A Magnificent Wedding at Taj Falaknuma Palace, Planned & Executed by Milestones to Memories
by Madiha Khan Weddings | April 10, 2018 | News
Milestones to Memories Reels And Frames Taj Falaknuma Palace
Milestones to Memories (MtoM), is known to be one of the best destination experts who understand the nuances and requirements of the client and ensure bespoke planning and execution well. Their responsibilities for this grand wedding included with suggesting the destination, conceptualizing the entire wedding, and roping in the required partners for decor and technicals. They also managed the RSVP’s and guest list for the family.
The couple, Vihang and Anahita, wanted a royal dream wedding for which MtoM suggested Emirates Palace Abu Dhabi, Rambagh Palace Jaipur, Umaid Bhavan Palace Jodhpur, and Taj Lake Palace Udaipur, but Taj Falaknuma Palace, located 2,000 feet above Hyderabad, on a hillock, was chosen due to its mesmerising beauty and legendary hospitality.
Heena Patel’s Amaahyaaj was the decor partner for this celebratory wedding. As a team, MtoM and Amaahyaaj worked on all the preferences of the couple. The couple were creative but open to suggestions from the decor team. Aarti Manocha, Founder, Milestones to Memories says, “Heena is one of the best talented designer in the wedding space today and what I personally like about her is that she creates unique and bespoke designs for every project”. The décor was designed keeping in mind the sensitivities of Falaknuma Palace, the venue. “The themes were not a challenge but the décor to match the opulence of the Falaknuma Palace was an important factor”, continues Aarti.
Mehendi & Haldi
The decor for the event was inspired by the setting of spring in a Palace Lawn. There were cut–out butterflies around dainty floral topiaries in the garden witnessing the mehendi function of a very cute couple. The guests were ushered into the lawn through a bridge over the pool which had the wedding hashtag floating in flowers. Prints showcasing spring were seen on various mediums to bring in the joy of freshness and colour to this event. Burlap against ivory was used for all ceilings to create shade for guests and the group seating formats set the mood for a casual spring afternoon spent enjoying food, drinks, chatter, and music in a gorgeous heritage space. The guests also enjoyed a live performance of Jasleen Royal, singing her famous ‘Din Shagna Da’ just for the lovely bride. The mehendi ceremony was followed by haldi function which took place at the Zenana Courtyard.
Sangeet
The techno-themed sangeet had well-scripted family dance performances which were superbly choreographer by Vishal Kanoi. He ensured that the dancing talent of the groom Vihang was well utilised and revealed. On the techno theme for Sangeet, Aarti said, “While the dances were being performed on the stage, our technical team made sure that the best graphics were displayed, which enhanced the magnificence of the stage and the entire look and feel”.
Wedding & Reception
The royal baraat with dholwalas had huge decorated trucks heading the procession. Settings of the Ganga aarti followed by the rituals were organized for the welcome and surreal varmala ceremony. It became the emotional and spiritual high for all the guests attending and specially the family and couple.
On the challenges faced while planning this wedding Aarti said, “The main challenge was accommodating 400 guests in Hyderabad, as Falaknuma has only 60 rooms. So scouting the second hotel to offer services at par was a big challenge as the guest list had VVIP’s and some top notch industrialists. We finalised Park Hyatt Hyderabad as the alternative hotel. But the main challenge here was the distance between both hotels, which was an hour drive. Hence we planned the flow of the event in a way that the guests didn’t have to travel back and forth to their hotels multiple times. We modified the spa area at Falaknuma into a vanity area for guests staying at the other hotel for wash and change if they wished to. A customer service team was also available at each hotel for guest assistance and to take care of any specific requirements of every guest.”
Commenting on the importance of collaborations with the right teams, Aarti explained “It is extremely important and a key to success of any event that all the stakeholders involved in creating the event are on the same page. I need to work with a passionate team who love doing what they do! As wedding curators, the MtoM team is very particular to get on board the right partners who fit in the scheme of the clients requirements and budgets. We have partnered with various vendors in the industry and thankfully we have worked well with most of them. We had the best teams come together for this project. We thoroughly enjoyed the planning and execution with all of them”.
Heena Patel, Amaahyaaj explained on the wedding décor, “The venue attributed largely to the decor with regal spaces and subtle symbolism which was incorporated in the form of deeper colours, print and patterns, candelabras, and regal mirrors in an old world charm. The gorgeous bride loved little fresh details which we brought in to the mehendi with cute detailing whereas the groom had a vibrant energy which inspired us to add elements of dazzle and electric colours to the Sangeet. The wedding was a reflection of the union and beauty of cultures and this brought us the gorgeous "Paithani meets Gara" at the wedding dinner.
Anand Rathi, Director, Reels and Frames said, “From an architectural standpoint, Taj Falaknuma is one of the most amazing structures in India. It is shaped like a scorpion and spans in an area over 32 acres. Hence, nothing but an aerial shot could have done justice to the expanse and beauty of the palace. At the same time, the interiors are living embodiments of Nizami luxury. As part of our shoot, we focused on getting the regales captured equally. Team MtoM did a fabulous job in accentuating the elegance of the palace while preserving its sanctity. That made our job as videographers a breeze.
Speaking on the coordination with MtoM, Anand Rathi, Director, Reels and Frames said, “A big fat Indian wedding has lots of moving parts. However, team MtoM managed to make this wedding work flawlessly. Their coordination with our team was exemplary, be it logistics management or ensuring availability of opportunities for creative shooting. Vihang and Anahita enjoyed every bit of their own wedding (trust me, that is a rare occurrence!) and that in turn resulted in some wonderful moments that we were able to capture. Overall, this one was right out of the park on all accounts.”
The beautifully lavish wedding was designed by Amaahyaaj and captured by Reels and Frames
Photo Gallery
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