From the first sparkle of haldi to the grand reception under the Orlando skies, Nikhita & Neel’s wedding was the kind of celebration that makes you want to grab your passport, your dancing shoes, and maybe a box of tissues.
The Hyatt Grand Cypress set the stage, with its lush grounds and elegant ballrooms transforming into a dreamscape of vibrant ceremonies and unforgettable moments. Coastal Coordinating orchestrated the events with a steady hand, ensuring that every detail—big and small—flowed seamlessly. And when we say details, we mean florals that seemed plucked straight from a fairytale, courtesy of Dreams to Reality, a Platinum Guide member who knows exactly how to wow a Maharani audience. From the mandap draped in lush blooms to the reception tables overflowing with vibrant arrangements, every corner was sprinkled with magic.
Beauty was at the forefront too, with Michele Renee Studio, another PG gem. From soft, romantic waves for the sangeet to the flawless bridal glow that lit up the ceremony, Michele’s work proved why she’s such a trusted name for South Asian brides. Beauty by Payal also worked her magic on Nikhita, ensuring every look was picture-perfect. And speaking of pictures, Lukki Pics captured every angle, every glance, every twirl, preserving the kind of candid joy that makes you feel like you were right there in the crowd cheering them on.
No wedding is complete without a feast, and Nikhita & Neel’s guests were spoiled with the rich flavors of Saffron Catering and Khasiyat—because love may be sweet, but weddings are always spiced with samosas and curries. Whole Foods added its touch of indulgence with a cake that was as stunning as it was delicious, while Henna Allure adorned the bride with intricate mehndi artistry that whispered stories of love and tradition across her hands.
Of course, the celebration pulsed with music, with Raman Singhatl ensuring the dance floor never emptied. Friends and family swirled in a blur of sequins and sherwanis, while laughter and happy tears filled the air.
There was heart in every corner: a bouquet from Bay Hill Florist, a baraat car from Tibi Car Rental, and the undeniable presence of two families uniting in joy. This was more than a wedding—it was a festival, a love letter, and a legacy, all rolled into one unforgettable weekend.
Maharani Brides, if you’re dreaming of your own fairytale wedding, take notes—this is how you blend tradition, luxury, and pure joy into one spectacular story.
How did you meet your Groom and when did you know he was "the one"?
I met my husband (!!) a decade ago, in the first week of med school. We became fast friends, but that friendship didn’t evolve into more for another four years. It’s crazy to see now because at different points, our close friends and family had commented that they noticed a connection between us at various moments of our friendship. I think we were the last ones to realize it! Once we finally realized there was something more, it felt right almost immediately. Like something clicked into place. We spent the next five years balancing a long-distance relationship, a pandemic, and residency training, but through it all, that foundation of friendship tied us together the entire way.
Share the scoop on your Proposal Story!
By the time Neel was ready to propose, six years into our relationship and a decade into our friendship, I was convinced there was no way he was going to surprise me. It was only a matter of time, and any of my best friends can confirm that I think I had my nails done every week for months. I kept looking out for signs (not the chillers of gals, I’d say). Despite that, Neel’s always had a way of keeping me on my toes. On a day I least expected it, we went for a walk to our favorite waterfront with our pup Fitz. It was cold, kinda rainy, and Super Bowl Sunday (a very big deal to Neel), so honestly, I did not have a proposal on my radar at all. Unknowingly, I was led to our favorite spot to decompress under this gorgeous willow tree on the LIC pier. And that’s when Neel proposed, in our workout clothes, and on the one day my nails were chipped and half done. It was the best moment ever, honestly. Just us, in a place we’d spent countless other days just looking over the water, pinching ourselves that we finally lived in the same city. We FaceTimed loved ones, got tacos from our local taco truck, and watched the game afterward. The next day, Neel had ALSO planned a formal proposal photo shoot on the Brooklyn Bridge. We had a blast posing, and actually, Anastasia (the photographer he hired) was the first vendor we signed when we started wedding planning. We knew we wanted to have her capture the rest of that special year since she’s the one who was there to start with!
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.
