Someone has rightly said, "The best relationships start off as friendships first". Imagine that one fine day you meet a person through mutual friends and end up spending the rest of your life with him. Well, today we are going to talk about a couple who met each other at university, sipped on a hot cuppa coffee (where the bride-to-be forgot her wallet) and a few weeks later started what would be a lifelong friendship together. So, meet Natasha & Chinmay who celebrated their intimate wedding in Sydney, Australia. What was special to this wedding was the bride who took the internet by storm with her turquoise floral velvet Sabyasachi lehenga and a plunging neckline that she wore on her reception day. 

Whether it was their intimate home mehndi where she wore a grey Sabyasachi saree or the pithi ceremony where her Anita Dongre's lehenga & DIY elements took our heart away, her bridal looks were effortless. Oh! And her GORGE wedding lehenga in dusty lilac and golden net with a perfect blend of 3D peacock motifs was spectacular by Frontier Raas. Shot by KS. Creative Photography & Rolling Canvas this "uni friends" turned into twosomes and their #ShahlivedhappilyeverKhandkar wedding story with only 150 guests is the sweetest thing we have ever come across.  

Introducing Natasha & Chinmay's Intimate Wedding in Sydney

With blushing cheeks and rosy lips, Natasha elaborated on how she exactly met her husband-to-be. She said, "We met at university through mutual friends! I was with a group of friends when he joined and we were the only two of the group who got up to buy coffee. As cliche as it sounds, I forgot my wallet so he bought me coffee. When I returned the favour a few weeks later we started what would be a lifelong friendship together". 

Coming down on wedding planning seemed a task due to the Coronavirus outbreak. Natasha revealed, "Luckily our wedding was in September and COVID-19 first started impacting weddings from March onwards. In Sydney, Australia we had the first wave in April. We planned to keep our original dates but put all the planning on hold until July". Though they were lucky enough to stick to their original plans but had to face other issues such as with their guest's limits, COVID-19 safe plans, travel plans & wedding outfits. 

"Unfortunately, none of our overseas guests could attend, including my best friend in New York and our grandparents from Mumbai. We realised early on that cancelling or postponing adds so much stress to couples and there was no certainty that even if we cancelled, we would be able to have our dream wedding later on. So we decided to keep our dates and decide last minute if we were going to go ahead. There were a few issues with our venues who tried to change prices because legally we were having fewer people attend, however, we were able to negotiate and resolve these issues. Most of our vendors were so understanding and patient with us. Due to Coronavirus, we had to think about so much more for our guests than we ever imagined, including having all their contact details on file for every event, a COVID-19 safe plan, social distancing, no dancing (seated at all times), and buffet served to the table. This added some extra stress to us," said Natasha.  

Intimate Home Mehndi Ceremony With Refreshing Hues 

In recent times, we saw so many couples celebrating their big day at their home-sweet-home. Similarly, taking inspiration from these real couples, Natasha & Chinmay also decided to have an intimate home mehndi ceremony on 23 September 2020 with their closest friends and family members. Drenched in pastel decor, DIY romantic and intimate setting #ShahlivedhappilyeverKhandkar mehndi was a feast for the eyes. Be it customised welcome signage, intricate gold and white cutwork backdrop, or the intimate bridal seating arrangement adorned with red & pink cushions, rugs, fresh flowers, golden painted monstera leaves, candles and lanterns. Their hatke home mehndi function was filled with much love, happiness and refreshing hues. 

Coming to the bridal look Natasha donned a stunning offbeat grey organza Sabyasachi saree paired with a velvet blouse. Adding a choker & rani haar with the high-end designer saree she accentuated her look with Needledust & Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla juttis, smokey-eyes, winged eyeliner, rosy cheeks, and glossy nude lips, which made her the quintessential bride. On the other hand, Chinmay decided to wear a white kurta churidar paired with printed Nehru jacket from Manyavar Mohey and made sure to look dapper for the ceremony. 

Phew! Apart from the pastel decoration, potli wedding favours, and oh-so-gorgeous outfits (that we still can't get over from), what caught our attention was Natasha's coordinated lotus motif hand & feet mehndi by Henna By Payal that took our breath away. In fact, more brownie points to her statement nose pin and muted pink flowers pinned on her hair. Oh! And, the sweet gesture from Chinmay feeding his bride during the mehndi ceremony was just AWW!  

Fun-Filled Haldi Ceremony That Was Pretty in PINK

After a fabulous intimate mehndi ceremony now it was the time for fun-filled haldi function that was celebrated on 25 Septemeber 2020. Having pink-theme for her intimate home haldi ceremony, Natasha focused on keeping DIY elements which looked cute & refreshing with a wonderful pastel colour palette throughout the event. Psst... Whether it was the pink-themed tassel mandap draped with baby pink drapes or the dainty pom-poms as the backdrop, we LOVED how Decor-A-Shaan and Fluer Walls Decor setup this intimate haldi function. Keeping it warm & cosy the wedding decorators also ensured to accessorise it with scented candles with lanterns and floating flower pots, which was accentuated with an antique chair for the bride, Natasha. 

Ensuring to match with the pink-themed vibe, Natasha decided to keep her bridal look sweet & simple with Anita Dongre's white and pink printed lehenga that was perfect for the pithi ceremony. Furthermore, to complete her look, she accessorised her bridal look with the silk floral passa earrings and anklets from Prune India, jewels from Labels of  Love and footwear from Needledust that were extraordinarily beautiful for her Haldi in Sydney, Australia. 

