A Little Vrindavan Under the Bangalore Sky

A Wedding at Amita Rasa and Mulberry Shades, Built Around Sukoon, Playfulness, and Divinity

It is not often that an idea gives you goosebumps right away.

Creative goosebumps, especially, are rare.

But that is exactly what happened when Margi first told us about her relationship with Radha and Krishna. From a very young age, she had felt deeply connected to their love story. The tenderness of it. The devotion. The playfulness. The feeling of finding home in another person.

And then, years later, when she met Nikhil in New York, she felt that same sense of home again.

In him, she found her Kanha.

Once Margi and Nikhil chose Amita Rasa, Bangalore as their wedding venue, there was one feeling we could not shake. We had to bring to life the feeling of those beautiful paintings of Radha and Krishna sitting under the trees of Vrindavan.

Not as a theme.

As a world.

Hand painted georgette curtains with Radha and Krishna on them

The mandap was imagined as four trees coming together to form a canopy over the couple, almost like nature itself was gathering around them similar to how you see Radha and Krishna in Vrindavan depicted in paintings.

The mandap was built to look like four trees building a canopy over the couple

Their wedding was built around three feelings: sukoon, playfulness, and divinity. From there, the entire celebration unfolded as a deeply personal, story-led wedding experience across Mulberry Shades and Amita Rasa, two spaces that allowed us to move between intimacy, nature, nostalgia, and celebration.

The Baithak at Mulberry Shades

The wedding weekend began with a baithak at Mulberry Shades, Bangalore, and it set the tone for everything that followed.

We wanted the evening to feel warm, rooted, textured, and full of memory. Since Margi has a deep love for textiles, and the evening’s headliner was the incredibly talented Ismail Langa of India’s Got Talent fame, who flew in from Jodhpur, the space naturally took shape as a little folk village.

There was floor seating that invited people to sink in and stay a while. Ajrakh throws sourced from Bhuj, Kutch paid homage to Margi and Nikhil’s Gujarati roots. A nostalgic dukaan filled with childhood snacks brought in that instant feeling of familiarity, the kind that makes people smile before they even realise why.

At Mulberry Shades, the evening did not feel like a performance that guests were simply watching. It felt like a gathering. The kind where people listen, linger, eat, remember, and slowly ease into the wedding weekend.

Baithak night built at Mulberry Shades, Bangalore

Their entrance board had lyrics from their favourite gazal on it

Ajrakh fabrics were sourced from Kutch, Gujarat

Margi along with Nikhil's friends surprised him with a dance

Both their sisters were the emcee's for the night

Ismail Langa of India's Got Talent fame were the headliners for the night

Stunning capture by Romil Shah Films

We knew we had to tie in the Vrindavan theme into the details in the Baithak as well

We built a dukaan with all of their favourite childhood snacks

Margi's favourite dark green kurkure were a must have!

For the baithak, we sourced ajrakh throws from Kutch, Gujarat and styled the space with floor seating so the evening felt like a little folk village rather than a formal pre-wedding event.

It was also one of those weekends where every creative collaborator brought their own magic. Romil Shah flew in from Surat to capture the wedding, while celebrity makeup artist Tanvi Marathe came in from Mumbai to bring Margi’s dream bridal looks to life.

The baithak was not just the beginning of the celebration.

It was the beginning of a world.

Building Vrindavan at Amita Rasa

The wedding itself took place at Amita Rasa, one of the most beautiful wedding venues near Nandi Hills and a favourite for couples planning a destination-style wedding in Bangalore.

If Mulberry Shades held the warmth of gathering, Amita Rasa held the divinity of the promise to come.

Its iconic stone mandap became the canvas on which we built Margi and Nikhil’s little Vrindavan.

The vision was never to make it feel theatrical. It had to feel poetic. Soft. Sacred. Alive.

Margi and Nikhil seeing their Amita Rasa mandap for the first time

Hand-painted depictions of Radha and Krishna were created on flowing georgette fabrics that moved gently with the wind. The mandap was built to feel like four trees coming together to form a canopy over the couple, as if nature itself was gathering around them. The floral arches drew inspiration from the temples of Vrindavan, bringing in a quiet sense of reverence.