This whole process can be one that’s overwhelming, especially when you’re balancing a budget with a dream vision. The venue was the hardest one for us—we had our heads set on Cabo for a destination wedding. We had everything preliminary planned out, but the day it was time to sign our contract, we just couldn’t do it. The idea of some of our loved ones not being able to make our special weekend just didn’t sit well with us. Neel was especially concerned about his grandma, who he knew wouldn’t be able to get on a plane to fly down. In the end, we decided we wanted both: the resort and laid-back feel, without the cross-country flights. That’s how we landed on the Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress Resort. Neither of us is from Florida, so we invited 300 of our closest family and friends (hehe) to check into the resort with us for as much of an all-inclusive experience as we could create. As for other vendors, we followed the people we knew best: each vendor was picked based on 1. testimonials from our best friends, and 2. whichever of those vendors we felt most ourselves with as a couple. The Indian wedding industry is full of amazing, talented groups, and so I’d argue you can find anyone who does a quality job in your budget. But what separates a positive and negative planning experience is how well you get along with your vendors and how much you trust them. We spent hours on calls and in-person meetings with each vendor, and I can honestly say that the process is only fun if you enjoy getting to know the people you are in partnership with. We were thrilled with every vendor we selected, and honestly, planning this wedding with them was a blast
How did you select your bridal lengha or wedding dress? Did you have a favorite color in mind?
When we went to India to look at bridal wear, the only thing on my mind was that my Nani (maternal grandmother) wouldn’t get to travel from India for our wedding. I wanted to pick a wedding dress that she saw me in and loved as well. I had always envisioned myself in a pastel lehenga—something different: a sage green, a mauve. Something simple and elegant, but in a nontraditional color. But the lehnga I ended up picking was the first one I tried in stores (from Kalki Fashions). It was ornate, heavily beaded, ivory. But wow, did I feel like a bride the second I wore it! When we brought my grandma to the store the next day, she loved it as well. I actually remember asking her if we should get it, but in a different color, showing her swatches of the sage green I’d envisioned or the dusty pink that caught my eye. Politely but directly (in a way only a sweet grandma can pull off), my Nani told me to get the lehnga as is. And so we did. It was the best decision, I loved how the lehnga turned out, and it felt extra special FaceTiming Nani on the wedding day, wearing the bridal lehnga she’d helped pick
What was the most enjoyable part of the planning process, and why?
100% the final food tastings and final decor walk-through. Both were time-intensive, but honestly, such a fun part of the planning process because it was the moment we got to show our families the fruits of all our labor! Because we were planning a destination wedding, we really had to divide and conquer various elements of wedding planning. The final walk-through and tasting felt like a culmination of months of work. Getting to see our family’s reactions to everything we picked for design, tasting so many menu items we’d already tweaked and changed and swapped — it was such a fun experience sharing that with our parents. In wedding planning, particularly in desi wedding planning, it’s so easy to lose sight of the people you’re truly organizing the events for. For us, these were the special moments in planning where we got to spend time with our inner circle, hear the opinions we actually cared about.
What did your guests particularly love about your Wedding?
I think we prioritized guest experience and convenience, and in doing so, a lot of our friends and family commented that they felt like they were on a four-day vacation (the best compliment, honestly). We wanted everyone to feel valued and show them how much it meant that they took the time to travel to celebrate with us. We had handwritten notes in our welcome bags that actually had a ton of goodies in them. We made sure every meal was accounted for so that no one had to wonder where to grab food between events. There was always something fun going on in the hospitality suite, whether it was karaoke during the day or dancing + drinks after events. We tried to incorporate mocktails for evening events for those who usually didn’t get to enjoy an open bar, sugar-free lemonade for our diabetic guests, and a cocktail hour that was 2 hours long so that even those on IST actually got to enjoy some really fun fusion hors d'oeuvres. We had a kids’ club set up next to our main ballroom, for both the ceremony day and reception evening, with pizza, a balloon artist, a face painter, and several nannies to help ensure that parents could rest easy knowing their kids were having just as much fun as they were. By splitting up formal Indian events with more casual fun events like our garden party and our newlywed brunch, we wanted to make sure everyone had time to unwind and enjoy the resort’s numerous activities. We’d created a joint WhatsApp group with groups of all the people who traveled to Orlando for open communication, to help make sure everyone felt included in all the fun. Little things all, and all, but it seemed like collectively, elements like this made everyone feel really welcome and relaxed
Was there a really special moment in your wedding that constantly replays in your mind?
