There are some people with whom you strike a chord instantly! You feel like you are talking to a long lost friend. Someone you’ve known for a long long time! That was how we felt when we got in touch with this feisty, ‘full-of-life’ bride Saranya. A Gynaecologist by profession, she gave her super tough Masters Clinical Exams when? A day after her wedding! And she cleared them too! Wow! Want to know more? Well, read on! Here is Saranya, telling us about how she met Deepak and their lovely wedding story beautifully captured by @the-memory-writers#!
Helllo Saranya! Thank you for taking the time. We are so excited to know more about your wedding! Let us in on it!
Ha ha, sure. Thank you for the interest! I must tell you, my sister is a big fan so she will be super excited once this comes out! Let me tell you a little about my background. We are primarily from Gobichettipalayam, but we are now settled in Coimbatore. I am a Gynaecologist by profession, and my husband is an Orthopaedic Doctor. I was studying for my Masters in Chidambaram and he in Pondicherry. It was a totally arranged marriage, and as it usually happens, we met at a Temple for the first time.
So how was it? Meeting for the first time? Were you like ‘He is the one’ instantly?
*laughs* No no, I took some time. Deepak was like ‘Yes!’ in 5 minutes! I was a little taken aback, I mean we were strangers, how could he just say Yes that quick. We were complete opposites. I am a total extrovert! I love people and ours is a joint family. I have always had a lot of cousins growing up, and out family is an extrovert family too! They love it when people come over, so it’s always been super fun at home. Deepak on the other hand, is a pseudo-introvert. By that, I mean, he needs time to open up, but once he feels comfortable, he gets super friendly!
Also, I am a dog person, and he was a cat person! Ha ha, but then, we decided to take things slow, I told him I needed time to think, so we went out for a month before I agreed.
Could you tell us a little bit about your courtship? How was it before you said yes?
Well, he was in Pondicherry, and I was at Chidambaram. He used to come over and meet me, and sometimes we met at Chennai. Once I got to know him, I realized that even though our choices were different, we had the same principles and ideals. We were both attached to our families!
I will tell you about this one incident. I have a lot of cousins as I said, and a whole lot of friends too! Also, my cousins’ friends were my friends too, so you can imagine the number of people I am talking about. So once I told them about this alliance, they all started making enquiries, and one day Deepak was like ‘So many people are coming and telling me that someone enquired about me!’
The other thing was, even before I said Yes, my parents and cousins, all liked him! They were all rooting for him! My relatives were all asking me how I like him and all that. But as I got to know him better, I knew he was the one for me. He was my soulmate and I am happy he’s all mine!
So how did the planning for the wedding go?
Oh, the planning! I actually did not take part in planning, and that is because of a long story. You see, both our Masters exams were coming, and his was in April, mine was supposed to be in May. We were under different universities, and his went according to schedule. Mine, was a different story. My theory got over in May and as soon as I came out of my exams, I got to know that the clinical exams that were supposed to be in June postposed to July, and I was getting married in July! And do you want to know about the date? It was a day after my wedding!
I was in two minds about the exams, whether to write or not, so meanwhile, my sisters took over the planning! We first wanted to finish off all the shopping, so we went t Milan in Kerala and in another place at Bangalore. All our functions and festivities began on the 3rd of July and went until the wedding! So those days, none of us had any sleep!
Wow! Well, from the images, we can see that it was super fun! Could you tell us more?
Sure! Let me start from the beginning.
July 3rd – It was Deepak’s birthday and since it was so close to our wedding, we had a huge crowd at our place. All our cousins were in and so were their friends! There were around 50 people and the celebration was awesome!
July 4th – We had a few functions like the ‘Metti’ function and other seer functions. Then started the prep for Sangeet the next day!
July 5th – It was the day of the Sangeet! It was not a formal invitation, we invited whoever was available and we had a crowd of around 500 people! My sister Sindu and Manchu did all the planning! They had masks, photo booths’ and stuff. They got the décor done and even the dances co-ordinated! Since our community was a little conservative, my dad was a little worried, but mine was the first wedding in our family, and even my paati danced! We have no idea how much dancing we did, but it was a blast! There was a chaat guy and a sugarcane juice guy outside our hospital, we called them and they served to all the guests! Impromptu though it was, it worked like magic! We started with a flash mob, then an intro for Deepak and myself, and then the dance floor was open!
