Ikshana Resort Khandala Wedding: Roshni & Geoff

Wedding · Ikshana Resort, Khandala

Geoff has always loved the mountains, and Roshni is happy to join him on the gentler hikes. On one of those walks, in the Scottish Highlands, he told her there were some natural stepping stones she simply had to see. When they got there, with nobody else anywhere on the hillside, he got down on one knee.

So it made sense that they got married in the hills too. Ikshana Resort sits on a ridge in Khandala, a few minutes past Lonavala, looking straight down into the ghat and the old Mumbai–Pune highway. Roshni’s side brought the Sindhi traditions, Geoff’s side brought a big crowd of British guests, and the weather brought rain, more than once. We photographed the mehendi, the sangeet and the wedding, and here’s how they looked.

Mehendi on the terrace

The mehendi was on a terrace above the valley, under pink drapes and strings of marigolds, with a dhol and a DJ keeping it moving. The dress code was pinks and reds, and the British guests went all in with lehengas and kurtas, a few of them getting mehendi on their own hands. Roshni wore a lehenga that ran from green to yellow to blue, and Geoff a mustard kurta with an embroidered jacket. Right as the dancing peaked, the rain came down hard. Nobody ran for cover. Everyone simply carried on dancing.

Sangeet

The sangeet had a sparkle-and-shine theme, and with more rain on the way it was shifted inside late in the day, which turned out to be the right call. Roshni wore a champagne lehenga covered in sequins and Geoff a teal kurta with a jacket embroidered in gold. Under gold arches and crystal chandeliers, family and friends from both sides took their turn on stage, Bollywood style, and one group of Geoff’s friends finished their number by hoisting him up onto their shoulders. Then the two of them danced together.

The wedding

On the wedding morning Roshni got ready in a red lehenga, and Geoff in an ivory sherwani and safa, while his groomsmen in blush suits had a beer on the steps. Geoff then arrived the way very few grooms do: on a decorated camel, arms in the air. Roshni walked in with her family, and the varmala happened under a mandap of pink and white flowers on the terrace, with the glossy floor catching their reflection and the hills behind.

The rain came back in the middle of the pheras. The family, the décor team and the hotel staff moved quickly to keep the sacred fire going under umbrellas, and the two of them finished their pheras in the rain. After that came showers of petals, a lot of hugging, and fireworks to close the night.