Mithil & Sakshi’s Wedding at Whistling Woods, Dandeli: Two Weddings, One Day by the Kali River

Weddings

Oct 30

Wedding · Whistling Woods, Dandeli

Mithil and Sakshi met in Boston at the end of 2022, in their final semester, on a moving day. Mithil was helping a close friend clear out his place, and Sakshi was the new tenant. She barely said a word all afternoon and he took it for attitude, though it was really just introversion. Days later they ran into each other at a festival, Sakshi sent the first text, and soon they were partners on the dance floor at prom.

They got engaged twice, too. When Mithil’s parents visited the US that June, Sakshi hired out a whole theatre, played him a short film of messages from the people closest to him, and proposed as it ended. Mithil’s turn came soon after: with Sakshi’s brother in town, he whisked her off to a little river town in Rhode Island, where a gondola-style boat carried them to a quiet stretch of water and their close friends were waiting for him to ask.

For the wedding they picked Whistling Woods in Dandeli, a resort on the Kali River in the forests of Karnataka. There was a haldi and a sangeet, then one very full day with two weddings: a Kannada ceremony by the river and, a few hours later, a Gujarati one for Mithil’s side, so each of their cultures got a wedding of its own.

Haldi by the Kali River

The haldi was a bright, easy afternoon on the lawn beside the river. Mithil and Sakshi matched in soft pink and white, Sakshi with a floral dupatta and fresh-flower jewellery, and their guests all turned up in yellow. Pink drapes, flowers hanging from the trees and a few wooden chairs kept things light, leaving the river to do the rest. The anchor ran games between the rituals, and in the quieter moments we took the two of them down to the water for portraits.

Sangeet

Dance has been part of their story since prom, so the sangeet was the night they were most looking forward to. It was styled like a Bollywood awards show, with a stage framed in arches of marquee bulbs. Sakshi wore an ivory sequinned lehenga and Mithil a navy kurta under a black jacket embroidered in gold. After performances and speeches from family and friends, the couple danced their own number, ending in a dip through the smoke. Then guests held up sparklers on both sides, and the floor stayed full until late.

The Kannada wedding

The wedding day began with the Kannada ceremony, with a soft haze still sitting over the river. Carved dark-wood pillars, long strands of white flowers, brass lamps and plenty of green made the mandap feel like part of the riverbank. Sakshi got ready in a gold silk saree, temple jewellery and green glass bangles, her bridesmaids in half-sarees fussed over her by the railing, and a golden retriever dressed in red made sure to get into a few photos.

Mithil came in with his groomsmen under a pink ceremonial umbrella, drummers leading the way. Sakshi followed her bridesmaids down the path as they carried clay lamps and scattered petals. The rituals were calm and unhurried, and one of our favourite frames is a small one: Mithil tying the mangalsutra as Sakshi smiles down at it. Afterwards they stood under the hanging flowers, holding each other for a long moment.

The Gujarati wedding

A few hours later the colours changed completely for the Gujarati wedding. Sakshi wore a bright orange lehenga covered in embroidery, and Mithil an ivory sherwani with an olive-gold dupatta and safa. The varmala was on a flower-covered stage right above the pool, so the whole moment was reflected in the water, and then plumes of coloured smoke went up behind them.

The moment that stayed with everyone came when Sakshi’s mother and brother walked her in. She came in under her phoolon ki chadar, and on it was a photo of her father, so that he was part of the day too. The pheras went on after dark, and by the end of the night Mithil and Sakshi had married each other twice in one day.