The mandap ceiling was filled with paintings of Radha and Kanha

The air smelled of sandalwood.

Flute players filled the space with soft melodies.

And for a moment, Amita Rasa did not feel like a wedding venue in Bangalore. It felt like a sacred grove.

We hand-painted Radha and Krishna on georgette fabrics so the artwork would not sit still. It moved with the wind, almost like the paintings had become part of the trees.

Each guest seat held details that added to the experience: parasols, custom lotus hand fans, and ritual cards. These were not just pretty additions. They were part of the storytelling, part of how the wedding held together, part of how guests were invited into the feeling of the ceremony.

Custom hand fans were designed for the couple

Every guest seat had a lotus hand fan, a parasol, and a ritual card, so the ceremony details felt useful, beautiful, and tied back to the world we were building.

The Bride’s Walk

Months before the wedding, Margi had visited Bangalore for a vendor trip and had practised her walk down the aisle.

There was something so moving about seeing that imagined moment turn real.

When the day finally arrived, she walked down the aisle with her parents by her side, while her sister sang her in. Nikhil waited for her at the mandap, and for a few seconds, everything felt suspended.

The music.

The emotion.

The setting.

The people who loved them.

All of it came together in a way that felt almost cinematic.

But more than cinematic, it felt true.

Because the most beautiful weddings are not the ones that only look good. They are the ones where the emotion reaches you before anything else does.

A Quiet Moment After the Vows

One of the loveliest moments of the day happened after the wedding itself.

Margi and Nikhil stayed back at the mandap, just the two of them, and spent some time jamming to their favourite song, We Are Getting Married by Peter Cat Recording Co.

After all the celebration, all the guests, all the rituals and movement, there was something so intimate about that little pocket of time.

No audience.

No rush.

No production.

Just the two of them, dancing inside the world that had been built for their love story.

An Evening at the Amphitheatre

As day turned into evening, the mood shifted again.

The amphitheatre at Amita Rasa was used to create a post-wedding experience that felt soft, glowing, and almost dreamlike. Candles lit up the space. Cozy seating invited guests to settle in. Instrumental music played live, wrapping the evening in a sense of calm after the heightened emotion of the ceremony.

It was mesmerising in the quietest way.

This is one of the things we love most about weddings at Amita Rasa, Bangalore. The venue allows each event to feel distinct, even within the same wedding. The ceremony can feel sacred and rooted, and then the same property can move into something intimate, atmospheric, and almost otherworldly by evening.

For the amphitheatre, we moved away from the ceremony’s Vrindavan language and built a softer evening experience with candlelight, cozy seating, and live instrumental music.

A New York After Party at Mulberry Shades

And then, because this wedding belonged equally to Vrindavan and New York, the celebrations took one final turn.

Guests made their way back to Mulberry Shades for an after party inspired by the city where Margi and Nikhil’s love story unfolded.

The brief was simple: New York, but make it personal.

Guests changed into custom pyjama sets by Sweet Dreams, Margi’s family company, which instantly made the night feel playful and unexpected. The after party featured an NYC skyline-inspired DJ booth, bedazzled Diet Coke cans, and custom coasters marked with the exact coordinates of where Nikhil proposed to Margi.

It was fun, a little cheeky, and completely them.

Not New York in a generic way.

Their New York.

Their references.

Their proposal.

Their humour.

Their people.

The after party was built around their New York story, with an NYC skyline DJ booth, bedazzled Diet Coke cans, custom coasters with their proposal coordinates, and pyjama sets from Margi’s family company.

A Wedding That Felt Like a World of Its Own

What made Margi and Nikhil’s wedding so special was not that it followed one mood from beginning to end. It moved, just like their story had moved.

From a folk-inspired baithak at Mulberry Shades to a Vrindavan-inspired wedding at Amita Rasa. From sandalwood and flute players to a New York-themed after party. From hand-painted georgette curtains and lotus hand fans to ajrakh throws from Bhuj and custom proposal-coordinate coasters, every part of the wedding was intentionally built around something personal.

Every celebration felt different, but nothing felt disconnected.

That was the heart of it.

