A Minimalist Wedding in Andaman Islands With Zero Guests in Attendance!

It was just yesterday that we were talking of weddings that define modern-day love stories - stories of love, struggle and effort that take your breath away. And almost as if God heard our prayers, we came across this gorgeous ‘Just Us’ wedding on the beaches of Andaman!

Now here is a love story that is nothing short of a Bollywood masala film - a bride who always knew what she wanted in her man, and a groom who had always been completely smitten- together they two fought against all odds to stay together. This wedding ceremony on the beaches of Andaman has re-defined #weddinggoals! One look at their most special moments, beautifully captured by 1plus1 studio, and you’re gonna fall in love too!

Meet Akanksha & Manoranjan

Akanksha and Manoranjan decided to have a beautiful destination wedding in the place they had first fell in love in - Havelock Islands. But that is not all that makes their story special.

The couple had a ‘No Guests’ wedding on the beaches of Andaman with just the sun, the ocean and countless trees as guests in attendance. 

The Love Story

Theirs was a signature 'boy meets girl and falls in love' story. The two met as kids when they were preparing for IIT JEE entrance exams. While Manoranjan was convinced that he was in love, the story went through several twists and turns before Akanksha realized she had found her dream man too. But like every Bollywood film, their story had a villain too. The two belong to different castes, which was the biggest roadblock to a happily-ever-after. While their families struggled to accept them and each other, the couple decided to fight it all and ended up getting married in a Ghaziabad court. 

They never got their big-fat wedding, until their 5th wedding anniversary when the two decided upon a wedding as per all customs and rituals. But the guests in attendance? The white sands and blue waves of the Andaman Islands, and a few onlookers!

The Celebrations

We all have different ideas for a big, fat wedding. Theirs included an enthusiastic pandit, a minimalist mandap against the ocean backdrop and nothing but love.

A simple set-up decorated the Munjoh Ocean Resort where all you could hear were chants by the panditji against the soft humming of the ocean waves- almost as if cheering for the couple in love. The minimalist mandap in hues of soft colors - pastel pink decorated with marigolds by the hotel staff, stood pretty against the ocean colors, together making a heartwarming sight!

What They Wore

Akanksha wore a stunning lehenga in tones of grey and peach that had the perfect island feels. We love the intricate thread embroidery on her lehenga in all those pastel shades of coral and red, highlighting the sand and ocean feel to the T! The groom perfectly complimented his bride in a muted gold kurta and a silk stole wrapped around his neck! 

From The Bride :

"We first met in 2004 in Kota, when we were staying in the same place while giving exams for IIT-JEE preparation institutes. Till date Manoranjan recalls, their first conversation was merely of two lines - I had asked him his class 10th percentage and he was mesmerized by my voice -  guess it was love at first sight for him.  We pulled through the same institute, but had zero interaction. In 2007, he cleared IIT JEE in first attempt and moved cities. It was only in 2007 when we became Orkut buddies and started talking. One year later, and Manoranjan confessed his feelings over an email. I was overwhelmed, but it was too soon for me to fall in love! What followed were years of polite conversations and on-off contact, but I used to regularly read his FB posts, blogs and poems, secretly falling in love.

In 2012, six years later, I mustered the courage to finally ask him for his number - it was then that we heard each other's voice for the first time since 2004. The same year, we planned a trip to CharDham where I got to know him on a deeper level- turns out the 'dream man' I had been looking for had been right in front of me all this while. Manoranjan asked me to marry him towards the end of the trip; I knew this is what I had been wanting but I still wasn't prepared. Funny, right? So we went our separate ways to different cities, it seemed like the right thing to do.  Towards the end of the year, we told our families about our story. Their reactions were very strong and negative, after all we belonged to different castes. (Kshatriya and Brahmin)

Came 2013 and we planned our first Valentine's Day in Havelock Islands. What followed were a few conversations and the rest, as they say, is history. We knew our families would never agree to our story, so we had a court marriage in Ghaziabad with Dinesh and Shashi (Sun and Moon) as witnesses. 

We had always wanted to get married with all the rituals and celebrations in place, but that never happened for us. We have been married for 5 years now, and while our respective families have accepted us, they still haven't accepted each other. So a big, fat Indian wedding had always been out of the question. 

To make our 5th anniversary special, we wanted to give our love story the love it deserves. To make it more special, we decided to revisit the memories of the beginning of our relationship- the stunning Havelock and that's when we decided to get married again here.

We still didn't have our families with us, neither did we invite any guests. It was just us, the sun, sands and the ocean, along with a lot of love and honesty. Needless to say, I couldn't have asked for more. "

Imagine a day of romance and honesty- a hue of colors reflecting against the pristine waters of the Andaman, bringing the wedding venue and our imaginations live. Heavenly, don’t you think? Akanksha and Manoranjan’s wedding gave not just the couple, but us all a fairy-tale right in the middle of ordinary life. *Cries tears of joy*
 

Vendors : Venue : Munjoh Ocean Resort, Andaman Islands Bridal Outfit : Sudhir Bhai Saree Wale Chandni Chowk★ 4.6 , Chandni Chowk Photographer : 1plus1studio