Sajani and Sid's vibrant Clearwater Beach wedding combined traditional Indian wedding elements with colorful flora and tropical details befitting the Florida setting.
“The theme was stay-cation in Florida. I'm a true Floridian and always wanted an outdoor wedding. Also, I love the thought of having tropical florals for an Indian wedding. It’s very different from traditional Indian wedding décor full of red/white roses,” Sajani shared. “We chose a color palette of gold, fuchsia, coral, and green.”
During the early planning stages, Sajani looked to Marry Me Tampa Bay to provide resources when searching for wedding inspiration and locations for her October celebration.
“Marry Me Tampa Bay was one of the websites we used to look for inspiration for wedding ideas done in the Tampa area when we were looking for a venue and ideas. The website is very detailed and has great suggestions,” the bride beamed.
The Tampa bride sought a beach wedding venue to capture her love of the sand and surf. The Hilton Clearwater Beach offered an ideal backdrop for their 350 guests to enjoy the traditional elements of an Indian wedding in a unique, waterfront setting.
“We wanted a venue that could hold 300-400 guests count outdoors, considering COVID, and had backup options in case of rain. I picked Hilton Clearwater Beach because it was a great location for our out-of-town guests to enjoy a mini-vacation along with attending my wedding,” Sajani explained. “I always loved the idea of an Indian wedding on the beach; it's so different, and being a native Floridian, it was perfect for me. The Hilton Clearwater Beach also has a history of hosting many Indian weddings, so I knew they were familiar with the traditions, large guest count, and food expectations.”
Gold Chiavari chairs and decorative charger plates at each place setting from Gabro Event Services added a pop of metallic within the colorful space. The vibrant variety of colors and the tropical setting and flora created the feeling of an exotic destination wedding with the convenient location of the Florida coast.
“The location on the beach, the colors of our wedding outfits (not traditional red), and tropical floral arrangements made it feel we were at a destination wedding without having to travel,” the bride detailed.
Guests enjoyed unique entertainment, from string musicians to a live painting experience with a local artist actively capturing their wedding on canvas. Sajani turned to one of Tampa Bay's most respected entertainment providers to book their extensive collection of performers.
“Having a violinist and a live painter adds a personal touch and gives the wedding scene many components that keep the guests saying ‘wow that’s different.' Also, keeping the completed painting of their wedding is a great memory of our day,” the bride raved. “Breezin' Entertainment was a local company and had many entertainment options to choose from; their services were great and easy to deal with.”
Once the 275 guests moved into the Hilton's ballroom, the purple uplighting, custom lighting, and a large white dance floor with a custom gold monogram set the stage for all-night dancing.
“Our reception set the vibe of a Miami club since we both met as undergrads at NOVA Southeastern University in South Florida. Music is extremely important in Sid's life; hence we chose a DJ from New York City who has a reputation for throwing an amazing music set and including two other fusion musicians to play tabla and hand pan instruments,” the bride detailed. The DJ did more than just entertainment; he created the whole vibe and brought elements we didn’t even think of. The guests could not get enough and all still talk about how amazing the reception was to this day.”
Sajani recalled several standout memories from the celebration, including a showstopping reception entrance and perfectly choreographed first dance.
“There were many memorable moments during our wedding weekend, but our welcome night becoming this big dance party set the vibe for the remaining of the weekend. The evening sunsets during the welcome night and cocktail hour were beautiful,” the bride reminisced. “At our reception, we had our first dance to John Legend's Conversations In The Dark. We took dance lessons for it and nailed every lift and dip that night; it was perfect! Plus our entrance to the LED robots that came on the dance floor during the reception, many guests told us they have never seen that at a wedding and also made them feel like they were in a club in Miami. To this day, guests tell us that was their favorite part.”
The Proposal:
I have always wanted to go to Turkey and watch the hot air balloons in Cappadocia. Sid surprised me with a trip but initially told me we were going to Greece. When we got to the airport, I was ecstatic to find out that instead he booked everything for Turkey.
When we got to Cappadocia, he surprised me early morning with a full breakfast on our private balcony and pulled out his guitar to play Ed Sheeran's Perfect. He even flew out his friend, who is a singer, and hired a photographer. It was a memory I would never forget.
Where did you host your bachelorette party?
The girls went to Scottsdale; it's perfect for my personality. I love relaxing, so a spa day with my girls with great food and really cool bars was perfect. Plus, we had never been there, so it was perfect for all of us to experience and enjoy a new city together.
The guys enjoyed a Croatia yacht week. It has been a dream trip for Sid to experience yacht week. He loves the water, the music, the vibe, traveling, and doing things big. It was great to have the groomsmen travel abroad and experience such an amazing country with him.
Where did you spend your honeymoon?
We picked Hawaii since my passport was expired, and with wedding planning, I didn’t get a chance to renew it, plus I was going to change my last name. Hawaii was also a place where we could relax and not have a terribly long flight compared to flying to the Maldives. We spent a perfect five days in Maui.
What did you look for in a wedding venue?
We wanted a venue that could hold 300-400 guests count outdoors, considering COVID, but had backup options in case of rain.
I picked Hilton Clearwater Beach because it was a great location for our out-of-town guests to enjoy a mini-vacation along with attending my wedding. I always loved the idea of an Indian wedding on the beach; it's so different, and being a native Floridian it was perfect for me.
The Hilton Clearwater Beach also has a history of hosting many Indian weddings, so I knew they were familiar with the traditions, large guest count, and food expectations.
How would you describe your theme/wedding design inspiration?
The theme was stay-cation in Florida. I'm a true Floridian and always wanted an outdoor wedding. Also, I love the thought of having tropical florals for an Indian wedding. It’s very different from traditional Indian wedding décor full of red/ white roses.
What were your colors?
We chose a color palette of gold, fuchsia, coral, and green.
Why did you choose to incorporate a violinist and live painter in your wedding?
Having a violinist and a live painter adds a personal touch and gives the wedding scene many components that keep the guests saying ‘wow that’s different.' Also, keeping the completed painting of their wedding is a great memory of our day. Breezin' Entertainment was a local company and had many entertainment options to choose from; their services were great and easy to deal with.”
Which vendors really exceeded your expectations?
All of our vendors exceeded all our expectations and stuck with us with all the postponements due to the pandemic. We started our planning by choosing to work with the best planners in the business. They were capable of handling a large amount of guests, keeping everything punctual, and keeping us organized. Our décor and florist made every detail possible. From our welcome night to our tropical-themed wedding mandaap at the beach to our Miami vibes reception, our vision came alive. We were so happy to be able to work with our photographer. He did amazing work with our engagement shoot, which we did on a sailboat, and really captured all the key moments of our wedding. He made us look like models. Our videographer provided us with the most amazing wedding video and provided us with all our most memorable moments.
What advice would you give to other Tampa Bay couples?
Get a wedding planner! It saves a lot of stress on you as the bride as well as the whole family.
