Real Weddings: Made For Each Other

The Details

Bride’s outfit: Anita Dongre Couture

Groom’s outfit: Anita Dongre Couture

Bride’s jewellery: Anita Dongre Pink City Fine Jewellery

Wedding Designer: Anita Dongre

Makeup Artist: Style by Susmita

The wedding ceremony was conducted according to Arya Samaj rites, and with the Himalayas as the backdrop, we can just imagine how dreamy it would’ve been. “When I saw her walking down the aisle with the mountains in the background, I literally teared up as I was just so happy that our dreams had turned into reality,” reminisced Yash.

The problem with having an intimate wedding, however, means that certain people are always missing. To resolve this issue, Benaisha and Yash decided to have a small, intimate ceremony in Mussoorie, with larger receptions in Mumbai. The festivities began with a registered marriage, and a few days later, the couple hosted a carnival-themed brunch with life-sized games of snakes and ladders, hopscotch, ring the bottle, beer pong, a palmist, astrologist, acrobats, a photobooth as well as candy floss and popcorn counters. “This brunch was entirely Yash’s brainchild. Apart from the games, we also added food stalls to this event ranging from Turkish ice cream to chhola-kulcha and sliders,” said Benaisha.

When it came to the wedding, both Yash and Benaisha had very similar aesthetics, and with someone like Anita Dongre to help, could the wedding have been anything but absolutely gorgeous? Benaisha spoke fondly of her mother-in-law, saying: “Her show at last year’s Lakmé Fashion Week at ITC, Parel, and the campaign shoot at Coorg were my main sources of inspiration. Both exuded the cool spring summer vibes that I had envisioned.” Benaisha and Yash wanted a minimalist ambience with a rustic charm, so they kept the lights soft, warm, and inviting, with the décor reflecting their aesthetic.

On a trip to Malibu, Yash told Benaisha that he wanted to take her to a place which he described as being very “scenic and nice.” The place turned out to be a quiet, non-touristy spot—which gave Benaisha a hint of what was to come—and the couple walked up a hill to find a cliff point with a stunning view, and that’s where Yash went down on one knee.

Yash Dongre thought he was just attending SAT tuitions when he met Benaisha Kharas in 2008 through common friends. They became friends at first but the friendship soon blossomed into love, and the couple have been inseparable since. When asked to describe their relationship, Benaisha said, “We can only describe our love story as a roller-coaster ride. We’ve had our fair share of ups and downs, but have always been around for each other. It’s our friendship that kept us going through it all.”