evening going to every table.
Guest favours: Sahil created a small batch of gin that was reminiscent of the wedding and the venue, I designed the labels, we bottled them at his distillery, calling it “Beri In Love”.
Food: Sahil’s dad worked really closely with Maya Da Dhaba on all the menus, and for the reception we did an elevated style of Indian food with fresh roti and naan coming table side and a dessert buffet.
Cocktails: we saved the best for last at the Reception with Mr and Mrs themed cocktails.
First Dance: Beyond, Leon Bridges (this song played when Sahil got done on one knee, we went to his concert the day after the proposal)
Tell us about your journey in finding and selecting your wedding vendors
Planning an Indian wedding in Australia is not easy! We wanted a destination wedding but it was very difficult for our family to travel so we very much wanted to bring the same atmosphere and fun to Australia in a condensed three days.
Finding a venue that can accomodate an Indian wedding, offer Indian catering and all of the guests is tricky. We took a gamble going with the Lodge. We booked them before they had done their first wedding but it totally paid off. Being a boutique hotel they were super accommodating and always open to feedback. That being said, there is so much more you have to think of with a boutique hotel in a small town… at times it was like we were bringing Sydney to Jamberoo.
Most of our vendors were friends of the family or came highly recommended.
Vendors:
– Decor: Anna Wang was the lead on decor and we had In2QualityEvents come on board for all things that were Indian specific. Having Ash from In2QualityEvents was a godsent because he also did logistics and lighting. He knew exactly what was needed from the Indian cultural perspective. Ash organised all our smaller events from our engagement party to the Paath so we had built a great relationship with him already.
– Catering: Maya Da Dhaba (Ajay is a long-time friend of Sahil’s dad and they worked closely together on designing the menus)
– Mixologists: We used Beliya cocktails who were great. Sahil is really talented designing cocktails so he was able to clearly communicate the recipes and vision with the team, and they delivered!
– Photography/Videography: My dream was to get WeddingNama from India for our wedding and we were all thrilled when they agreed to come to Australia for their first wedding. They are truly incredible and worth every cent.
– HMU: Fareha. Fareha came with an assistant to do HMU for me and both mums and stayed with us all three days. She is so talented at what she does and is incredibly patient. We worked on the looks together in the lead up to the wedding and it was just a pleasure working with her.
– Entertainment: Vijay Bhasin coordinated all of our entertainment (dhols, live music, DJs, sound & lighting). Having him there was like having a brother helping, he is a spectacular performer and even better coordinator because he takes the time to understand the couple, the venue and what the expectations are.
We felt like we had the A-team of vendors who all went above and beyond their roles.
How easy or difficult it was it to find South Asian wedding vendors in Australia?
It was tough, we really relied on word of mouth and lots of social media research.
Any “wedding planning” tips or advice for to-be-weds who are based in Australia but getting married in traditional South Asian style?
1. Wedding Planner
We definitely recommend getting a wedding planner, especially one who understands and has experience with the culture. We had a tough time finding an Indian wedding planner that was responsive or understood our vision. We engaged Anna Wang to lead all the decor so we also brought her in to assist me with the wedding planning (primarily because we wanted to have someone running logistics and be a shadow on the day).
2. Prioritise
One of the best things we did together as a family before we got stuck into wedding planning was write down 3-5 things that we each really wanted at the wedding/were non-negotiable. That makes it a lot easier to manage expectations and prioritise things that are a must or preferred/optional for both families.
3. Be kind.
Sounds simple but when things are getting stressful or not going your way it’s really easy to get stressed and take it out on your family or your vendors. Reminder for brides and grooms, a wedding is also a big deal for your parents so let them have their moment/s. As for your vendors, they want to make you happy and be proud of their contribution. By taking the time to get to know them and showing your appreciation, you will create a great working relationship and your vendors are more likely to go above and beyond for you because you are treating them with respect.
4. Make it fun!
I think we have all been to a wedding where you feel the couple gets a little lost in the production of a wedding. Where you can, find ways to make the wedding unique to you. For us it was designing cocktails and the little ‘easter eggs’ we had throughout our wedding that we knew were symbolic to us. Also when the planning gets to be too much or overwhelming, highly recommend you take one night a week where you and your partner or family do not discuss wedding planning. Sahil and I would keep our Monday’s free from any wedding talk and do MasterChef Mystery Boxes which seriously lightened the mood!
Vendors (list)
– Venue: The Lodge
– Decor: Anna Wang, In2QualityEvents
– Catering: Maya Da Dhaba
– Mixologists: Beliya cocktails
– Photography/Videography: WeddingNama ; Content Creation: BTS Bridesmaid
– HMU: Fareha
– Henna: HennaByPayal
– Audio/Visual: Vijay Bhasin
– DJs: DJ Ash, DJ Btrix, DJ Trey
– Cake: Creamy Creations by Stacey (recommended by venue)
Clothes (list)
Bridal mehndi: Anita Dongre
Sufi Mehndi: Frontier Raas and custom Chal Jooti sneakers (bride), Khajanchi (groom)
Haldi: Amit Aggarwal (bride)
Sangeet: Varun Bahl (bride), Shantanu & NIkhil (groom)
Wedding: Rimple & Harpeet (bride)
Reception: Falguni Peacock (bride), custom Bentex tuxedo (groom)