July 6th – We had originally planned for a family photo shoot. That was what everyone was told about. And the theme was white, but little did all know that we had a secret Holi party planned! So all of us sat and once Arjun (from @the-memory-writers#) gave the signal, out came the colors! All ran for cover, but no one was spared! It was such a fun day!
July 7th – It was the day for Mehndi. It was an all-girls function, and it had more of games than dancing.
July 8th – it had a lot more functions and Poojas.
July 9th – We left for the Mandap. We were having an Reception that evening, and a few more rituals were to be done.
July 10th – Was the wedding and another reception in the evening.
July 11th – My exams and the first good night of rest I had after a week of partying and celebrating!
Wow! That sounded so awesome! You must have been exhausted! So tell us about your wardrobe for all the events!
So, to begin with, let me tell you that all designing for me and my cousins were done by Nyshka. They are super awesome and did a super job!
Mehndi – Half Saree – Nyshka
Sangeet – Gown – Nyshka
Mehndi Artist – Priya
Photographers – @the-memory-writers#! They have been so great to work with. They were enthusiastic and always went an extra mile to help me out! During the photoshoot/ holi day, it was a big muhurtham, and they were busy, but when I told them about this surprise plan, they somehow made it to my event. 1 photographer was supposed to come, and 3-4 of them ended up coming! My wedding has been beautifully shot by them!
Reception 1 (July 9th Evening)
Saree – Sundari Silks
Blouse – Nyshka
Jewelry – The diamond jhumkas and haaram were from Kirtilals and the rest were from Fuzion, Coimbatore.
Makeup – Raju and team. So it was Raju – Makeup, Mumtaj – Saree drape and Manohar for Hairdo.
Venue – Brindavan Auditorium
Caterer – Madampatti Rangaraj
Decorator – JMR Decorators
Deepak’s clothes – Tailor Man.
Wedding
Saree – Prakash Silks, Kancheepuram
Blouse – Nyshka
Jewelry – The temple set was from Big Shop, Ooty! I love that shop and it’s a family favourite and the rest were from Fuzion, Coimbatore - which is an exclusive Diamond Jewellery shop.
Makeup – Raju and team.
Venue – Brindavan Auditorium
Caterer – Madampatti Rangaraj
Decorator – JMR Decorators
Deepak’s clothes – Tailor Man.
Reception 2 (July 10th Evening)
Saree – Prakash Silks, Kancheepuram
Blouse – Nyshka
Jewelry – It was a mix of Big Shop, Ooty - for Anitque Jewellery and Fuzion, R.S Puram, Coimbatore - for Diamond Jewellery.
Makeup – Raju and team.
Venue – Brindavan Auditorium
Caterer – Madampatti Rangaraj
Decorator – JMR Decorators
That was one huge wedding! Did you guys get help in planning?
Actually, no! My family was very particular about this. Since it was the first wedding in our family, all my uncles were very particular that we plan everything! So even though they were from different cities, they made it a point to travel to and fro to make all the arrangements! My in-law, my sweet, loving in-laws, they asked for my opinion in everything, I never felt like I was moving to another family, it was that seamless!
Any special mentions Saranya?
Yes! My sister Abhi! She has been my rock and my everything for this wedding! She had plans and dreams for my wedding, more so than me! She took care of everything, and she along Sindhu, Manchu, Shree and my entire family made me feel so blessed and lucky!
Any Tips for the brides?
Well, all I can tell them is, have fun! Don’t stress out. Don’t worry much about your costume or yor jewellery or things like that, because down the lane, you might not remember all of that, but what you will definitely remember is how you felt! The memories you made. So calm down, relax, take a step back and enjoy your wedding!
And where did you go for your Honeymoon?
Before we even met, Deepak and I, all my cousins planned for New Zealand! That was how it was! But right after the wedding, we could not make it for the NZ trip. So we have postponed the trip for now. We’re planning to make it into a family trip! So Deepak and I went to Mauritius for a quick honeymoon!
