Soft colours and nature were key to the styling of the day.
Tell us a little about yourselves, what you do, what you love…
Somehow, despite being from opposite sides of the world (Aniket in Gujarat, India, and Saskia in the Far North of New Zealand), fate brought us together when we were in high school. After graduating in Auckland, we moved to Sydney, where Aniket works as a software engineer and Saskia as a primary school teacher. Aniket enjoys flexing his cooking prowess (not that he has much of a choice, being married to a busy teacher), while Saskia enjoys talking his ear off when it’s time for bed. Family and culture are incredibly important to us, so we enjoy soaking in the opportunity to see the world before returning to our loved ones one day.
How/where/when did you meet – and what were your first impressions?
We actually met as high school sweethearts on a double date with our respective exes. Aniket opened the door for Saskia, and she swooned. Saskia slid into his DMs a few months later, and we’ve never stopped talking since!
When did you first realise that this was someone you’d like to spend the rest of your life with?
Witnessing each other’s journey from high school to adulthood was a privilege because it has allowed us to know each other fully. Over the years, we were spoiled for opportunities to work out the kinks in our relationship! As the moments of joy and ‘working it out’ grew, as we bore more and more of our souls to each other, we realised that we never wanted to be apart.
Tell us about the vision you had for the mood and style of your wedding. (theme, key styling elements, florals, colour palettes etc.).
Saskia’s childhood revolved around summers by the ocean and in her mother’s flower garden, so soft colours and nature were key to the styling of the day. Flowers were significant to both of our families, and we knew a spring wedding would have our desired palette in full bloom.
Family and culture are incredibly important to us, so it was clear from the start that we would be having two ceremonies. Traditionally in a Hindu wedding, the ceremony is held at the bride’s house. We both had so many happy memories at Saskia’s over the years, so that location was a no-brainer.
Saint Patrick’s Church is incredibly bright and full of natural light, which we knew would complement the morning spent in the garden.
We couldn’t agree on a reception venue at first. Aniket loved a moody interior, while Saskia wanted the feel of the outdoors. The Glasshouse was perfect – the inner-city architecture, towering plants, and softly glowing lights made a perfect marriage of Aniket’s urban childhood and Saskia’s rural life.
What styling and visual elements worked best for you? (could be things, the florals, particular hire products or your marquee etc., something the stylist created or simply just the scenic beauty of your location or the existing design of your venue).
The flowers truly captured our vision for the day. Carol from Branch and Bloom created a perfect blend of bright, beautiful colours that spoke to the joy and passion of our Hindu wedding, and soft spring florals to complement our reflective Catholic ceremony.
The arrangements, garlands and bouquets were mouth-watering, and she was able to cleverly re-purpose our flowers for each event. Our vendors worked together to create a jaw-dropping hanging centre piece at the Glasshouse, including garlands in the piece as a nod to our Hindu ceremony, which was a beautiful personal touch.
What did you enjoy most about the planning process and do you have any tips for couples starting their wedding planning journey?
We loved planning all the personal touches. From drawing our own invitations, bringing Saskia’s brother in to sing and roping Aniket’s sister into MCing, the day truly felt like our own. Coordinating two ceremonies certainly had some challenges, but we loved designing a day that reflected us and our traditions.
If your feeling overwhelmed by planning the day, but still wanting that personal touch, we would strongly recommend hiring a day-of-coordinator and meeting beforehand. We had the freedom to pull our vision together, whilst knowing everything had been triply checked and was safely in the hands of our coordinators. It enabled us to relax both leading up to and on the big day.
Tell us about your main outfits, what was unique, is there a story?
All of Saskia’s wedding outfits contained an element from both sides of our families. wore an ivory lehenga instead of the traditional red, as a nod to her western dress, while the pattern in her dupatta originated from Aniket’s ancestral home. Saskia’s henna was a combination of Māori and Indian designs, as a nod to both their cultures.
Saskia’s white dress was lovingly created over two years at Vinka Design. She wore two garters, one made from her Mother’s and another from her Grandmother’s wedding dresses.
The rings were created by the same jeweller in India who crafted many of Aniket’s family’s jewellery, and were deliberately shaped like seal-shells to reflect Saskia’s childhood.
What was one, or two elements that were most important to you both that you were happy to spend a little more on? (food, photography, florals, the venue, your outfits?).
The photography and videography were hugely important to us. We wanted to capture the joy of the day, as we knew it would be over before we realised. We knew we needed someone who could capture the atmospheres of both ceremonies – from the excitement of the baraat, the colours of the mandap, the softness of the Church and the quiet moments we would steal for ourselves.
We also knew we had a lot of locations to cover – and not necessarily with us in the same place, so having a videographer and photographer that could trade places to capture every moment was a blessing. Hiring a team enabled our video and photos to capture different angles of the day, giving us a full picture to look back on. Perspectives created a beautiful record of our day, and we are so grateful to have these precious memories to look back on with our friends and family. We don’t regret a single cent!
Did anything happen on your wedding day that you laugh about in hindsight (even if it was stressful at the time)?
Our first dance was technically 20 minutes into the reception. Not once did we ever practice over our two-year engagement, not a waltz, not a box step – nothing. We were frantically figuring it out while I counted the steps out loud in front of everyone. Needless to say, some toes were trodden on that night….
BRIDE Saskia Fromont-Rai, @saskia_celeste GROOM Aniket Rai, @arudeguy_ HINDU CEREMONY LOCATION Bride’s family home CATHOLIC CEREMONY LOCATION Saint Patrick’s Catholic Church, Pukekohe RECEPTION LOCATION The Glasshouse Morningside, @glasshouse.nz PHOTOGRAPHER Amber Sinclair – Perspectives Photo + Cinema, @perspectives_nz VIDEOGRAPHER Jared Brandon – Perspectives Photo + Cinema, @perspectives_nz PLANNER Susannah Reid & Michael Hossaini – The Wedding Planner, @theweddingplanner.official FLORIST Carol Gibbard – Branch and Bloom, @branchandbloomnz CELEBRANT Catholic Ceremony – Rev Msgr Bernard Kiely; Hindu Ceremony – Pandit Vishal Joshi ENTERTAINMENT DJ – Sam Jones – Find A Band, @goldmansax_; Jazz Band/Singer – Bride’s Brother – David Fromont and friends – KMC Jazz Band HIRE Furniture – Lucy’s Events, @lucyseventhire; Lighting – La Lumiere, @lalumiere_nz MARQUE Lucy’s Events, @lucyseventhire CATERING Hindu Ceremony – Turmeric Flavours of India; The Glasshouse Morningside, @glasshouse.nz CAKE Sweet Bites, @sweetbitesnz STATIONERY Charisma Copy and Print RINGS Dhanraj Jewellers BRIDE’S DRESS & VEIL Indian – Roop Darshan, @roopdarshan; Vinka Design, @vinkadesign BRIDE’S SHOE Mi Piaci, @mi_piaci BRIDE’S ACCESSORIES Indian – Roses & Threads, @rosesandthreads.nz; Necklace & Earrings – Dhanraj Jewellers MAKEUP Cushla Sayers, @makeupbycush HAIR Sherrie Moleta – Messy Bun, @messybun_nz BRIDE’S FRAGRANCE J’adore Parfum d’eau – Christian Dior, @dior SUIT MJ Bale, @mjbale GROOM’S SHOE Christian Louboutin, @christianlouboutin GROOM’S FRAGRANCE Maison Margiela, @maisonmargiela
