Sahil Arora and Somya Goenka's lavish nuptials in Doha

When businessman Sahil Arora met brand consultant Somya Goenka, their connection was instant and unforgettable. Their romantic journey and opulent celebrations at the St Regis Doha feel like a romantic scene from a movie!

How we met

“We met at a common friend’s wedding in Bodrum, Turkey, where he slipped and fell in love (literally!) and broke his foot (laughs). Despite having a gazillion mutual friends, we never met each other before this incident. We still laugh in disbelief when we think of all the times we could have met but missed each other repeatedly. When we returned to Delhi, he slid into my DMs. And once we hung out, we just clicked!”

The next step

“I was waiting for my brother’s wedding to get done so I could break the news to my parents. Once they got to know about me and Sahil, it was like wildfire. One thing led to another, and in no time, our families were flying to Delhi for our engagement ceremony.”

Leading up to the big day

“After exploring many locations the world over, we decided to go ahead with Doha. It hasn’t been overdone as a destination despite its culture, hospitality, food and great December weather... Planning a wedding out of India is a different ball game altogether. We were hosting over 400 guests and wanted it to be a memorable occasion for everyone. All our family members oversaw every tiny detail.”

Memories that will last a lifetime

“We wanted to create unique themes for each event... Chef Jolly was roped in to oversee the Indian cuisine and flew over 40 chefs from India to work under him. Guests were welcomed with Bakhoor, Arabic coffee and dates. We kickstarted the events with an Arabic-themed welcome dinner, where the music and décor was inspired by the local culture. This was followed by a Hawaii-themed vibrant mehendi by the pool, with the beach as the backdrop and musician Walter Scalzone on the water drums. In the evening, the cocktail party was filled with fun performances by our family, followed by singer Stebin Ben taking to the mic, which got everyone on the dancefloor... We always wanted to capture the beautiful backdrop of Doha, so we opted for a sunset wedding. Even though Sahil’s friends and family stretched the baraat for a tad too long, we managed to get our sunset wedding. The finale started with a traditional Tanura dance, followed by a performance by none other than Ustaad Rahat Fateh Ali Khan. This ended our three-day wedding extravaganza on a magical note... When we look back, we just have so much gratitude that we were able to share our love with our family and friends.”

My advice

“This would be my only advice: get married only when you truly feel you’ve found the right person and both connect on a deeper level. As far as wedding planning is concerned, be involved in all the small details since you won’t get this time back.”