Pritisha & Sandeep's destination wedding at The Athenee Luxury Hotel, Bangkok
We are fortunate to have documented Pritisha & Sandeep’s story right from their intimate roka in Mumbai last June to their epic wedding at The Athenee Luxury Hotel in Bangkok in December 2018. We still remember the first time we met them. It was at Slink & Bardot, one of their favourite places, where we ended up chatting for two hours, of which a majority of time was spent discussing The Arsenal football club, Shah Rukh Khan & his filmography and our favourite thing - dogs. Sandeep told us about his two adorable pups back in Ghana called Mango & Zara, while we told him about our boy, Crusoe. We always seek a human connection with all our brides & grooms above everything else, and we were so happy to find that with these two.
Pritisha & Sandeep’s story is an interesting one. For a long time, their families had suggested they meet to explore the possibility of a connection. However, these two didn’t end up meeting face-to-face or even talking for years! And so while they knew of each other, they didn’t really know each other. Finally, they did meet for a rather long date in Mumbai where they both realised that ‘this was it’.
Pritisha & Sandeep’s Sindhi destination wedding began with the ghari pooja for both the bride & groom’s families in the evening. Live sufi & bollywood music by Shahid Shabaz brought everyone to the dance floor later in the evening. This was the beginning of the non stop days of dancing that were to follow.
The next day began in a relaxed manner with a sundowner - the highlight of which was the dedicated gin bar and the ‘secret garden’ themed decor. Friends and family flying in from all over the world found time to catch up on life before they moved indoor for the afterparty. ‘SanPri’ hats peppered the dance floor. It was dark & crazy and we were loving it!
At the mehendi the next afternoon, Pritisha made her entry first, followed by Sandeep and his boys. Held at the same venue as the sundowner, the secret garden now had a bright & colourful vibe which included giant jenga towers & beer pong. Innayat & his team at Innaz Communique had knocked it out of the park. Mehendi functions tend to be a little emotional because the families (and the bride and groom) always realise the emotional impact of a wedding at the mehendi. This one was no exception.
Ajay & Nidhish (Sandeep & Pritisha’s brothers respectively) took up EmCee duties for the evening sangeet. Witty banter was peppered with epic dance performances and a few funny yet emotional speeches. As with all sangeets, this one went on till the next morning. The bartenders were up to some crazy antics - climbing up on top of each other and making sure the shots flowed down every throat.
Since the time Sandeep had checked in, an Arsenal flag was proudly displayed in his room. And this is where he wore his sherwani the next day as he got ready for his baraat. Standing atop a vintage car, Sandeep watched his baraatis carry the party outside the Athenee. As they entered the wedding venue, Pritisha & Sandeep looked absolutely amazing & so much in love. They took their wedding vows around the fire, in the midst of cheers and smiles from their family & friends. They were now husband and wife.
Ajay took up EmCee duties yet again for the evening toasts. We are not exaggerating when we say that every single speech was special. There was not a single dry eye in the venue during the evening - us included. There was just so much emotional depth there. Sandeep made the final speech, and what a speech it was. The floor was then thrown open for Bryden and Parth to work their magic.
Pritisha & Sandeep - Thank you to you guys as well as your families & friends for showering so much love and warmth on all of us throughout the wedding. We really wish we could go back in time and re-live your wedding.
We also have to give a huge shoutout to Innayat and his team at Innaz Communique - these guys are undoubtedly one of the best in the business, and they were complete champions throughout the wedding. Thank you guys.
What drives us during a wedding is the awareness of the responsibility we have. Brides & grooms and their families choose to have us to document their legacy, and that keeps us going. We try to stay in the moment, to capture these fleeting glimpses of truth as they present themselves to us. For us and our team, it is all about finding the real in what is popularly known as candid photography and filmmaking. And we are so fortunate to find brides & grooms who trust us to do exactly that. If you would like to know more about us and our approach, drop us a message at www.samandekta.com/contact and we will get back.
Venue: The Athenee Luxury Hotel, Bangkok
Wedding Planners: Innaz Communique
Pritisha’s Make up: Pallavi Symons
Pritisha’s Hair: Sangeeta Hegde
Music: Shahid Shabaz, Bryden-Parth
Pritisha’s Outfits: Anamika Khanna (ghari pooja), Gavin Miguel (sundowner), Monisha Jaisingh (afterparty), Shreya Som (mehendi), Amit Aggarwal (sangeet), Tarun Tahiliani (wedding), Gaurav Gupta (reception)
Groom’s Outfits: Shantanu Nikhil (ghari pooja), Raisson D Etre (sundowner & afterparty, sangeet, reception), Sabyasachi (mehendi, wedding)