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Sometimes we end up across weddings that make us want to reevaluate our notion of a wedding celebration. Often, it's the simpler things that stick to us. But seldom it's grandiose gestures and full-blown carnival-like ceremonies that have us rearranging our mood boards to incorporate those unique elements. 

Rhea and Divish's wedding was nothing short of a breathtaking affair enveloped in the beauty of their destination and fabulous decor that reflected their personalities flawlessly. From a full-blown music fest to a gorgeous green-themed wedding ceremony and a cocktail night drenched in LED decor, there isn't a single thing in the couple's Udaipur wedding that won't have you swooning!

Scroll down to check out their picturesque wedding, designed by the WeddingDuo and captured beautifully by House On The Clouds photography. 

Introducing Rhea & Divish

"Divish and I met 10 years ago in London at a mutual friend's party," Rhea Chhabria recalled, "What started as a casual college fling turned into something real fairly quickly."

However, their whirlwind romance came across a slight hiccup once they graduated, "Upon moving back to our respective cities of Delhi & Mumbai, both Divish and I found it difficult to connect through a long-distance relationship. Our relationship was unique and we were sure we weren't ready to let go of it. Unfortunately, things don't always go as planned."

Nevertheless, despite breaking up due to the distance and disconnect, Rhea Chhabria and Divish Sabhlok ended up being a part of each other lives in a rather unique way, "Divish moved to Mumbai to set up his business while I moved to Gurgaon for work. My family would look after him in Mumbai while he would do the same for me in Delhi. And then, when his sister was getting married, we reconnected once more. He would visit Delhi and we'd hang out often. That’s when we decided to get back together. And there’s been no looking back since then!"

"Over the years we’ve become best friends and grew really fond of each other’s families," the bride continues, "Two years ago our parents decided to gang up and coax us into getting married to each other. Though we were rather overwhelmed and confused with changing our status and the idea of marriage, after months of convincing we realised that our parents were right. In fact, we were lucky enough to be married to our best friends."

And then, Divish proposed Rhea in the backdrop of the setting sun at their hotel room's balcony in Agra, which overlooked the Taj Mahal. 

"He asked me to get dressed for an early dinner and told me that he had a surprise for me. However, the hotel was delayed and we walked into them decorating the place. Divish panicked and even forgot his speech. Then, without asking me to marry him, he just took my finger and put the ring on it. Call it his confidence or optimism but that’s something we will never know and always look back and laugh at."

The couple's #DivingWithRhe wedding was a lavish affair held at The Oberoi Udaivilas in Udaipur. It was a unique celebration where both Rhea and Divish's families got together to celebrate a new chapter of the couple's life in the most offbeat way possible!

Unique Wedding Invitation Handpainted By The Bride

Handpainted and animated by the bride herself, the invites were true to the theme of the wedding. 

"One of the greatest perks of having a wedding post lockdown was that I had ample of time to revive my interest in painting and art," said the brie, "My inspiration was of course the location and my love for the environment (being an environmentalist and animal rescuer). It had to be unique with elements of nature that I saw on the Udaivillas property. So, I added the arches from the architecture and the tiger and peacocks which symbolised India and royalty, and are also mine and Divish's spirit animals!"

Music Fest Themed Brunch Party

The 'Music Fest' themed brunch party welcomed the wedding brigade into the celebration with a rather fashionable bang! With music blasting on speakers and the entire venue lined with contemporary refurbished sculptures along with decor that basically made the event look like a page straight out of a music fest, this was an event that is stored in our archives forever. Rhea looked like a total goddess in her unique peach high-low dress by Mahima Mahajan along with a set of jaw-dropping jewellery set with a chunky hairdresser and handcuff, which she paired with dreamy and electric makeup which included gemstones and coloured eyeliner. Matching her flamboyance, Divish was dressed in a Govinda Mehta ensemble which included a pink shirt, white pants and an edgy jacket with vivid patches. 

