Taj Bekal Wedding
An Intimate Luxurious Destination Wedding Ceremony
Each wedding has the promise of support and acceptance at its core. Some people love an intimate wedding while some want the whole grandeur. And to witness one such intimate ceremony, we landed in Taj Bekal, Kerala.
First Meeting
When Pragya called us, we connected instantly with her. She is such a genuine and warm-hearted person; honestly, we had to meet her. The setting was in a book store, and we bonded over a few cups of chai unfolding each other’s life journey. She also told us that she always wanted to be married at Kerala’s isolated and intimate beach. Honestly, such was her description of everything that the whole wedding journey set for January just flashed in front of our eyes.
Their Story
Pragya and Vinu met in college at the prestigious National Institute of Design. Soon, the North Indian girl and the South Indian boy designed their life together and chose to work in the U.S. But, after living in the US for a long time, Pragya and Vinu knew that their new beginning would start from their roots—India. Destination Weddings across the globe at exotic locations is the first choice for many couples. But they planned their dream intimate wedding at this quaint site.
The Location, Decoration, breezy love and the Wedding ceremonies
Pragya and Vinu decided to go for the Taj Bekal Kerala wedding as Taj Bekal provided an intimate setting and cottages for wedding ceremonies. The beach was a beautiful golden colour, and the sparkling water made the whole space look like one big diamond engagement ring. What better setting than this! This location is just perfect for a destination wedding within the country.
While they were looking at the beach and the decorations, we decided to take some aesthetic shots of the couple and the place. The couple took their time walking down the beach and seeing the decorations for their engagement ceremony. The engagement décor was subtle. It was all white and beige with jute lanterns and fairy lights. A magical and pristine ambiance was created for the sundown engagement ceremony. The amount of planning that Pragya devoted to the whole wedding was evident.
As the evening fell, Vinu was at the venue with his friends and family. They were chatting and enjoying the calmness. Pragya was getting ready in her cottage. Both wanted it to be a very intimate event and there was a total of 40 guests invited to attend both the engagement and the wedding ceremony. Pragya’s sister decked the bride up for her engagement.
Pragya’s little sister works at Tesla and just loves her sister to not entrust her makeup to anyone else. She told us that in order to get the bride look stunning, she went through so many YouTube tutorials! But, the end result was worth all the practice. Pragya looked stunning with a no-makeup look and her glittering sheer lehenga!
When the bride arrived, Vinu was chatting with his friend and the look of pure happiness on seeing his life partner was just too heart-touching! The setting was perfect. The sun was behind Vinu and the evening sun’s glow on Pragya's face just made her look so much more beautiful. No other setting could do justice to that whole glow and happiness!
As both were living in the USA and coming down for the wedding, there was much to catch up on with friends and families.The happiness in the atmosphere was just too contagious yet soothing.
Usually, sundown events do place us photographers in a mode of anxiety. But, the planning was meticulously done and not a single moment was out of sync. With the sun going down, they all at the shamiana by the beach. Rings were exchanged and it was just a very cosy and warm moment with both Pragya and Vinu.
As the evening embraced the sky and lights were lit, the wedding guests and the couple were all chattering and playing games in one big garden with low seating. There were no isolated groups or the white noise of music. The night rang with laughter and stories shared. Amidst the games of Jenga and tug-of-war, the bonding got stronger and more balanced!
After all the fun and games, the guests got Mehendi. The groom too got a cute and simple design on his hand! And then the sky lanterns were lit. The night sky was lit up by golden drops above the waves and sand under their feet. A luminious wrap to a sundowner engagement by the beach.
The day of the wedding started with a combined Haldi ceremony of the bride and the groom! They both sat site by side while the golden sun was slowly rising. Once the tradition of smudging their faces with haldi on grass blades, it turned into a Holi festival for Pragya and Vinu! The morning was just perfect for the union of two simple and lovely souls echoing with love & laughter.
Since the wedding was to take place as per the rituals followed in Kerala, it was a morning wedding. Pragya’s mom draped the most gorgeous red saree by Raw Mango for her, and Pragya’s sister did her morning look make-up for the wedding. And the love devoted by these two ladies reflected on Pragya! She looked stunning in her minimalistic style and wedding attire. “I am just relieved that dressing up is done. Now I can go get married!” smirked Pragya!
The wedding décor was minimalistic in light shades of pastels like beige. The mandap was roped with flowers in the coconut groves next to the backwaters. It was an earthy minimalistic décor that reflected the personalities of Pragya & Vinu. All the elements of the earth came together that morning for the union of these two souls. After the wedding rituals everyone sat together for Sandhya meal as per Kerala’s tradition. And our hearts swelled up when Pragya’s father sat with our entire team to ensure that each one of us enjoyed the meal of such a big celebration of her daughter’s life. We all became one big family.