I have two of them if that’s allowed: first, Neel and I hiding out before our Sangeet. We elected to do a high-energy entrance to launch the wedding festivities, but to do that, we had to actually wait until everyone showed up to our Sangeet (Indian standard time is a real thing, wow). That meant about 30-40 minutes when it was just the two of us. We joked around, we practiced our entrance dance about a billion times, and our wedding planning team brought us a ton of food for just us. That was the first moment that weekend I remember thinking Dang, I really am about to marry my best friend. Second—the day after our wedding (Saturday), we had a casual brunch, and everyone had the day to just enjoy the resort. It was my favorite day—walking around getting to see all our favorite people mixed together at the pool, at the bar, on the beach, playing mini golf. Spending the day begging out with all our loved ones was such an amazing time as a bride. Shout out to my hair and makeup artist, Payal, because around 4 pm (when I was supposed to get ready for our reception), I texted her apologizing for being ten minutes late bc of how much fun I was having. I remember her telling me not to worry and to just keep enjoying myself. We started an hour later, and she still managed to have me picture-ready in time!
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.
Haldi: citrus themed, our joint Haldi was intimate and reserved for our closest friends and family. No one went easy on us with the Haldi, but it was a ton of fun, and we had the outdoor event on a canopy-draped terrace overlooking our beautiful resort property.
Sangeet and Garba: started with an epic entrance to Pop Smoke remixed with Rangilo Mario Dhol Na; we had so many amazing performances, including a surprise gazaal sang by Neel’s father’s best friend.
Wedding day: Neel’s baraat included a lime green Lambo and colored smoke bombs. Afterward, there were Bombay sandwiches, fruit chat, and Indian sodas like Thumbs Up, Linda, and Fruiti as refreshments before the ceremony. after the ceremony everyone changed into casual clothes and enjoyed time at the pool and beach- the garden party the night of the wedding was my favorite event, tons of lawn games, hand shaken spicy margs -neel and my drink of choice, a fresh paleta cart, a Mexican food truck. this event culminated into an intense game of a scavengar hunt meets musical chairs (first place took home a top notch bottle of tequila!) we had an impromptu dance party to the Latin fusion vibes of our talented DJ’s set. It was perfect weather with market lights. Favorite event hands down
The reception and cocktail hour included so much food, including a live chicken tikka station outside, a video booth instead of a classic guestbook to sign, a live pianist playing Bollywood tunes (a surprise for my FIL, who loves listening to the piano!), an amazing Bhangra performance by Neel and his college dance team, all in all, so much fun
Do you have any words of wisdom for Brides-To-Be?
Easier said than done (coming from a very type-A gal!), but try your hardest not to get bogged down in the nitty-gritty details throughout wedding planning. Things will go wrong, you’ll have to pivot on more than one occasion, opinions will clash, and stress will definitely rise and fall throughout the planning process. At the end of the day, though, every loved one involved has the same goal: to make it the best and most fun weekend ever. If you can remind yourself that the commonality for all parties involved is excitement for a really important life event, it’ll help you remember that the end goal is creating a core memory. You can stress and be upset over all the little things that go wrong on your wedding weekend, or you can let go and try to soak up every part of that weekend. The actual wedding will go by FAST, so keeping this mindset throughout the planning process will ensure you actually enjoy the wedding when it finally arrives!
Anything else you want to tell us? We'd love to hear all about your other details! (jewelry, mehndi, venue, cake, bouquets, etc.)
Consider a Whole Foods cake! We did a separate three-tier cake from Whole Foods, the chantilly cake with mixed berries. Our decorator decorated the cakes, and we had a custom wedding cake topper. In doing so, we probably quartered the cost we had budgeted in for a wedding cake! Also had so many folks come up to us asking which bakery we used! It was a hit :)
Don’t forget to follow @MaharaniWeddings for more inspiration that’ll make your heart skip a beat.