Poolside Cocktail Party

From fairylights drenching the venue to an open and unending bar and a poolside dance floor, the cocktail party was another sight of awe. Rhea looked dreamy in a silver and grey fishtail gown by Manish Malhotra encrusted with Swarovski crystals and a delicate sheer back. Divish, on the other hand, wore a black tuxedo with white patterns on the collar by Gaurav Gupta. The night not only witnessed Divish's dapper DJ skills but was also a sight of unending music, booze and people breaking into groovy dance moves!

Mehendi-Haldi & After Party

Rhea's mehendi was combined with Divish's haldi ceremony, followed by an exciting after-party! Once again, the event was dotted with maximalist elements like fairylights, tassles, flowers and colourful elements. Rhea was dressed in a stunning black outfit with silk thread floral embroider by Samant Chauhan while Divish wore a white kurta-pyjama with a dapper black panelled bandhgala with a brooch by Shantanu & Nikhil.

Chuda Ceremony

Following the previous functions, Rhea had her chuda ceremony with her family members present. The chuda ceremony comprised of a puja followed by her wearing the chuda and kaleeras being tied to them. We were truly smitten by the bride's choice of white chuda, which was unique and edgy.

Gorgeous Wedding Day

Dressed in gorgeous mint green and white lehenga by Anita Dongre with fluent thread embroidery, hand-painted in traditional pichwai art and bejewelled with pearls, sequins and gotapatti. She paired this with heavy, regal looking jewels encrusted with emeralds, diamonds and pearls. Environmentalist Rhea Chhabria says, "We had all just recovered from COVID-19 and had precisely 6 days to get everyone’s clothes sorted didn’t want to expose ourselves beyond that. I had done some research online prior and had a vague idea of what I wanted to wear given it was an Anand Karaj in the day. I wanted something comfortable, light and an outfit with repeat value vs something that would only sit in my wardrobe. I wanted to also support Indian designers who shared my love for the preservation of the planet hence Anita Dongre and Amit Aggarwal were my preferences."

"To my luck, I walked into the Anita Dongre Qutub store and noticed this hand-painted pichwai lehenga from the ‘forest of Sunderbans’ collection. It was the only piece they made with the entire forest painted vs the others that had only a few animals and trees; it was love at first sight. On inquiring why it wasn’t available online they mentioned that they had only ever made one piece of it. No one believes me when I narrate this story as they think I got it custom made - that’s how perfect it was for the conservationist and animal lover in me. There were doubts from family members about it being hand-painted with gota embroidery vs something heavier or being on an ivory base but I knew I had to be true to my taste and pick something that I was feeling comfortable and good in vs pressure from society," said Rhea Chhabria. 

Divish, on the other hand, chose a maroon velvet sherwani by designer Kunal Rawal, which resulted in a gorgeous contrast between Rhea's green and his maroon outfits. Another unique element of their Anand Karaj ceremony was the couple's jaimalas made purely from leaves and carnations. 

Fun Bhangra Night 

Following their scenic wedding ceremony, the couple held a sangeet in the form of a Bhangra night. Yet another function full of music and dhol in the backdrop of gorgeous light decor, the bhangra night is the closing event of this spectacular celebration that was Rhea & Divish's wedding. Donning a stunning bottle green Amit Aggarwal lehenga that was made with recycled plastic, Rhea stepped out a new bride looking absolutely gorgeous. Divish, meanwhile, wore an absolutely wonderful black bandhgala with embroidered arms with white pants by Shantanu & Nikhil.

Elements To Bookmark From This Eco-Friendly Wedding

Environmentalist Rhea Chhabria says, "I was sure I wanted an Eco-friendly or a carbon-neutral wedding hence I needed vendors to think on the same lines. My husbands family had worked with Wedding Duo in the past and had loved their aesthetic sensibility, their experience in designing ecofriendly weddings, quick and easy communication, helpful staff and the fact that they also had a sister company for hospitality which would make execution and production smoother. E-wedding invites were an obvious choice but apart from that, there are a few things we worked on."