The wedding was not built around just one aesthetic. It was built around memory, devotion, mischief, nostalgia, and the very specific world Margi and Nikhil had created together. It held where they came from, what they loved, the city that shaped their relationship, and the feeling Margi had carried with her since she was young.

For couples looking at an Amita Rasa wedding or considering Mulberry Shades Bangalore for their wedding celebrations, this is what these venues can hold when the experience is planned with intention. They can become more than beautiful spaces. They can become chapters in a story.

And for Margi and Nikhil, that story was one of sukoon, playfulness, divinity, and finding home in each other.

For Margi & Nikhil 💛

A heartfelt thank you to every vendor who helped bring Margi and Nikhil’s world to life.

Wedding Planning & Decor

Phool & Pheras | @phoolandpheras

Photography & Videography

Romil Shah Films | @romilshahfilms

At the beautiful venue

Amita Rasa | @amitarasa

Makeup Artist

Tanvi Marathe | @tanvismarathe

Bride’s Outfit

Raw Mango | @raw_mango

Catering

The Creative Kitchen | @thecreativekitchenofficial

Hospitality Partners

Blvck Moon Events | @blvckmoonevents

DJ

DJ Xirex | @djxirex BTS Video Filming & Editing

The Candid Express | @thecandidexpress

Planning A Bangalore Wedding From Another City Or Country? Here’s How We Do It

Fun fact about us: a large chunk of the weddings we plan are for couples who do not live in Bangalore.

Some live in other Indian cities. Some live in Singapore, Dubai, Australia, the UK, Canada or the US. Some fly in once before the wedding. Some meet us in person only when the wedding week begins. And in a few cases, we have met our couples properly for the first time on the wedding day itself.

So naturally, one of the most common questions we get asked is: How do you plan a wedding in Bangalore when the couple is not actually in Bangalore?

The honest answer is: with a lot of structure, a lot of clarity, and a lot of trust.

Because remote wedding planning is not just wedding planning done over Zoom. It requires a completely different level of involvement from our end.

It means being the eyes, ears, hands and sometimes even the face of the couple on ground.

When you are planning a wedding from another city or country, clarity is not a luxury. It is the whole foundation.

The Two Ways Remote Weddings Usually Work

Most of our remote couples come to us in one of two ways.

The first is when the couple is completely remote and there is no one in Bangalore who can step in for them. In these cases, we become their main on-ground team for almost everything.

The second is when the couple lives outside Bangalore, but their parents, siblings or relatives are here. In those weddings, our planning process becomes a bridge between both sides. We work with the couple remotely and coordinate with the family members in Bangalore wherever physical presence or approvals are needed.

Both versions require a very clear system.

Because when people are in different cities, different countries and sometimes different time zones, the smallest gap in communication can turn into confusion very quickly.

And that is exactly what we try to avoid.

We Become Your On-Ground Eyes

What most people do not realise is that planning a wedding remotely means the planner’s involvement is much higher.

We do video calls from venues. We walk couples through spaces virtually. We show them where the mandap could go, where the baraat could enter, where guests would move, where food would be served, what the light looks like, what the existing architecture feels like, and what the venue does not show you in photographs.

Because photos can only tell you so much.

A venue may look beautiful online, but how does it feel at 4 pm? Is there enough shade? Is the guest movement comfortable? Is the bridal room practical? Is the approach road easy? Where will elderly guests sit? Where will the family gather before the ceremony? Where will the DJ fit without blocking the décor?

These are not small things.

They are the things that shape how your wedding actually feels on the day.

Remote planning works only when someone on ground is looking at the wedding the way you would have, if you were here.

Some Things Still Need A Physical Eye

One thing we tell all our remote clients is this: if possible, there are only three things that truly benefit from your physical involvement.

The venue.

The catering.

The makeup.

Everything else can be managed online.

The venue matters because you need to understand the feeling of the space. The catering matters because food is deeply personal, especially at Indian weddings. And makeup matters because every bride should feel like herself, not like a version of herself she only saw in reference photos.

But even when our clients cannot be present, we step in wherever we can.

We sit in on makeup trials. We give feedback. We look at how the base sits, how the hair photographs, how the look feels in natural light, and whether it matches what the bride actually wanted.

