How I planned my dream Indian wedding in Dubai in just two months

Many people told us it couldn't be done, but sometimes it's the mishaps and close calls that you remember fondly for a long time

Anisha and Hitesh at their sangeet. Photo: Magic Motion Media

Like many women, I had dreamt of my wedding since childhood. A constantly evolving fantasy, it included palatial settings, Bollywood stars, parades and gowns fit for a maharani or queen.

But the reality, however, was strikingly different. When my now husband and I decided to finally get hitched last year in Dubai, things took a different turn. A family health emergency meant we had just two months to prepare. And since we lived in Dubai, this meant that for many of the 450 guests we wanted on our special day, it would be a destination wedding.

Many people told us it couldn't be done as Indian weddings are complex affairs to arrange, with many ceremonies, venues and outfits involved. We also have challenging work schedules – my husband, Hitesh Sukhnani, has a thriving business in the logistics sector, while I have a corporate job in the PR industry, which is particularly busy during events season in Dubai.

But we stuck to our schedule and fitted in all of the planning, meetings with vendors and shopping trips to India after hours and on weekends, no matter how tired we felt. We also enlisted the help of an amazing wedding planner who had an unfailing can-do attitude.

We have close family and friends around the world from India, US and in Europe and Africa, who would need to make travel arrangements to attend the wedding. So the first obvious step was to share our ‘Save the Date’ invitations. This also helped us estimate a preliminary guest count, which was vital to know to find a perfect venue with a ballroom and outdoor area large enough.

Dubai is widely recognised as a top wedding destination, but securing the ideal venue during the December peak season was challenging at short notice. It needed to have comfortable guest rooms and flexible facilities. For example, we needed fire for the pheras, where the bride and groom walk around a holy fire, as well as an intimate prayer space. And we needed chefs capable of preparing both Indian and international cuisines.

Luckily, just a month before the wedding, we managed to secure the perfect venue. We had barely a moment to enjoy a sense of relief before we needed to tackle a lengthy checklist including briefs and site visits with all vendors, food tastings for all events, and coordinating the necessary permits and licences for the wedding.

While the majority of the vendors declared the time frame impossible for an Indian destination wedding, our wedding planner was adamant it could be done.

Given that our auspicious wedding dates fell on a weekend, we also made sure to secure bookings as soon as possible for our key service providers who are in high demand, from our music performers to decor company.

Special touches and wedding outfits

Even though the time frame was short, my husband and I did not want to compromise on how our special day would look, from getting custom trainers hand-painted by a local artist in Mumbai to chai tasting, every detail needed to be perfect.

I wanted my bridal outfits to be created by renowned Indian designers, who are known for their tight production timelines. Surprisingly, this was one of the easier aspects of the preparations; all my first-choice designers accommodated my needs and remained flexible throughout the process.

Leveraging my mother's deep love and knowledge of fashion, I finalised my looks and selected outfits within just five days. For the events, I wore creations by Manish Malhotra for the sangeet, Shyamal & Bhumika paired with Tyaani Jewellery by Karan Johar for the pheras, and Gaurav Gupta for the reception. On the last day of collecting my outfits in Mumbai, there was unexpected rain. I vividly recall holding all three outfits on my shoulder, navigating through the busy traffic to find a driver, praying that none of the outfits would be ruined.

A lot of my jewellery was selected just 10 days before the wedding, but I knew I was making the right choices as I sourced them from jewellers in Mumbai whom my grandparents have trusted for years.

Were there mishaps and close calls? Absolutely. Amid all the frantic wedding activity, my husband and I completely overlooked our wedding shoes. We hurried to Dubai Mall with only a week to spare and were lucky enough to discover the ideal pairs straight away.

Another scare came when my husband’s trousers were accidentally burnt just two hours before the main ceremony, but luckily our quick-thinking wedding planner got the hotel's tailor to fix it.

However, these moments are trivial, and the clearer memories are the smiles and tears, and the moments filled with laughter and happiness. I think the challenge and success of accomplishing everything we needed to on time actually added to the excitement of our wedding.

It was a lot. But looking back at the photos and videos of the ceremonies now, I wouldn’t have changed a thing.

Anisha Pamnani is a PR consultant based in Dubai