 

  1. Limitation in the use of single-use plastic is either in terms of water bottles or unnecessary plastic packaging. 
  2. Our decor had to be rented, upcycled or reusable.
  3. Flowers and foliage were mostly dry over fresh and even the fresh flowers were grown in India vs being imported. 
  4. Our varmalas were made of leaves with very few flowers. 
  5. The confetti to shower us with was made with a combination of dried leaves and recycled paper.
  6. The use of sun boards (mainly used in signages was also a bare minimum). 
  7. In-room hampers were kept in a reusable cloth bag with a note to carry it back.
  8. Unopened food from the hampers was collected and distributed to a local orphanage in Udaipur on the day of checkout. 
  9. No animals were used in the wedding we opted for cars and electric buggies to ferry the baraatis. 
  10. The gifts were also given in reusable cloth packaging (Japanese style) for the first families. 
  11. Gifts for the other guests were also given without single-use plastic wrappers and most of them were sourced locally to support local artisans. 
  12. The carbon footprint was calculated and the balance was offset (purchased it online).  
  13. Water was served in glass, glass bottles, large jugs to minimise plastic waste and water waste (people deciding how much water they wanted vs getting a certain quantity). 
  14. Cloth masks were distributed vs single-use disposable masks.
  15. Dance floors were lit or carpeted instead of using flex or vinyl.
  16. No fireworks at the wedding only ecofriendly cold pyros we’re used to welcoming the baraat - the only thing the groom requested for. 
  17. Preference was given to hire local vendors to prevent adding to the carbon footprint. 

She further added "We were very happy that the wedding duo and arm hospitality teams resonated and shared the same respect for the environment as we did. People have this silly belief that eco-friendly weddings can’t look glamorous or classy but I think together we busted that myth and created a trend for the Indian wedding industry to follow." 

Wedding Vendors

Wedding Photographer: House On The Clouds | Wedding Venue: The Oberoi Udaivilas, Udaipur | Wedding Planner: WeddingDuoAbhimanyu Rattan Mehra | Wedding Decorator: WeddingDuo | Bridal Outfits: Calvin Klein, Purple PaisleyKustomEyes Menswear (Pre-Wedding); Samant Chauhan (Mehendi); Inhale by Exhale Label (After Party); Mahima Mahajan (Brunch); Manish Malhotra (Cocktail);  Anita Dongre (Wedding); Amit Aggarwal (Sangeet) | Groom's Outfits: Label Crestelli, PradaKustomEyes Menswear (Pre-Wedding); Shantanu & Nikhil (Mehendi/Haldi/Afterparty/Sangeet); Govinda Mehta (Brunch); Gaurav Gupta (Cocktail); Kunal Rawal (Wedding) | Bridal Jewellery: Floral Art & Design Studio (Mehendi); Jewel D' Arrt (Cocktail); Goenka India; Aatreya  (Wedding) | Groom’s Accessories: Naughtyy Musketeers (Brunch) | Bridal Makeup Artists: Avni Rambhia | Hairstylist: Jennifer Joseph | Mehendi Artist: Lovely Mehendi Art | Wedding Gifts & Favors: The Sass Bar (Brunch Favors); Hair Drama Co. (Bridesmaids Gifts); Be BajrangTossido (Groomsmen Gifts) | Wedding Choreographer: Ashish GiriRevati Khattar | Entertainment Company: Navraj HansStetson D'souzaNigel RajaratnamAnkur ChakravortyRed Entertainment Official

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Environmentalist Rhea Chhabria & Divish's Udaipur Wedding Is A Glam Celebration Of True Love!

by Shivani Singh

Environmentalist Rhea Chhabria & Divish's Udaipur Wedding Is A Glam Celebration Of True Love!