Samir & Paayal Mombasa : A Hindu and an Ismaili wedding in Kenya for Paayal and Samir!

Who wouldn’t want to be with their best friend for the rest of their lives? 

How they Met
Paayal and Samir met for the first time at a party but then their paths didn’t cross for the next four years. Samir had a meeting in Paayal’s father’s office when he saw Paayal hanging up Christmas decorations. A brief exchange of words, second glances and finally, recognition – that’s what it took for Samir and Paayal to end up getting married two and a half years later. ‘Twas a ‘Christmas Miracle’ indeed!

The Proposal
Samir had planned the best surprise for his lady love. For her birthday, Samir booked them a trip to Zanzibar, a place that Paayal loves. Before the trip, the two had curated a bucket list of activities to do that year and scuba diving held the top spot. Paayal woke up on her birthday with a wonderful surprise gift from Samir – scuba diving, of course! After a practice dive, the couple jumped back for the second round. Reaching a depth of 14 feet, another “diver” signalled Paayal that he would click her photo with Samir. As she turned to call Samir over, there he was, on his knee, surrounded by corals, fish and the vast sea, and holding a cardboard sign that says “I found a love for me…darling, WILL YOU MARRY ME?”. It was truly an incredible moment as Paayal said yes and Samir put the ring on her. They emerged out of the water as an engaged couple!

The Wedding Planning
Paayal was really keen on being as involved as possible in the wedding planning. She designed quite a few elements for the Mehendi, Sangeet and Wedding ceremonies. Since she works with her parents, their office was temporarily converted as a wedding space for four months. Paayal is a stickler for perfection. What she wanted more than anything was all vendors to understand her vision and deliver their absolute best. 

Day 1 (Evening): Welcome Party
A Cuban-themed night to kickstart the celebrations – cigars, cocktails with a major punch and music that will keep you dancing till you drop! The couple made a grand entry dancing to Cardi B’s ‘Like It Like That’ – one of their favourite summer jams. It was a chilled, summer night’s party with loads of lovely memories made.

Day 2 (Morning): Payal’s Pithi/Haldi, Samir’s Pithi/Haldi
A traditional wedding function with the flowers, haldi, emotions and all! Instead of using the old school mix of turmeric and water, Paayal called for some turmeric-based face scrubs and body polishes from Forest Essentials and KAMA – it was more like a pamper session! She wore a Varun Bahl outfit which was actually brought together by mix-and-matching two different outfits.

Samir’s pithi/haldi ceremony was a WILD event! Once the traditional formalities were done, Samir’s friends got really crazy with smearing Samir with weird items – a concoction of eggs, ketchup, flour, fish juice – then adorning him with a garland made of fish heads to get him prepped for his big day!

Day 2 (Evening): Pashaland (Mehendi/Sangeet)
Their Pashaland (Mehendi/Sangeet) was a funky, colourful and an extraordinary event. A collaboration of ideas all rolled into one to make an epic evening. It began with Paayal being gifted with trays on trays of gorgeous outfits. Then Samir presented her with what seemed a stack of Domino’s Pizza (Paaya’s absolute favourite) but it turned out to be a stunning diamond jewellery set. Amongst the colours and pumping music, flying elephants were cascading from the ceiling, they had a chaiwala selling kadak chai from the back of an auto rickshaw, Mayuri Dance Group from Russia performing high-energy dance performances on stage, and family and friends putting their best (dancing) foot forward on the cosmic designed dancefloor. On one end of the space, customised drinks and cocktails were being blended, shaken and stirred by the dynamic team of The Bar Factory and dozens of live food stations tempting everyone with aromatic flavours and smells. 

Day 3 (Morning): Hindu Wedding & Ismaili Wedding
The Hindu wedding was hosted at the beach front with what was truly a dreamy and pink-toned setting. 50,000 flower stems and a mirrored mandap adorned with ivory silk ribbons and pastel pink roses with mirrored hearts hanging overhead to reflect all the love that is in the air! The guests were welcomed through a heart-shaped arch covered in peonies, hydrangeas and roses. The wedding canopy was custom-designed with beautiful lotus flowers to make you feel like you are floating among the clouds. Paayal and Samir wore paste-coloured outfits as they exchanged jaimalas and went about with all the Hindu wedding processions.

The Ismaili wedding was held indoors, on a stage constructed by the pool. The bride and groom dawned ethereal white wedding outfits and were showered with immense love as the traditional wedding functions came to an end in the most perfect way possible. 

Day 3 (Evening): Reception
Amazing Decor (pun intended!), live jazz music, oysters on tap and all the glitz to transport you to the glamorous world of the 20’s to experience a night in the Art Deco era! The newly-weds made their entry on Beyonce & Jay-Z’s ‘Ape S**t’ playing in the background and fireworks lighting up as they made their way – it looked like two A-list celebrities had just made their way down the red carpet! This was an incredible event with never-seen-before to give everyone the larger-than-life feels!

About the Photographer
“Every time I hear or see ‘Twogether Studios’, the song ‘Simply the Best’ by Tina Turner starts going off in my head. They are simply the best. The most easy going and incognito photography and videographers, you don’t even realise they are there capturing all the beautiful memories  – including those ones of your face after a tequila shot! Their ideas and their style is so amazing and we are SO happy with our wedding pictures and video. I cannot recommend a better team to work with to capture your big day.” – Paayal, bride

The Dream Team
General:
Hospitality Management & Curation – Golden Globe Events International, India
Decor Design & Concepts – Misaki Designs, India (Welcome Party, Paayal’s Pithi Ceremony, Mehendi/Sangeet, Hindu Wedding)
Decor & Design Concepts – Amazing Decor by Rubina & Shafique, Kenya (Samir’s Pithi Ceremony, Ismaili Wedding & Reception)
Design Fabrication & Curation – The Function Empire, Kenya
Sound & Lighting – Ultra Equipment, Kenya
Bar Services & Drinks – Bar Factory, Kenya

Hair & Makeup and Mehendi:
Hair & Makeup – Bianca Louzado, India
Mehendi – Shariffa, Kenya

Photographer & Videographer:
Photographer & Videographer – Twogether Studios, India

Wedding Invitations & Gifts:
Invitation Designer – Customising Creativity, India 
Wedding Program Guide Designer – Paayal & Customising Creativity
Bridesmaids’ Gift Bags – Conkrete Roses, Kenya

Entertainment:
Sangeet – Mayuri Dance Group, Russia | Hershi, UK/India (Singer)
Hindu Wedding – Gitanjali Rai, India (singer) | DJ Aashish, India | Pritam, Kenya (Dhol) | Mayuri Dance Group, Russia
Ismaili Wedding – Sodhi Singh, Kenya (DJ)
Reception – Sodhi Singh, Kenya (DJ) | Shay Ramji, South Africa (Singer) | Nairobi Horns Project, Kenya (Live Jazz & Band Singer)

Bridal Outfits:
Welcome Party – Papa Don’t Preach 
Mehendi/Sangeet – Varun Bahl 
Hindu Wedding – Sabyasachi Mukherjee 
Ismaili Wedding – Kalaniketan
Reception – Nadine Dody

Bridal Jewellery:
Welcome Party – Outhouse Jewellery | Prerto 

Groom’s Wear:
Reception – The Maroon Suit