With soft curls, dewy makeup and mehndi on point this fun-filled yet emotional ceremony saw love, emotions, happiness and bond that a bride has with her loved ones. 

Close-Knit Sydney Wedding With Bride in Unique Dusty Lilac & Golden Lehenga

After the fun-filled ceremonies now it was the time for much-awaited D-day. Held on 26 September 2020 at Curzon Hall, Sydney the intimate wedding day was centred around the romantic pastel-themed royal white and lilac mandap with flowers that looked straight out of a dream. Though initially, they planned for 220 guests for the wedding day and 320 guests for the reception party, however, due to COVID-19they were only allowed to have 150 people for each event.

Coordinating with each other in Frontier Raas, Natasha looked GORGE in dusty lilac and golden net lehenga that was a perfect blend of 3D peacock motifs with pearls, sequins and dabka embellishments. Complementing her bridal look she further accessorised her jewellery with her bridal lehenga and wowed us with her dazzling bangles, non-floral haathphools, baby pink and polki studded choker and rani haar set that took our breath away. With a generous dose of pink, soft shimmery eye makeup, glossy nude lips and floral hair bun we loved how her flushed makeup look was beautifully done by MUAH & Stylist Nikki Arora for the wedding day. 

While the bride looked chic & classy, our groom Chinmay looked crip in beige embroidered sherwani paired with a unique lilac safa and stole design. 

Apart from FAB decor and extraordinary outfits, what we also loved at this #ShahlivedhappilyeverKhandkar wedding was the fresh handmade rose garlands in sorbet colours by Sai Garlands. Oh! And, brownie points to the coordinated bride and groom squad who looked pro with their outfits. 

Glam Reception Party With Bride in Turquoise Sabya Lehenga (With Plunging Neckline!)

Saving the best for last, Natasha literally made the Internet go crazy with her glamorous reception look. Celebrated on 27 September 2020 at Hyatt Regency Sydney the reception party was all about royal-themed red roses and candles that set a romantic vibe to the night. Planned and decorated by well-known wedding planner Anna Wang, the intimate formal reception party was a splash of red roses, black-draped table decor (with an antique candle stand attached with crystal candelabras) and a tinge of gold that looked timeless and classy. In fact, what took our breath away was the beautiful velvet bridal stage drenched in red with a bunch of fresh red roses, candles with an extravagant chandelier that looked straight out of the dream.

Remember we mentioned that Natasha broke the internet with her reception outfit?! Dressed in floral velvet Sabyasachi lehenga, the bride of the day picked the turquoise colour and matched with a Sabya plunging neckline that took the internet by storm. Enhancing her bridal look she further decided to wear dazzling turquoise and golden bangles, a stunning choker set and classic pair of heels from Gucci. Apart from her bridal attire (that we still can't get over it) what we also loved was her soft open hairstyle and bold smokey eye makeup look. 

Oh! And, coming back to our dapper groom, Chinmay went all formal and wore a black tuxedo with a crisp white shirt that was well accessorised with maroon bow-tie and a white floral lapel pin. 

Final Words From The Bride 

Giving tips to the future brides who are getting married soon Natasha suggested the following things: 

• If you can go ahead and work with the restrictions - I recommend going ahead with your wedding celebrations cos it will still be a magical day!
• Seek advice from Health authorities for the best way to accommodate guests for your events and make sure you follow COVID-19 safety guidelines.
• Work closely with your wedding vendors and take their advice on how best to have your event around the restrictions!

Wedding Vendors 

Wedding Photographer: KS. Creative Photography | Wedding Videography: Rolling Canvas | Wedding Venues: Curzon Hall at Navarra Venues (Wedding), Hyatt Regency Sydney (Reception) | Bridal Makeup Artist & Hairstylist: Nikki Arora | Mehendi Artist: Henna By Payal | Wedding Choreographer: Mille Bensoussan | Wedding Caterers: Manjits Wharf | Wedding Invitation: Prince Card Centre, Mumbai | Entertainment Company: JSK Music (DJ) | Bridal Outfits: Anita Dongre (Haldi); Sabyasachi (Mehndi); Frontier Raas (Wedding); Sabyasachi (Reception) | Groom's Outfit: Manyavar & Mohey (Mehndi & Haldi); Frontier Raas (Wedding); Formal Suit (Reception) | Bridal Jewellery: Prune India, Labels of  Love (Haldi, Mehndi & Reception); Locally in Mumbai (Wedding); Vaani Collection, Silver Plaza, Mumbai (Wedding) | Bridal Footwear: Needledust (Haldi & Mehndi); Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla (Mehndi) Gucci (Wedding & Reception) | Groom Footwear: Frontier Raas (Wedding) | Wedding Decorators: Decor-A-Shaan (Mehndi, Haldi & Wedding); Fluer Walls Decor (Mehndi & Haldi); Elegant Tea Time, Lilac and Willow Flowers (Mehndi); Montana Flora (Wedding); Anna Wang (Reception) | Stylist: Nikki Arora (Mehndi, Wedding & Reception) | Wedding Garlands: Sai Garlands | Florist: Montana Flora

Loved this stunning wedding? If you want to feature your wedding, then email us at submitawedding@shaadisaga.com

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