Greetings, darlings! Get ready to be swept away by the enchanting tale of love that unfolded at Khyati & Parth's breathtaking wedding at the magnificent Generations Riviera Maya. When planning their destination wedding, our lovebirds were in the expert hands of Indian Destination Wedding, a trusted travel concierge. With their impeccable attention to detail and extensive knowledge of South Asian weddings, they ensured that every aspect of the couple's journey was seamless and stress-free. From travel arrangements to accommodations, they left no stone unturned, allowing them to focus on creating beautiful memories. With the expert planning and design of Preeti Exclusive, every detail of their special day was infused with romance and elegance, leaving everyone in awe. The skillful touch of Generations Riviera Maya's floral and decor team transformed the space into an authentic fairytale setting with exquisite floral arrangements and intricate details. Khyati looked breathtaking on her special day, thanks to the talented teams at Glamorous Vibes and Sara Tamargo Makeup and Hair, who worked their magic to enhance her natural beauty and create a look that was nothing short of ethereal. Henna for All adorned her hands with exquisite mehndi designs. The catering team at Generations Riviera Maya surpassed expectations, crafting a menu that tantalized taste buds and satisfied every craving. Every dish was a masterpiece, from mouthwatering appetizers to flavorful main courses and delectable desserts. The celebration continued into the night with an incredible lineup of DJs, including Premier Entertainment, DJ HR Beats from Premier Entertainment, Neil Desai from 07 Event Group, and DJ Ambition. Their infectious beats and seamless transitions kept the energy high and the dance floor packed, creating an unforgettable party atmosphere. Behind the scenes, venue coordinators Shelley Craig Bodas and Beky Weddings ensured that every detail was flawlessly executed. The talented photographers at Prime House Productions captured every cherished moment, preserving them in images we can enjoy in today's gallery. You will love it!
How did you meet your Groom and when did you know he was "the one"?
Once Upon a Dil. Parth & Khyati matched on Dil Mil in 2018. At that time, Khyati had just graduated college and was preparing to move to Virginia for Nursing School. While Parth was in the process of traveling to Oklahoma for air traffic controller training. These two hit it off while chatting on the app and slowly exchanged phone numbers. The two started having Facetime dates and constantly talking to one another. Khyati moved to Virginia, and Parth traveled to Oklahoma for his training. Due to a family emergency, Khyati traveled back to Indiana during her first week of Nursing school to be with her family. Parth then flew to Indiana to meet her. Sparks flew when they met. Before Parth flew back to Oklahoma, the two went on their first date at Chili’s (they still go to Chili’s on their anniversary). Parth asked Khyati to be his girlfriend, and she said yes. Once finished with his training, Parth moved back to Jersey. Parth would visit Khyati often in Virginia. Parth introduced Khyati to his family in 2018, and the rest is history. The two of them were in a long-distance relationship for three years.
Share the scoop on your Proposal Story!
Khyati has three requirements for the proposal. One: the proposal had to be at the beach; two: Khyati wanted a professional photographer to be present and to take pictures; & three: Khyati's family needed to be present. Parth planned the perfect beach proposal for Khyati. The family tricked Khyati into thinking she was going to one of Parth's cousin's post-wedding brunch. While Parth & Khyati were driving to Jersey from Long Island for the fake brunch, Parth's siblings set up the perfect proposal on the beach. While on the drive, Parth told Khyati the brunch was pushed back since some people were stuck in traffic. So to kill time, Parth took Khyati to the beach. Once getting onto the beach, Khyati’s first words were, “Wait, really, is that for me?” Parth went down on one knee, and Khyati couldn’t help but say yes! Parth proposed to Khyati on May 22nd, 2021, at Sandy Hook Beach.
Tell us how you went about planning your wedding, and your overall experience with the Venues, Hair & Makeup, Outfits, Decor Theme, and all of the other important details.
We always knew we wanted to do a destination wedding. After our first intro call with Ateet from Indian Destination Weddings, we knew we wanted to work with them to help plan our dream destination wedding. We really wanted a wedding in Costa Rica, but we needed a location that didn't require extensive traveling for our guests and a location that had Indian food availability or an Indian chef. We settled with Mexico since most of our guests were coming from the east coast and also because of the availability of a lot of Indian products and items.
