How they met
Sara, a Mumbai-based designer, and Vikram, a Delhi software engineer, were paired as teammates at a quiz night in Bengaluru in 2020. They lost badly and went for dosa afterwards.
Planning the wedding
Nine months of planning with a Goa-based coordinator. Most decisions were made over video calls; the couple visited once, in October, to see the resort and taste the menu.
The ceremonies
A pool-side mehendi and Goan dinner on day one, haldi and a sangeet on day two, and sunset pheras on the beach on day three followed by dinner under the palms.
The décor
Pampas grass, white florals, driftwood and sea-green drapes. Lanterns replaced diyas because of the breeze, and the mandap was weighted with sandbags hidden under fabric.
The outfits
Sara wore an ivory and mint lehenga for the pheras and a light cotton sharara for the haldi. Vikram wore a sea-green bandhgala and a white safa.
The food
A Goan night with prawn curry, cafreal and bebinca, plus Vikram’s family’s must-have butter chicken and dal makhani at the wedding dinner.
Music and entertainment
An acoustic guitarist for the mehendi, a Bollywood DJ for the sangeet and a dhol player who led the baraat along the beach.
Favourite moment
The sun dipping into the sea during the seventh phera, exactly as the pandit had promised it would.
Their budget tip
Compare the resort bar package with buying stock locally and paying corkage. With the alcohol calculator they found local stock saved them about ₹2.5 lakh.
Advice for other couples
Check tide timings and have a covered backup. The beach was half the width they expected at 5 pm.
About the vendors
A local coordinator was essential for the beach permission and sound rules. They flew in their own makeup artist and photographer from Mumbai.
The wedding at a glance
Sara and Vikram knew from their first conversation about the wedding that they wanted it to feel like a holiday with their favourite people. With families in Mumbai and Delhi and friends scattered across Bengaluru, Pune and Dubai, Goa was an easy flight for everyone. They kept the guest list to 110 and chose a South Goa resort with a private stretch of beach.
The biggest planning challenge was the beach itself. Beach events need permission and must end amplified music by around 10 pm, so they held the pheras at sunset on the sand and moved the after-party to an indoor space by the pool. A local coordinator handled the paperwork.
What they spent
The wedding cost about ₹58 lakh. Rooms for three nights were the largest line, at roughly a third of the total, followed by food and drinks. They saved on décor by leaning into the setting — pampas grass, driftwood and white flowers rather than elaborate structures — and saved around ₹2.5 lakh on the bar by comparing the resort’s package with local stock and corkage using the alcohol calculator.
What they would change
They would have visited at the same time of day as the ceremony to see the tide, and booked one more shuttle for the airport. They would not change the Goan food night, which several guests said was the best meal of the trip.
Dreaming of a beach wedding? Read the Goa destination guide and indoor vs outdoor. This story is a fictional example created for development.
Vendor credits
- Venue
- Casa Maré Beach Resort
- Coordination
- Tide & Tulle Weddings
- Photography & film
- Golden Hour Stories
- Décor
- Driftwood Décor Studio
- Bridal makeup
- Studio Noor
- Music
- DJ Coastline
