11th April 2024
Welcome to Real Weddings: where we speak to real couples about their wedding planning process, the lead up to the big day, and any advice they have for couples currently planning their wedding.
Take a look inside the incredible wedding of content creator, Bianca Kapila, and her husband Manny. Full of a rollercoaster of emotions, tons of DIYs and incredible tips that she’s been documenting on her TikTok & Instagram; gaining millions of views.
All photography by Navin Mistry Photography.
Organised, thought-out & a rollercoaster of emotions!
We met on Hinge. He swiped (😉) and the conversation instantly flowed! After meeting him, I definitely wanted it to develop into something more – and it did!
He proposed in St Lucia, on the beach! I was in absolute shock – it’s up there with one of the most beautiful, magical days of our lives. Not sure how I didn’t catch on to anything, but he did such an incredible job and I love everything about the day.
For the most part, I really enjoyed planning my entire wedding. Those that know me, know I’m very particular and decisive. I’ve always had an idea of what my wedding would look like so when it came to speaking with suppliers, it sort of fell into place.
I loved choosing my wedding outfits. From the start, I knew the style/colour of the outfit I wanted for my wedding ceremony – inspired by Diipa Khosla. Initially, I was planning to get my outfit made and only popped into Monga’s off-the-cuff, to try the shades of red and make sure the colour absolutely suited me. The first outfit I tried ended up being the one, I re-designed the blouse, went back the next day, bringing my dad along to show him how it looked, and I ended up buying it. This was a year and a half before the wedding and from then, up until my wedding day, no other outfit turned my head which I find crazy considering all the beautiful pieces out there.
My reception outfit process was so great, I went to Pernia’s Pop-Up in Bond St and from start to end, I couldn’t fault the level of service and attention to detail – shout out to Moksh who was at hand whenever I needed him up until two days before my wedding!
BIANCA'S TIKTOK WEDDING SERIES
On her TikTok, Bianca has curated a *very honest* wedding series where she goes in depth about her experience with each of her wedding suppliers - from start to finish!
In terms of the wedding week and day, there is nothing I would have done differently – I truly believe the day went exactly as I imagined. One thing I wish I had done during the planning stages, is not let the stressful moments impact me as much as they did. They were all such minor things, which in the end, didn’t really matter. Saying that we’re all human and I guess it’s natural to get caught up in the moment, especially when you’re planning one of the biggest days of your life.
Another is that I wish I took a little more time researching a couple of the suppliers I went with. Sometimes you might feel like time is running out and you need to book right away, but my advice would be to get all the information you need before making your decision. I was pleased with the majority of my suppliers, they really delivered on the day but there were a couple that took a huge amount of my time & energy, which if you’re advertising yourself as a ‘luxury’ supplier in this industry, shouldn’t be the case.
The trickiest part was probably organising the families so everyone knew what they were doing on the day. Luckily my cousin had gotten married a year before, so I used her wedding itinerary as a template to develop my own.
I had the timeline laid out on a word doc, with family roles colour-coded so everyone knew exactly what they had to do and when. I also kept the roles to immediate family so it didn’t overcomplicate things. Thanks to this, the day went really well, everyone knew where they had to be and when, but most importantly we all enjoyed and embraced it.
Absolutely. More so for brides-to-be who are unsure of where to start, this is the perfect place. I always knew the majority suppliers I was going to book and did this quite soon after the engagement. However, there were a few bits like a musician for the drinks canapes which I was struggling to find, and Eternity helped with this. Searching for suppliers when you have no idea can be super time-consuming so it’s so great to have a platform where everything is in one place, with added perks.
Photographer: Navin Mistry
Decor: Shagun Weddings
Wedding Garlands: Krishnas Florist
Catering: Ragasaan
Cake: CakesbySejal
Priest: Kamal Pandey
Morning Ceremony Music: Shiv Gopal
Canapes Harpist: AmieTrueMusic
Reception DJ: Kabir from Kudos
Dhol Players: Imperial Drummers
Toastmaster: Andrew Bignold
Hair: Hair By Nina Nikol
Makeup: Tanya Mann
Bridal Dressing: Rajeshree Beauty
Jewellery: Variety Silk House & The Jewellery Trunk
Don’t feel like you have to jump on every trend, to make your wedding bigger and better than someone else’s. I guess now, everyone is trying to think of the next best thing but you should truly do what makes you happy. My wedding was simple in that way, I didn’t try to be different, I just planned it as I always wanted it – which was a classic day and evening with tasty food, drinks flowing, good music, conversation, families coming together and one BIG party.
I would also say, don’t sleep on the smaller suppliers in the industry. There are so many who do an incredible job and their prices are super competitive. With that being said, it’s super important to communicate your vision and ensure they can absolutely deliver before moving forward.
Bianca & Manny’s wedding was truly one with a lot of thought & sentimental moments, and we’ve loved keeping up with it on her TikTok & Instagram.
One of our favourite (& most special) elements has to be Bianca’s creative eye when it came to her Haldi & Pithi ceremony outfit; that she upcycled from her mother’s wardrobe.
@biancap167 THE colourrrr💜 This is your sign to raid your Mum’s wardrobe 👀 Would never have usually gone for this colour but LOVED how it looked in the end🥹 #bridetobe #bridestobe #indianwedding #desiwedding #desitok #desitiktok #indianoutfit #indianlehenga #indianoutfits #preweddingoutfit #indianoutfitinspo #indianoutfitideas #weddingtok #weddingtiktok ♬ Originalton - bollyworld__
That’s not the only wedding outfit she upcycled, we loved seeing her get creative throughout all her wedding events to ensure she has sentimental memories associated within every little detail.
@biancap167 Outfits I wore on my wedding week❣️ Can’t decide which was my fave but #bridestobe, one thing I will say is wearing an upcycled outfit CAN workkk and becomes completely unique 🤌🏽 Mehndi: upcycled Mum’s saree 🤍 Vidhi: upcycled Mum’s saree to a lehenga 💜 Wedding: @Mongas ❤️ Reception: Seema Gujral at 🤍@perniaspopupstudiolondon #indianwedding #desiwedding #desitok #indianbride #indianbridaloutfitinspo #indianbridallook #weddingtiktok #weddingtok #weddinglehenga #redlehenga #bridalinspo #desibride #bridestobe #bridetobe2024 ♬ Heeriye x Chaleya x Tu Aake Dekhle - Zedious
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