A royal South Indian wedding in Guntur: Sushmitha and Sandeep

From not being ready to get married to falling in love at first sight, literally, our dearest groom really took a 360-degree turn when he met the love of his life! Sushmitha and Sandeep had a typical arranged marriage set-up, where their parents asked them to meet up and see how it goes. Sandeep claimed he was just not ready to get married and always dodged the topic when his parents brought it up. As luck would have it, one time when Sandeep was visiting New York City with his parents, his dad told him about a beautiful girl who lives in San Diego. “I love San Deigo, and I loved how Sushmitha looked even more than that. So, I decided to talk to her; and the rest is history”, said Sandeep.

For Sandeep, it truly was love at first sight. He knew he liked Sushmitha when they started talking on the phone, but within a few minutes of meeting her, Sandeep was quite sure that they would end up together. Sushmitha recalls, “We had a great time on our first date. Honestly, I was both excited and nervous to meet him. But we had such an easy connection and it felt very comfortable. We share similar values – for instance, he is very close to his family which is something I love. Also, he has a zest for life and loves trying new things which is great. And, he loves dogs so that was a big bonus.” Then Sandeep added on, “Our first date went on for four hours, where we bonded over our love for coffee and many other commonalities. We then headed over to Stanford University and shared some delicious pizza. After that, our parents met up too making it a very memorable and special first date.”

After a few months of talking over the phone and spending quality time together, Sandeep went to Sushmitha in San Diego. There, Sandeep decided to propose near La Jolla Cove. Sushmitha regaled us with the stories of the various proposals she had seen on this beach but never in a million years did she think she would be proposed to over here. Well, now it was time to start planning the wedding. Since the wedding functions were going to be in Sushmitha’s hometown, the stress of planning was on her and her parents, but they really planned everything seamlessly and pulled off a fairytale wedding!

The wedding festivities started with the engagement, followed by the haldi, the bride and groom ceremony, the mehendi and finally the wedding. The engagement was a rather close-knit affair. For the initial pooja, Sushmitha wore a beautiful blue lehenga from Astha Narang while Sandeep complemented her outfit in a cream colour suit. After a quick outfit change, with Sushmitha wearing an heirloom saare and Sandeep in a sherwani, it was time for the official engagement ceremony.

A few days later, it was time to kick off the wedding festivities with the haldi. Both Sandeep and Sushmitha wore coordinated outfits from Picchika. The backdrop was happy, bright, fun and fabulous, essentially emulating the essence and vibe of the mehendi. As Sushmitha said, “We had a great time at our mehendi, and our friends made it all the more fun. For me, the highlight of the mehendi was watching Sandeep dance with our friends. I think his family had never really seen him dance, so they thoroughly enjoyed it too.”

For the bride and groom ceremony, the couple wore matching Persian blue outfits. As Sanceep recalls, “I remember, during the wedding planning process, I really tried to help Sushmitha select her outfits so that I could finalize mine. But she would get really confused about colours and aesthetics, so it took us months to actually get the outfits right!”

The next day was the mehendi. Sushmitha wore a lehenga from Seharre while Sandeep looked handsome in his mirrored kurta and Patiala pants. The bride was really happy with how everything came together. “I remember I used to send polls on WhatsApp to Sandeep and my parents so that we could finalize the décor, the colours, the flowers and the outfits. All the meticulous planning worked!” said Sushmitha.

Finally, it was time for the big day! The wedding was another close-knit affair, with their closest family and friends. Despite being awake since 6 am, Sandeep and Sushmitha really kept their energy levels high and had an absolute blast! Sushmitha looked stunning in an exquisite Kalanjali saree while Sandeep looked dashing in his sherwani.

Lastly, it was time for the couple to officially be introduced to the world as husband and wife! Sushmitha stunned in a gorgeous lehnega from Seema Gujral while Sandeep wore a Bandhgala from Varun Chakkilam. The décor at the reception was a total surprise for Sushmitha, and she absolutely loved it! Every time they would meet at the airport, Sandeep would give her roses. So, he recreated a ‘wall of roses’ at the reception which she adored. “That heartfelt décor was just the sweetest gesture from Sandeep” said Sushmitha.

Once the wedding functions were over, we spoke to the couple to get their views and feedback. Sushmitha recalled, “I had actually saved a photograph from Lightbucket Productions a while ago when we had just started looking at potential photographers. I remember sharing it with Sandeep and even he really liked the edits. What made us all the more confident was speaking to the team. They were very helpful, detail-oriented and highly professional.” As a wedding photography company, we try our best to meet every couple's expectations, and we are always delighted to hear such positive feedback!  Sandeep added, “We chose Lightbucket Productions because of two wonderful people, Amit and Manasa. They were patient, understanding and supportive from day one.”

 Vendors:

Décor: KMK events

Bride’s Outfits

Engagement: Lehenga from Astha Narang, Heirloom Saare

Bride and groom ceremony: Finesse Couture

Mehendi: Lehenga from Seharre

Wedding - Kalanjali sarees

Reception – Lehenga from Seema Gujral 

Groom’s Outfits

Engagement: Sherwani from Varun Chakkilam

Bride and groom ceremony: Finesse Couture

Wedding: Sherwani from a Jaipur Designer

Reception: Bandhgala from Varun Chakkilam

Venue

Engagement: Welcomhotel by ITC, Guntur

Wedding: Shree Convention, Guntur

Reception: Radisson Blu, Vishakaptanam