Ballygunge girl and cricket anchor Archana Vijaya had a fab February — the 32-year-old Loreto House girl tied the knot with longtime beau and Delhi businessman Dheeraj Puri. Back after a four-day-long celebration in picturesque Rayong, Thailand, Archana spoke to t2 about her destination wedding....
Archana’s ‘Vanilla Sky’-themed mehndi
THE LOOK
There were three parties between February 1 and 4. The first was my mehndi (ceremony) which we named Vanilla Sky. It was basically a party on the beach. I wore Pia Pauro and Dheeraj wore Ratul Sood. The next day, we had the sangeet, with a Moulin Rouge theme since I love Paris! I wore Gauri & Nainika while Dheeraj wore Rohit Gandhi + Rahul Khanna. We even played Bengali songs like 100% love! (Laughs) It was hilarious. Then we had the wedding (below) where I wore Tarun Tahiliani and Dheeraj wore Shantanu & NIkhil.
THE WEDDING PLANNER
I have been planning this wedding for the last six months. Dheeraj and I did this entirely on our own which is why it had a young look and feel. We went through every detail like the colours, every single prop, the flowers... everything! Everybody appreciated the attention we gave to detailing. In the end, six months of our hard work paid off.
WE DO! Archana Vijaya with husband Dheeraj Puri at their destination weddding in Rayong
THE DESTINATION
I wanted to have the wedding at a destination where people didn’t have to take two flights, like it takes for Ko Samui or Phuket. Rayong was one place that required a single flight and just a two-and-a-half-hour drive from Bangkok airport. Besides, it is unexplored and not many people know about it.
I have always wanted a destination wedding, but I am not the sort who has planned her wedding throughout her life! I knew I didn’t want to have a typical Delhi or Calcutta wedding. I had a reception in Delhi recently where there were 1,000 people! I didn’t want that for my wedding... I wanted something very intimate. Dressing up, doing hair and make-up is normal for me, but I wanted something extraordinary. I wanted my friends and family to have the best time ever. We wanted to spend time with all the guests because otherwise in big gatherings, you end up meeting none. We had 300 people at the wedding, with around 60 who had flown down from Calcutta. Raima Sen, Varun Thapar, Saharsh Parekh, Samarth and Niyati Parekh, Dhruv Bhalla, Aman Sondhi, Amit Sondhi... and so many more.
THE HONEYMOON
We haven’t yet decided, but we will go after the IPL (May 24 is the final). We may go to Mexico because we have done Europe a lot of times together. We will start or end in Paris, for sure!
As told to Ratnalekha Mazumdar