And yes, sometimes I personally go and get my makeup done for brides, just so they can see how an artist works before they fly in.

Because when you are planning from another country, you are not just looking for options. You are looking for confidence.

The Décor Decks Become Even More Detailed

For remote weddings, our décor decks become even more detailed than usual.

And our usual is already detailed.

On average, our design decks are at least 100 pages because we believe that wedding design should not live only inside someone’s head. It needs to be explained clearly. It needs references, layouts, colour palettes, material direction, floral ideas, furniture direction, stationery, bars, entry points, guest details, table styling and everything in between.

But when a couple is planning remotely, the deck needs to do even more.

It needs to help them visualise the wedding without being physically present. It needs to explain not just what we are creating, but why we are creating it. It needs to make them feel like they can see the space, understand the flow and trust the direction.

Because nobody wants to fly in for their wedding and feel surprised in the wrong way.

A remote couple should never feel like they are approving vague ideas. They should feel like they are walking through the wedding before it is built.

The Master Sheet Is The Single Point Of Truth

One thing we are extremely particular about with all our clients, but especially with remote clients, is the master sheet.

Every Phool & Pheras couple gets a master sheet.

It is a Google Sheet that becomes the single point of truth throughout the planning process. Everything sits in one place: vendor options, budgets, payment plans, timelines, guest details, rooming information, logistics, event flow, approvals and planning notes.

It is not glamorous.

But it is one of the reasons remote planning works.

Because when you are sitting in another country and planning a wedding in Bangalore, the last thing you want is to feel like information is scattered across calls, chats, emails and memory.

The master sheet makes sure everyone knows where the wedding stands at any given point.

What has been finalised.

What is pending.

What has been paid.

What still needs approval.

What the next steps are.

No one should feel like they are in the dark.

The prettier the wedding, the stronger the backend needs to be.

Remote Planning Is Also About Emotional Reassurance

This is the part people do not talk about enough.

Planning a wedding from far away can feel strange.

You are excited, of course. But you are also making decisions about a celebration that is deeply personal without always being able to see, touch, taste or experience things in real life.

So a large part of our work is reassurance.

Not vague reassurance. Not “don’t worry, we will handle it” as a blanket statement.

But actual reassurance through information.

Through detailed calls. Through clear notes. Through vendor comparisons. Through video walkthroughs. Through budget visibility. Through timelines. Through design decks. Through telling you what is worth spending on and what is not. Through being honest when something will not work.

That is what builds trust.

Remote wedding planning is not about doing less because the couple is away. It is about doing more so they can feel present.

And Sometimes, We Come To You

Of course, we have also had scenarios where clients have flown us to wherever they are so we could do debriefs and planning conversations in person.

And we understand why.

Sometimes, especially for larger or more layered weddings, families want to sit across the table and talk through everything properly. The flow, the expectations, the people involved, the design direction, the budget, the family dynamics, the small concerns that do not always come up on a call.

Those conversations help.

But they are not always necessary.

What matters most is not whether we meet in person once, ten times or only during the wedding week. What matters is whether the process has been built with enough clarity for everyone to feel steady.

So, Can You Plan A Bangalore Wedding From Another Country?

Yes, you can.

But only if the process is built for it.

You need a team that understands the venue in real life. A team that can represent you on ground. A team that knows which decisions need your attention and which ones should simply be handled. A team that can document things clearly. A team that can communicate with your family here and with you wherever you are. A team that can make the distance feel smaller.

Because planning a wedding remotely should not mean feeling disconnected from your own wedding.

It should mean knowing that even when you are not physically here, someone is holding the whole thing together for you.

And that is really how we plan weddings for couples who live outside Bangalore.

With structure. With detail. With honesty. With a lot of video calls. With very intense master sheets. With design decks that leave very little to imagination.

And with the understanding that when you finally arrive for your wedding, it should not feel like you are walking into something unfamiliar.

It should feel like you are walking into something that has been built for you all along.

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/2133fd_09c4f473d97a47a48339226ed42db85a/1080p/mp4/file.mp4

A couple who planned their Bangalore wedding from New York, reacting to their wedding decor coming to life for the very first time.

