Deepali & Devesh - Noor-us-Sabah Palace, Bhopal | Destination Wedding in Bhopal

It was our second wedding in Bhopal, but, of a very different kind. Devesh is originally from Indore while Deepali from Dubai and they happened to meet in London and that’s where it all began. They chose to get married in- no, not in Indore and not in Dubai- but in the beautiful city of lakes, Bhopal. This city truly takes your breath away!

Their wedding ceremonies took place at Noor Us Sabah and Jehan Numa Palace. Bhopal being a matriarchy, Noor Us Sabah was constructed in the 18th century by Sultan Kaikhusrau Jahan Begum for her daughter which is now a heritage hotel. A walk through the corridors of both the palaces gives you an insight into the beautiful stories of the women rulers.

The day began on an auspicious note with a pooja conducted by Devesh’s parents in a nearby temple which had a charmingly antiquated, rural setup; whilst laterally there was Deepali’s extremely intimate Haldi at Jehan Numa palace.

 

Deepali’s Mehendi celebrations transpired in attendance of most participating, beautiful guest, at Jehan Numa Palace. The ceremony lived up to its old world feel as was intended- seeing how the seating arrangements were made in the open- white and yellow makeshift diwans with scarlett cushion covers, but most importantly because of the gorgeous Jehan Numa Palace. The whole palace was gilded with marigold, and white, yellow and red dominated the festivity. Deepali looked buoyant with joy, as any bride must.

Deepali, seemingly very playful, also exhibited signs of nervousness apparent while she gets ready for her wedding, to wear an exquisite Anita Dongre saree: a pink traditional piece. Deepali's jewellery is designed by her father.

Research definitely pays off and makes you take the best decision, as Deepali mentions, “kudos to WedMeGood, my wedding dictionary”. They had planned a day wedding at the lawn overlooking the whole of Bhopal and Vindhya hills, with also a breathtaking view of Noor Us Sabah. In the North, Baraat is usually a jolly, boisterous free-for-all dance ceremony that takes ages to arrive and holds up the actual wedding Keeping this in mind, Devesh and Deepali had planned their wedding in such a way that the baraat procession took place before the reception and not before the wedding- which happened in the best light possible and we couldn’t be happier!

The guests were welcomed by a troop of very talented musicians playing the bagpiper, shehenai and dhol. The seating arrangement was again carefully done, making sure that there were three points of viewing, unlike the usual way in which there’s just one or two points. Most fundamental, however, was the selection of the colour of the drapes on the roof! Something as simple as that makes a vast difference in the skin tone visible because of the light reflected from the drapes.

The fair-boding vows that knotted Deepali and Devesh together in their journey through life were pronounced by the Gayatri Pariwar. Their wedding ceremony was conducted in the most elaborate and in true sense, in the most meaningful way. The pandit, interestingly an IIT alumni had these manuals which outline equal duties of a husband and wife without any prejudices.

After a drawn out battle with time, we finally drove down to Upper Lake- the biggest lake in Bhopal. With Deepali’s & Devesh’s complete support, and the crowd management (in the middle of the lake) excellently done by Aayushi, we managed to get some very beautiful shots ☺ It was 6 in the winter evening, and the light was extremely poor for a 24Tilt Shift lens 3.5 opening to firstly focus and then capture a static moment at 1/100 shutter speed on a moving boat! Yet, we managed just fine ☺. A shriek followed after we captured this image, because of which the boatman almost lost control over the oars. What a moment!

Devesh’s Baraat finally made its way slowly to the venue. It was gaiety all around—with the young and old, the Maasis in Pink and the Uncle with two left feet all swaying to latest Bollywood tunes and dancing with full vigour. All’s well that ends well!

The reception was held at the Jehan Numa Palace. Not only did the couple look blissful together, their families looked pleased with each other, too. Deepali looked stunning in a Shyamal and Bhumika lehenga-choli.

When Deepali and Devesh had first contacted us little had we known that this wedding would bring in so much satisfaction! Even today, there is absolutely nothing we feel could have been done in a better way! The transition from the first function right till the end was just the way it should have been! We wish Devesh and Deepali a most successful and happiest of married lives!

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