We trusted Ateet and decided to book El Dorado Royale/ Generations as our resort because the resort had an Indian chef on site. I really wasn't in love with the resort until we planned a random trip just to scope out the resort. We fell in love with the resort once we got there. It was an extra bonus that the resort was owned by an Indian (this can be seen in the Indian motifs around the resort). We were also really impressed by the food the resort had to offer and wanted to make sure our guests would be happy with the food choices at the resort. The resort is known for its gourmet food, and we knew our vegan and vegetarian family & friends would have many options for food choices.
Hair & Makeup was done by Sara Tamargo's team for family & friends. They were amazing to work with and knew exactly what kind of products to use on brown skin. The team was extremely friendly and professional, and got along well with the family members. Everyone was super impressed by their work.
For my hair & makeup, I specially flew out my hair & makeup artist, Ramanpreet Kaur (from @Glamorousvibesllc). She was referred to me by her sister-in-law. Once I saw Raman's work and met her, I knew I needed to have Raman at my wedding. Raman did an amazing job for all of the events and truly made me feel like a princess for all of my events. If I could go back, I would pick Raman for my hair & makeup again and again. Words could not describe how great Raman is. I found a friend in Raman. Not only was she a makeup & hair artist, but she was such a great friend to me during my wedding weekend, letting me vent and offering me great advice. Raman knows how to bring out the inner beauty in each and every one of her brides. She takes pride in her work, and she takes pride in making each of her brides shine during their wedding events.
In terms of Photo & Video, we decided to go with "Prime House Productions." They were recommended by a family member, and we couldn't be happier. Dhaval and his team did an amazing job capturing all of our beautiful moments. They were extremely friendly and really brought our vision to life. When we look back to the pictures and videos, we will forever relive those moments through the lens of Dhaval & his team. Best photo & video team, hands down!
Preeti Vasudeva was our planner from Preeti Exclusive, and she did an amazing job helping us plan everything. She was the mediator between the resort and us. She kept things real and kept us focused on the big picture. Without her help and work, we wouldn't have been able actually to have such a flawless wedding. Her connections with the resort really helped us plan such a great wedding weekend.
Preeti was the one who actually recommended our DJ. She told us we needed to work with Premier Entertainment. We were sold once we heard about how great they were and how they have done so many destination weddings. We worked closely with DJ Ambition and DJ HR Beats. DJ HR Beats kept the music grooving for all of our events, and all the guests had a blast dancing their hearts out!
I also knew which Mehendi artist I wanted. My bridal mehendi was done by Monita Bijoriya (@hennaforallny). I was extremely picky about what I wanted on each hand and knew Monita would do a great job. On my left hand, I wanted the NY skyline with a plane in the sky, an Aladdin lamp, and a drawing of my groom. On my right hand, I wanted the DC skyline, deathly hallows, a stethoscope, and a drawing of me as a bride. On the back of my hands, I wanted elephants. I love elephants, and on my feet, I also wanted elephants. Monita brought my vision to life. She is such an amazing artist, and the henna turns out so neat and clean. She is extremely talented, and it is so amazing to see her work. She truly is god gifted!
How did you select your bridal lengha or wedding dress? Did you have a favorite color in mind?
I actually went to India knowing I didn't want a red lengha. I refused to be a bride that wore Red. I wanted to wear either a pastel color or a white lengha. Before I left for wedding shopping, I was dead set on getting a white lengha. However, when I went to India, I was really disappointed to find that I wasn't impressed by anything. I actually saw my wedding lengha at the store and thought it was unique and pretty, but I was not sold on the color. We went to a couple more stores, but I still couldn't find a unique outfit. I didn't like any of the white lenghas, and nothing really caught my eye. We kept going back to the same store, and I finally tried on the same lengha again. I was convinced I wasn't going to find anything better. I settled on that lengha, but I wanted some alterations. I wanted a new blouse to be made with tassels. I wanted a pink dupatta across, and I wanted a white dupatta for my head. The store was willing to work with me to make all these changes. I left India with just my lengha. The blouse was getting made, and the two dupattas were also getting fixed. My father-in-law later brought the rest of my outfits from India.