Planning a Bangalore wedding from another country should not feel like watching your wedding happen from a distance. It should feel like having someone here who knows exactly how you would have wanted it done.

With love,

Shuchi

Co-founder, Phool & Pheras

How We Plan Cross-Cultural Weddings at Phool & Pheras

One of the most common questions we get asked is: How do you plan a cross-cultural wedding?

And honestly, our answer always starts with this: we plan from experience.

I am Gujarati. Nikhil is Kannadiga. Our own wedding was cross-cultural in every sense of the word, so we understand first-hand what it takes to bring two very different cultures together without making either one feel diluted. It shows up in the food. In the rituals. In the music. In the décor. In the way families gather. And sometimes, even in the kind of events you choose to host.

But here’s the thing.

A cross-cultural wedding is not just about adding one Gujarati function, one Kannada function, one Italian bar, one Tamil ritual, one Punjabi dance floor or one “tropical” event because someone is from an island.

That is the easy version.

And honestly, it is also the most obvious version.

Culture is not a theme. It is memory, food, language, family, childhood, music and the way two worlds slowly find a shared rhythm.

At Phool & Pheras, we do not want to give couples the template version of their own culture. We do not want to take the most commonly seen visual references and turn them into décor. We do not want to make a wedding feel like a moodboard that could belong to anyone.

Because culture is not a theme.

It is memory. It is food. It is language. It is family. It is childhood. It is music. It is the way your parents describe a ritual. It is the snack that reminds you of home. It is the flower you saw growing up. It is the place you fell in love. It is the way two families, sometimes from completely different worlds, begin to find a shared rhythm.

So when we plan a cross-cultural wedding, we look at it as an extended form of storytelling.

Not storytelling in the obvious, overdone way. But in a way that is researched, nuanced and deeply personal.

We want to find the details that guests may not have experienced before. The details that do not scream for attention, but make people pause. The details that make someone say, “Wait, how did they think of this?”

That, for us, is where the magic lies.

Bangalore Makes This Even More Interesting

Being based in Bangalore has shaped a lot of the way we think about cross-cultural weddings.

Bangalore has always been a melting pot of cultures. Most couples who come to us are cross-cultural in some way. Sometimes they are from different parts of India. Sometimes they are from different countries. Sometimes they are from different faiths. Sometimes they may technically belong to similar communities, but their childhoods, upbringings, families and tastes are completely different.

So we never begin with assumptions.

We begin with the two people in front of us.

Where did they grow up? What did their homes feel like? What food brings them comfort? What rituals actually matter to their families? What parts of tradition feel sacred to them? What parts feel flexible? What places shaped their relationship? What have they travelled through together? What do they find beautiful? What do they never want at their wedding?

And then we start building.

Not by copying cultural references as they are usually seen, but by asking how they can be reinterpreted in a way that feels new, thoughtful and still rooted.

We never begin with assumptions. We begin with the two people in front of us.

Not The Ghisa-Pita Version Of Culture

This is something we feel very strongly about.

When people think of cultural weddings, the visual language can often become very predictable.

A Gujarati reference becomes mirror work and bandhani in the most expected colours. A South Indian wedding becomes only temple bells, banana leaves and marigolds. A beach-origin story becomes shells, sand and blue drapes. A European love story becomes lemons, wine bottles and blue and yellow tablecloths.

None of these things are wrong.

But they are also not the only way to tell a story.

We are far more interested in what sits beneath the obvious reference.

If we are looking at Gujarat, can we take the structure of bandhani but soften the palette? Can we make it feel modern without stripping away its identity?

If we are looking at a South Indian wedding, can we keep the ritual architecture intact but bring in colour, softness and detail in a way that reflects the bride’s personal style?

If we are referencing Italy, can we move beyond the postcard version of Italy and look at the specific city, the parks, the herbs, the architecture, the bar culture, the kind of flowers that actually grow there?

If we are referencing St Lucia, can we avoid making it a generic tropical event and instead study its flora, movement, warmth and its quiet connections to India?

That is the difference between décor that is simply inspired by something and décor that has actually been thought through.

The point is never to decorate with culture. The point is to understand it, reinterpret it, and make it feel personal to the couple.

