This wedding in Gujarat had a Van Gogh-inspired Starry Night sangeet and a Taylor Swift twist
Ahana Raheja and Yash Patel blended Gujarati, Punjabi and Sindhi customs with immersive decor, live performances and a 300-guest celebration that still felt intimate
Ahana Raheja did not make a mood board. Instead, she and Yash Patel built their wedding around instinct. “Being different was my only real criterion,” she says. Over four days, that instinct translated into a luminescent floral sangeet, a sun-soaked day party with interactive stations and a ceremony that braided Gujarati, Punjabi and Sindhi traditions together.
Raheja is a content creator and is closely involved in her mother’s label, Beena Raheja Fine Jewellery, while Patel works with an MNC. The couple planned a wedding in Gujarat as a world of its own. With 70EMG supporting the planning, they stayed hands-on throughout, from music programming to decor flow to the structure of rituals. For their wedding in Gujarat, around 300 guests were invited, which they describe as “intimate in spirit, but large enough to hold everyone who truly matters to us.”
The celebrations stretched across five distinct events, beginning with the couple's haldi, a smaller, more personal setting with friends and family, where water guns and a dunk pool were folded into the rituals. Raheja wore Riddhi Mehra, choosing a pink tissue lehenga instead of traditional yellow, paired with a beaded, draped blouse created specially for her. Patel wore Riddhi Mehra as well.
Raheja describes the sangeet setting as a “luminescent garden” built with orchids and roses, fibre-optic stems woven through the florals and oversized translucent poppy sculptures. Vertical LED panels played animated versions of Van Gogh’s Starry Night, with a cloud installation overhead. Music was curated like a concert line-up. Sukhwinder Singh headlined the evening, with Krish Mulchandani (TBOM) building momentum through the night. For the sangeet, she wore Gaurav Gupta, while Patel wore Falguni Shane Peacock.
Across the remaining events, Harshdeep Kaur performed at the mehendi, followed by DJ Chetas. Mika Singh led the baraat. The ceremony itself featured live vocals by Parthiv Gohil and Bismil. The after-party brought Rodolphe Manoukian before DJ Ganesh took over. One surprise came in the form of a “Taylor Swift” appearance that turned out to be her doppelgänger. “Instagram absolutely lost its mind,” Raheja says. “It was a well-planned prank.”
The following day's mehendi shifted into a poolside day party atmosphere with lounge seating, striped umbrellas and floating iridescent spheres. Interactive stations included lip gloss blending, fragrance bars, charm-making corners and nostalgic games. “I’m 25, so I didn’t want it to feel overly traditional or stiff. I wanted it to feel young, high-energy and very Gen Z but still elegant," says Raheja. For her mehendi, she went with Anamika Khanna’s AKOK: “a full silver chain and an embellished blouse with bright blue pants”. Patel wore Manish Malhotra for Raheja’s mehendi, then Abhinav Mishra for the main mehendi.
For the sundowner, Raheja wore a multi-coloured lehenga by her cousin Sonaakshi Raaj, featuring a butterfly blouse. “Butterflies are a sign of Guruji for me, so this outfit felt deeply personal and spiritual.” Patel wore Abhinav Mishra for this event.
The wedding ceremony moved into a palette of reds, oranges and marigolds, marked by a grand embroidered toran and a mandap at its centre. Swirling Sanskrit scripts formed a backdrop. Guests received engraved glass bells, embroidered parasols and silk tambourines edged with tiny bells. For the ceremony, Raheja wore Manish Malhotra. The blouse was bejewelled, the lehenga featured thin panels in different shades of red and she chose a crystal drape instead of a second dupatta. Her double veil carried devotional text along with lord Ganesh and butterfly motifs, while the second veil included their names and wedding date. Patel wore Manish Malhotra as well.
The varmala took place inside a temple. After the four Gujarati pheras, their first act as husband and wife was a Maha Aarti. “Faith plays a huge role in both our lives, so starting our journey with prayer felt completely aligned,” they say. They included Pokhwanu, Milni and Raheja’s chooda ceremony, alongside Sindhi touches invoking Jhulelal’s blessings and traditional sweets.
Beauty was led by Shradha Luthra, with GlammSquad handling haldi, mehendi and chooda, and Luthra personally creating the remaining looks. “I still want to look like me, just the most refined, bridal version,” says Raheja. Luthra selected exotic blooms for her haldi hair, built a strong kohl look with a skinny braid for the AKOK look and added Swarovski crystals across her eyes for the mehendi. Jewellery throughout was designed by Raheja’s mother through Beena Raheja Fine Jewellery. “Jewellery was never just an accessory for me,” she says. The kaliras, by Mrinalini Chandra, carried motifs with personal meaning. “For me, the kalira isn’t just a bridal accessory. It’s a timeline of us.”
Their story began in Mumbai during Ganpati season, when a night out turned into hours of conversation until sunrise. They exchanged numbers at 6am and knew within months that their future was together. “We were only about four or five months into dating when we knew. It sounds quick on paper, but with us, everything felt easy and certain from the start.”
