From Hardik Pandya And Nataša Stanković To Aditya Seal And Anushka Ranjan’s Entry Song
Know more about the Inspiring Team Behind A-Lister Big Fat Indian Weddings
Swati Bhat
The Wedding Story has over a million followers on social media, including YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram, and has been trusted and endorsed by celebrities such as Bipasha Basu, Hardik and Krunal Pandya, Esha and Ahana Deol, Yuzvendra Chahal & Dhanashree, Gauahar Khan, Neil Nitin Mukesh, and Ankita Lokhande.
A wedding, according to Harpreet Bachher, is a lovely story of two intertwined souls and two intersecting lifelines. In response to this, the award-winning fashion and lifestyle photographer launched 'The Wedding Story' in 2010. Every year, the brand films 35-40 destination weddings, specialising in wedding photography and cinematography.
Harpreet Bachher's journey begins with a teardrop. Bachher was at his friend Shaleen's wedding when he tracked a teardrop in slow motion until it fell to the ground and dissipated. That moving image of her father will stay with the bride for the rest of her life, as will an emotional nugget pointing out that her husband's name, Bunny, was, coincidentally, the same as a much-loved childhood toy.
"That made me realise that four elements — visuals, images, sound, and audio bytes — come together to tell a wedding story," the founder of 'The Wedding Story' explains.
He refers to 'visuals' as documented photographs of the bride and groom, their family and friends, the cuisine, the décor, and so on. 'Bytes' are short, one-on-one taped interviews that provide emotional insights. He leads a group of 30 hopeless romantics, including photographers, cinematographers, creative directors, and editors, who collaborate to create these timeless valued testaments.
It could be the story of Ria and Vedant who grew up together in Dubai, and went to the same university in London, but only discovered they were soul mates after returning home. What made their wedding unique was that they celebrated the highest point of their lives at the Earth’s lowest point, the Dead Sea.
It could be the story of actors Aditya Seal and Anushka Ranjan who met at a fashion show where she initially decided that her Instagram crush looked good only in pictures, then melted as she got to know him better, and decided he was the one for her.
Harjot K Dhillon to Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
Aditya grabbed up the mike after a few rehearsals and recordings to croon his lady love's favourite Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan song, 'Kivein Mukhde,' making Anushka's wedding walk special.Harjot K Dhillon, the brand's creative director and a playback vocalist in Bollywood films, provides the feminine voice.
She has also provided vocals for several of TWS's popular wedding videos, including Chamba, Din Shagna da, and Mora Saajan, to name a few.
"Music and song selections are done collectively by the wedding director, the client, and the edit team," Harjot explains, adding that they also make customised wedding tracks that suit the couple's vibe. She claims that incorporating bespoke music into wedding films boosts the charm tenfold. It might be an original song, a rearrangement of your favourite song, or a live performance for your bridal walk - whatever it is, it only adds to the whole experience of one's special day!
Worldwide destination weddings
While 'The Wedding Story' is based in Mumbai, Vancouver, and Boston, the team travels all over the world to cover weddings and tell stories about them.
Alysha and Varun met in Marrakech after meeting at a wedding in London and deciding on the spot that they wanted to spend the rest of their lives touring the world together. The Dalamal family's hunt for the ideal vacation wedding brought them to this Moroccan city where their paternal grandpa had once lived. The wedding took place at the award-winning La Mamounia Hotel, which is surrounded by Moorish splendour and a 20-acre fruit orchard.
Tanya Ganwani from Dubai and Rajiv Varma from London spent four days partying at the Fairmont Le Montreux Palace. The bride is the CEO of Biorn Activewear and the daughter of real estate tycoons Monica and Jayant Ganwani. Shobha and Moni Varma, the groom's parents, own Veetee Food, one of the UK's leading rice companies. Over 400 guests flew in for the lavish wedding of a Sindhi and a Punjabi family on the Swiss Riviera.
They have also photographed destination weddings in Turkey, Puerto Rico, Spain, and the United Arab Emirates, to name a few.
'Bowled over Beauty,' Krunal Pandya and Pankhuri's wedding film, is still one of the most watched wedding films on YouTube. Since the event manager ran across the cricketer's brother and Hardik took up the phone and introduced them. Krunal proposed to Pankhuri during the 2017 IPL Finals after winning the 'Man of the Match' award when she was trying to duck the flying cake after months of being simply friends and several romantic dates.
The wedding was a joyful occasion, with the haldi ceremony turning into a splashy pool party and the baraat arriving in a quirky Royal Enfield escorted by the groom's brother. Who wouldn't want to remember a wedding that had three days of joy, friends, and family?
Prior to... and after
Some couples choose a pre-wedding photo/video shoot that can span 4-8 hours. We regard these shoots as a vacation for the couple, as they are usually fatigued from wedding planning at that time. It's also a terrific way for the staff to get to know the couple and build a mood before the wedding.
The pre-wedding shoot for actress Ankita Lokhande and businessman Vicky Jain moved from a yacht on the sea to the dunes of Dubai, with the couple, colour coordinated in white, making the promise of a lifetime by sifting the sands of time, then moving into each other's arms as the shadows lengthened and the sun set. The clicks were ethereal, and the film was fantastic.
These fancies, however, take hours to craft. According to Bachher, the wedding film typically takes 75-95 days to complete. Film editing is a time-consuming and complicated procedure. As a general rule, each minute of the final edit takes around a day to complete."
He goes on to say that the overall length of these raw recordings approaches 50-60 hours of footage for a typical three-day wedding. "At the studio, these clips are converted and screened carefully, with a battery of editors working tirelessly to create a first cut of the best clips for the chief editor," he explains.
"Hardik Pandya and Natasha Stankovic's wedding trailer titled 'Love in Black & White' is on YouTube."
The brand had previously published a tiny preview from the wedding on Instagram, which received over 2.5 million views in less than 24 hours.
Hardik and the ballerina from Serbia were thrown together by fate. Natasha was supposed to go to Istanbul but instead arrived in Mumbai. They ran into each other at 1 a.m. in the most improbable of places, started talking, and haven't stopped since.
The free-spirited batsman proposed to Natasha while on a cruise in Dubai. Their wedding plans were disrupted by the Covid-19 epidemic. Three years later, in the presence of their son Agastya, they exchanged vows. There was a Hindu ceremony and a Christian wedding, and 'The Wedding Story' also captured the newlyweds on a romantic island.
The film includes an original track titled 'Jaan-e-jan' that was written specifically for Hardik and Natasa's wedding.
Love in Black & White was easy:. Watch out for this Valentine's match!
Harjot K Dhillon sings the song, which was previously sung by Aditya Seal and Harjot K Dhillon for his bride, Anushka Ranjan, in the popular 'Kivein Mukhde'.
Harjot informs us that the song is now available on all major streaming platforms. We're also nearing completion on the track's music video, which will be released soon!
In terms of forthcoming projects, Harpreet Bachher said they are already editing films for another cricketer, Shardul Thakur, and his wife Mithali Parkar. The trailer and photographs from 'Rangi Saari' composer Kanishk Seth and Ayushi's wedding are also on the way. "There's also Hussian Dalal from Yeh Jawani Hai Deewani and Zeeba's Big Day," Harpreet exclaims.
Click on the image to visit their YouTube channel