A Few Glimpses From Weddings We Have Planned

Over the years, we have planned cross-cultural weddings across different communities, countries, faiths and family histories. Each one has looked completely different, because the point is never to repeat an idea. The point is to understand the couple in front of us and build from there.

Here are a few small glimpses into how this thinking has translated across different weddings we have planned. Not as templates, because we do not believe in those, but as examples of how personal the process can get.

For one couple, a Gujarati groom from Mumbai and a Kannada bride from Bangalore, their wedding carried pieces of both their roots and the place where they fell in love: Italy.

The Haldi became a softer, more modern take on Gujarati bandhani, with pastel tones, fafda-jalebi, Mumbai-inspired food and garba woven into the day. The wedding honoured the bride’s Kannada roots through traditional mandap pillars, poo kolam, lotus flowers and a palette that still felt fresh and modern. Their Sangeet quietly brought in Italy through park-inspired seating, Italian bar details, travel recommendations, bougainvillea, and herbs like basil, oregano and thyme on the tables.

It was not “Italy” as a theme. It was Milan as they remembered it.

It was not Italy as a theme. It was Milan as they remembered it.

For another couple, a Tamilian bride from Bangalore and a groom from St Lucia, we wanted to reference St Lucia without making the celebration feel like just another beach-inspired event.

So the Sangeet used details like monstera leaves, hibiscus, hand-painted tablecloths and small facts connecting St Lucia and India. Their wedding, on the other hand, was rooted in the bride’s childhood memories of visiting temples with her family, with a mandap inspired by the image of a peacock perched above it in the early morning.

For another couple, who had both Christian and Hindu ceremonies, the two events were designed as completely different emotional worlds.

The Christian ceremony was colourful, whimsical and inspired by the Garden of Eden, with custom hand fans, order of ceremony details, confetti sleeves and small nods to their gaming roots. The Hindu wedding moved into deeper, more royal tones, with maroon, purple, gold, ghungroo sticks, flower cones, diyas and a floating mandap.

Same couple. Same wedding. Completely different expressions of who they were.

Same couple. Same wedding. Completely different expressions of who they were.

Our Process Is Research-Led For A Reason

When couples come to us, our approach is not to immediately decide a colour palette or pull out a standard reference deck.

We spend time understanding.

We research the cultural references properly. We look at what feels authentic, what feels overdone, what feels personal, what can be reimagined, and what should be left untouched. We think about how a guest will move through the event. What they will eat. What they will smell. What they will hold in their hands. What they will notice only after sitting down. What will make the family feel seen.

Because the most meaningful design is not always the loudest thing in the room.

Sometimes it is a herb plant on a table that reminds you of a place you fell in love.

Sometimes it is a motif from your childhood reimagined in a palette no one expected.

Sometimes it is a mandap that feels like a memory from a temple visit.

Sometimes it is a menu that gives guests a taste of where the groom grew up.

Sometimes it is a tiny printed fact that connects two countries sitting oceans apart.

That is the kind of detail we care about.

The most meaningful design is not always the loudest thing in the room.

A Cross-Cultural Wedding Should Not Feel Like A Compromise

For us, a cross-cultural wedding should never feel like two sides taking turns.

It should not feel like, “This event is for your family, that event is for mine.”

It should feel more fluid than that.

It should feel like two histories finding a shared language. Two families discovering each other. Two individuals building something that belongs to both of them, but looks like neither wedding would have looked on its own.

And that is why we do not believe in the ghisa-pita version of décor.

Your wedding should not feel like something your guests have already seen ten times before. It should not feel like culture has been reduced to a prop. It should not feel like someone typed one word into Pinterest and called it design.

It should feel researched.

It should feel layered.

It should feel personal.

It should feel like someone took the time to understand where you come from and where you are going.

Because a cross-cultural wedding is not about fitting two worlds into one wedding.

It is about creating a new world altogether.

A cross-cultural wedding is not about fitting two worlds into one wedding. It is about creating a new world altogether.

And maybe that is why we love planning them so much.

Because when done with care, a cross-cultural wedding does not feel like a compromise. It feels like a celebration of everything that made you who you are, and everything you are choosing to build together.

With love,

Shuchi

Co-founder, Phool & Pheras