SATVIK BALRAM & HEEREN GILL

Hyatt Regency Phuket Resort

#HeerSatYes 

How did you and your husband meet?

We met in Singapore in 2016 at a bar while we were out with our individual group of friends. He entered the bar, walked by my table and held gaze with me for a few seconds while walking to the washroom and did the same thing again when he came out. So a few minutes later, Satvik realised that the friend he came out with was a mutual friends of ours and he told him to introduce us immediately! We spoke for a while and being a great singer, Satvik’s friends were asking him to sing while we were all standing around in the bar and he sang the song “tum hi ho” while looking into my eyes the entire time and I sang along with him! We connected almost immediately. Things escalated over the months and we got together in Jan 2017 and by Dec of 2018, we were engaged! 

Tell us about the proposal. 

The proposal was extremely special! We planned a trip to Dubai in the winter to go visit my sister and her family and to attend a wedding there (so I didn’t suspect anything!). The morning after we landed in Dubai (12 Dec, 2018), he told me he had booked a resort for us for 2 nights somewhere and he had me packing and leaving for the resort within 1 hour! We got in a car and I had no idea where we were headed, and an hour later, we pulled up at the Bab Al Shams Resort and Spa, Dubai. It was a beautiful location, right in the middle of the desert and it is known to be one of the most beautiful places to catch the sunset as the name of the resort literally translates to “Gateway to the Sun”. He told me we were having dinner that evening to catch the sunset. He first brought me to a rooftop bar that overlooked the endless desert, where he pulled out a “secret” Instagram account he created with notes and videos of all our special moments, milestones, memories and even a video from a year back of him saying “will you marry me” but of course he was waiting for the right time in our lives to share it with me. The posts on the instagram were posted on the very days those memories and milestones happened over the year, which meant he was planning this entire thing for a year! So it took me back in time while reading them. I teared up reading it and the last post said “our lives are about to change” and after I read that, we were escorted to a beautiful set up right on the desert. The sun was setting so beautifully in the back, and he got down on one knee and proposed! He also got a photographer to capture the whole moment. We both teared up soaked in the moment and the sunset before we had an amazing dinner in a private cabana with our own butler, cocktails, shisha and a secluded bonfire set up. 

How and why did you choose your wedding venue?

We both love to travel and we are big beach junkies, and so, Phuket was a perfect destination for us since it was close to Singapore and had amazing beaches with beautiful turquoise waters. We went to site visit about 8 hotels while we were in Phuket and when we went to Hyatt Regency, we immediately fell in love with it because it had a beautiful lawn that overlooked the beach and we envisioned how amazing the Mandap will look on the lawn. We also wanted a small and intimate wedding as we only had 6.5 months to plan our big day as we were also planning our big move to New York City which was happening 3 weeks after our wedding! Hyatt was a nice resort for an intimate wedding as we felt it would be cosy for a small number of guests like ours (150 Guests). It also had a beautiful pool side deck where I envisioned our Mehendi event perfectly. Their ballroom was also just the perfect size for our number of guests and so we felt it would make it a lot more intimate, warm and special. 

What was your favorite moment from the wedding?

There were countless of favourite moments, but I would have to say that it was at our first dance during our reception as we both sang and produced our own first dance song (“Zara Zara”) where he sang the Tamil version of it and I sang a part of the Hindi version. It was a moment so special to us as we connected while singing to each other at a bar and it was in that moment we realised how far we had come! It was also special as the realisation of being officially married finally hit us and it was a beautiful feeling. 

What was the most unique aspect of your wedding?

What made it unique was that we had a 2 states style wedding and a Tamil Brahmin wedding is so different from a Sikh wedding- so it was full of culture for all our guests and especially for us to immerse in each other’s different customs, religions and cultures. We also tried to incorporate our cultures into different themes like a banana leaf lunch, cocktail names such as “Chennai Shaker, Lungi Island, Patiala Sling and Balle Bombs”. 

Did you face any challenges while planning the wedding? How did you overcome them?

Yes we did! We had only 6 months to plan our wedding as we wanted to get married before moving to NYC and we couldn’t delay our move. So with limited time, it was quite stressful. We initially went with a Koh Samui/Phuket based planner and we hired them and it was going great until 1 month before our wedding, we were just not happy with the unreliability. Since we chose our vendors very carefully, we didn’t want to carry on with someone we couldn’t trust anymore and so we took a risky but very worth it decision to switch to Wizkim Wedding (whom we had heard such great reviews about) in the last month and they were a dream come true! They were honestly the best team ever! Sagar who was our planner understood what we wanted, took note of every detail and he told us to just relax and be stress free and to just trust him and we knew we could do exactly that! Although this was the biggest challenge, it was a blessing in disguise at the end and now when we look back at it, we realised how resilient we were as a couple to overcome it even though time was not on our hands!

Do you have any advice for couples getting married in Thailand?

I would say, make use of all the culture, food, and beautiful beaches that Thailand has to offer when choosing your venue. Choose a location based on your personalities as I really feel you enjoy your wedding a whole lot more when its in line with your vibe whether you choose to get married in the hustle and bustle of a city like Bangkok or if you’re a beach junky and prefer places like Phuket or Koh Samui! People in Thailand are always so warm, kind and hospitable so just remember to relax and trust their services and to just enjoy your wedding instead of stressing because it goes by so fast!

Wedding Makers 

Wedding Planner: WizKim Weddings 

Make Up Artist: Paveena Rathour 

“I knew I wanted Paveena Rathour as I knew her personally from before from when she did my sisters make up and she is not only talented but so wonderful to work with.” 

Photographer/ Videographer: Colomono

“Colomono was who we always wanted as we had seen their work over the years and we are so happy we went with them as they had a lovely and fun team who became more like friends over the 3 days and who we still keep in touch with and we absolutely love how they captured our moments!”

Flower Jewellery: Prune India 

Wedding Favors & Gift Bags: Design Tuk Tuk 

150 Guests

6 Events