Mystical Sikh wedding in the woods of the Amalfi coast
Simran and Aaron are a very young Sikh couple from the UK, very ambitious and with very clear ideas about how they wanted their wedding to be like. Planning their wedding celebrations was very stimulating. In fact, we had a big challenge ahead of us: finding three different venues in the same location. The couple requested one venue overlooking the sea, a castle and a forest where to organize the various events during 5 days for 250 people. Because they wanted to offer their guests 3 completely different situations, 3 different settings and 3 different atmospheres to create a crescendo from the first event to the last.
Even if it wasn’t an easy task, we like challenges and we made it happen. Thanks to our efficient Venues Scouting Service, we were able to offer them options in three different parts of Italy, where to host their celebrations. After evaluating the various proposals, the final choice for this Sikh wedding was Cilento, a wonderful location in Southern Italy close to the Amalfi coast, still not so well known by foreigners. Also, the couple wanted the possibility of staying in a seaside resort to be able to spend their holidays with their guests. They were staying in Italy for a week, and Paestum in the Cilento area was just spot on. We booked two resorts for them, one for the bride’s family and one for the groom’s family, and for their many guests coming from all over the world.
Sikh pre-wedding events on the beach in Italy
The pre-wedding events were held separately for the bride and groom, as per Sikh tradition. Aaron had his Mayian on the beach of the resort where he was staying. After a battle of colors he was thrown into the water by his friends, to the delight of all the guests and also of the other people at the beach who weren’t understanding what was happening, but were amazed by these colorful rituals.
Simran, on the other hand, celebrated in the private beach club of her resort. We set it up for the occasion with marigold garlands, colored cushions and Indian umbrellas. She first had her Mayian, then Choora and finally Jaggo concluding the evening with dancing thanks to the great DJ with whom we often collaborate. She had her beautiful sunset beach photo shoot, and it was very romantic. The backdrop of the sea was stunning, and the guests couldn’t stop taking pictures. We have set up several gazebos with marigold garlands to create an Indian atmosphere.
For Jaggo the bride ordered sticks and pots in the same color as her lehenga to match them to her outfit. Our skilled mehndi artists were there all evening to do henna designs for the guests. The bride had hers done early in the morning so that she could then enjoy herself with the guests in the evening. Some of the even took the chance for a midnight jump in the pool!
Mystical Sikh wedding ceremony in the woods of the Amalfi coast
For the Anand Karaj, the setting was very suggestive. This resort in Cilento near the Amalfi coast has a beautiful pine forest which was chosen as a spot for the Sikh wedding ceremony. This place is truly magical, and as soon as you enter it, you seem to be thrown into a fairy tale. And it is so secluded that you don’t even realize that outside you are surrounded by hotels, beaches and beach clubs. You are truly enchanted by these tall secular pine trees where the sun filters from above, and where the rays create a fantastic light effect. The bride wanted a mystical experience, in union with nature, in a deep religious spirit and she was satisfied.
We covered the area with earth colored carpets, while the aisle was made with vintage Persian carpets in a pale light blue, in theme with the color palette of the wedding: various shades of dusty sky blue and very light sage green. The Mandap was beautiful – a wooden structure, decorated with dry palm leaves, pampas and flowers in mixed colors creating an abstract effect. The cushions were in the colors of the flowers and everything together created a wonderful visual effect. For the welcome board, a golden mirror was ordered which reflected the trees and gave a greater visual impact to the entrance to the ceremony. All the guests were dressed in the chosen by the couple color palette, while the bride and groom had bronze outfits – brown mixed with intense orange.
The bride created her dress together with the famous Indian designer and her jewelry was also all custom made for her. Her look was different from what is usually seen in other brides, as Simran preferred to keep her hair loose with a beautiful hairstyle and her makeup was absolutely perfect, all done by a famous Indian makeup and hair artist.
The ceremony was very emotional, with the Raagi musicians playing Ardas, and all the guests left speechless by the setup. After the ceremony, an Indian vegetarian buffet lunch was served, prepared by our Indian team chef, in addition to other Italian vegetarian dishes prepared by the resort’s chef. Then it was time for games and Doli, and the bride’s send-off was truly emotional, and at the same time very tender.
This Anand Karaj was a truly viral event as a Sikh ceremony, and more generally an Indian wedding, had never been seen in Italy with the setup in the woods.