Funny story, but coming back from India. I had stored all my wedding jewelry in one of my luggage bags. That luggage bag never came when we landed in Newark. I waited and waited. In India, they had forgotten to put my bag on the converter belt, so my bag with all my wedding jewelry got left behind. I cried so much, and I was super scared the bag would never come. After one month of waiting, the bag finally came, and thank god, all of my jewelry was inside, and nothing was taken out! I was scared I had lost all of my wedding week jewelry. It was such a scary time!
What was the most enjoyable part of the planning process, and why?
The most enjoyable but also the most stressful part of the wedding was figuring out all the decor. I used to follow so many pages on Instagram for decor inspo and would search for hours on Pinterest. But I was also very picky about what kind of decor I wanted, esp for the reception decor and what kind of mandap setup I wanted. I am really into decorating and interior designing, so this was really fun trying to piece together the themes and color schemes for each event. The reception decor was the one that I had a lot of fun with. I knew I wanted an asymmetric stage, but I also wanted something asymmetric hanging from the stage. I also really wanted to use emerald green and gold accents for the decor.
What did your guests particularly love about your Wedding?
Guests really enjoyed the resort and the amazing food the resort had to offer. The guests were also impressed by the shuttle services and how all the events ran on time. They loved the Holi party and had so much fun dancing the night away at each of our events.
Was there a really special moment in your wedding that constantly replays in your mind?
Our wedding ceremony almost didn't happen on the beach due to the rainy weather. We have a 72% chance of rain, but we had set our minds on having the ceremony on the beach no matter the weather. The entire day it looked like the storm was brewing in the back. We had to rush family pictures to make sure we finished the wedding ceremony in time to beat the rain. In our pictures, you can see it was super cloudy and gloomy. In the distance, you could see the storm. However, the special moment would be after the sindoor part and the part where Parth ties the mangalsutra around my neck. This was the only time the clouds split, and the sun came out shining only on me. Many family members believed this to be my mom blessing Parth and me as we officially got married. Once the ceremony was over and we started family pictures, it started to sprinkle. During our vidaai, it started to rain more, and as soon as we sat in the getaway car, it didn't stop pouring that night. Our prayers for no rain during the ceremony were answered. Rain is always such a good auspicious sign in the Hindu culture. We are glad the rain held off until the wedding ceremony was over!
For events other than your ceremony, please tell us as much as you would like about the decor, style, dances, and all the special details.
Most of our guests would say they had an amazing time during the Holi Party. The Holi party happened the first night that we got there. That was the event that kicked off our wedding week in Mexico. Guests to this day still talk about how it was such an amazing and unique experience for them. It brought back their old memories of playing Holi in India.
Guests were also extremely happy with our reception. We started cocktail hour at 5 and started entrances at 6:30. The entire program (entrances, speeches, cake cutting, & first dance) was also done within 1.5 hours. Afterward, we opened up the dance floor and buffet for guests. We probably spent 6 hours partying and dancing on the dance floor. Many guests had not been to a reception where the program was so short, and the dancing was so long. We could have danced even longer if we had the option!
Do you have any words of wisdom for Brides-To-Be?
I have so many words of wisdom for a bride to be, I don't even know where to start.
First and foremost, It is always important to be on the same page about the wedding with your significant other. Family will be there to support you, and lots of people will have their own opinion of what is right and what is wrong. It is so important for you to be on the same page and to have each other's back.
Additionally, if you are going to India to shop, make sure you make a list of all the things you need to buy (outfits, jewelry, decor, shoes, accessories, etc). After making that list, also set a timeline for when you need each outfit picked. Make sure to follow your timeline as close as you can. Three weeks in India go by very fast. Those people in the shop will try to waste your time and distract you, but make sure to have a clear idea in mind of what you want. Make sure to save pictures and have photos for inspiration to show the stores exactly what you want!
If you are doing a destination wedding or bringing all your stuff from India back to the US. Make sure to buy Apple Airtags so you can track your bags in case something gets left behind. So you know where your bag is. We had a guest whose bag got left behind at Newark airport and didn't make it to Cancun. He was able to use his air tag to track the bag and get his bag on the next flight to Cancun.
My biggest advice is to be decisive and have a clear idea of what you want and what your vision is. Being unsure makes planning a wedding 10x harder.
And that is a wrap, dear ladies! Do not forget to come back soon to enjoy more love stories and tips.
