Shivani & Luke's Sitges Wedding

shivani & luke after ceremony casa del mar

30th January 2025 In Barcelona Wedding, Interview with our Bride, Sitges Wedding, Villa wedding By becky

Shivani & Luke’s Sitges Wedding

Shivani & Luke’s Sitges wedding took place in various locations, spanned about three days, and made for the most spectular wedding feast. Blending cultural traditions, with a heavy emphasis on Shivani’s Indian roots, this colourful, joyful, add visually stunning wedding was very special to be a part of.

Working on Shivani & Luke’s Sitges wedding was an absolute dream. What a great party did they put on indeed. Read more here in our interview with the bride, the gorgeous Shivani, and Luke, her wonderful husband!

Shivani & Luke’s Sitges Wedding.

1. Describe your Barcelona wedding day in 3 words!

● Iconic. We are so proud to say our wedding weekend felt truly one of a kind. The change of cuisine and décor each day, the mix of Spanish, Indian and British cultures, the shifting from hotel vibe to castle to poolside… It was iconic!

● Magical. Our entire wedding weekend was like something we couldn’t imagine. The rain teased us the day before the celebrations started, but right when guests arrived the sun came out. It was enchanting. And our photographer Super Weddings (Sebastian) really captured this magic so we can relive it again and again.

● Heartfelt. The feedback we heard most often from guests was that it felt like the wedding had been designed to celebrate them and make them feel special too. In many ways, it was. Only about ~115 guests meant everyone could mingle over the 4 days and be part of a shared experience. You could feel people from all over the world getting to know each other in a faraway place.

2.What was your favourite memory from your Barcelona wedding?

It’s so hard to choose! One was definitely when we did a mini grand entrance at the balcony of Finca Mas Solers for our Sangeet party. Maily prepped the moment, handed us each a glass of cava and said “are you ready?” and we walked out of the balcony doors to see all our guests cheering. They loved the surprise venue, and it was like 18 months of hard work all paying off at once. A memory we will never forget. Another was sitting on the mandap (the altar) at Casa del Mar for our Indian wedding ceremony. Somehow in the chaos of 115 guests watching us and the priest facilitating the ceremony, we could see the beautiful mandap flowers swaying in the wind and hear the breeze and it was so peaceful. Bliss, and feeling blessed.

ceremony set up indian ceremony casa del mar

3. Why did you choose Barcelona and your venue for your wedding?

We’re New Yorkers, but our families come from the U.K., Canada, Ohio, California, India, and more. We wanted to find a European destination where guests would want to vacation and celebrate a beautiful culture as much as make the long trip to be part of our wedding. We both love Spain, thought Barcelona could be amazing, and came across Barcelona Brides. Through their council, we landed on Sitges and couldn’t be

happier with that choice. It’s beautiful, easy for international guests to get to, and one of a kind. Then it was a tough choice to pick our venues for the weekend, but the chips all fell into place. ME Sitges Terramar was an iconic & modern backdrop for our welcome and departure events, Finca Mas Solers was an incredible Sangeet venue, and Casa del Mar was the most idyllic oceanfront venue for our wedding day.

table setting shivani & luke wedding casa del mar

4. What did you love most about your wedding dress? How and where did you find it?

Shivani: I was lucky (and stressed!) to have two wedding outfits because we had 2 ceremonies. So I had one Indian lehenga and one white dress. Both are very special to me. The Indian lehenga wasn’t even an outfit when I spotted it—it was just fabric! But I found it in Toronto when I went to visit my grandmother. Someone held it up to my frame so I could imagine what the outfit would look like and I fell in love with the fiery and unstoppable bright red. I wanted an all-red look and I definitely got it. My white gown was also a sentimental & meaningful purchase. I went dress shopping with my mother-in-law and sister-in-law in the U.K. and after a long day of hunting, at the very last store… it was the very last dress I tried on. And it was everything I had been looking for. That was also where my sister-in-law bought her wedding dress 10 years prior, so even just the memory of buying it with them meant something to me.

5. If you did it all again what might you change?

Ultimately, nothing. Even the less-than-perfect moments felt like that was exactly how it was meant to play out, and we don’t regret any choice we made. If anything, we might wish that on the day of the wedding—which was the tightest schedule—that we didn’t stress as much. Little things happen, and we remember Maily saying to Shivani “Alright, how about you let me worry about that and you just be the bride today?” when she was upstairs getting ready for the second ceremony. We love and thank her so much for that! She reminded us to be in the moment and enjoy the experience we worked so hard for. And we did.

6. Tell us about the blooms. What was your favourite thing about your wedding flowers?

ALL OF IT! Our vendor Loving the Flowers is impeccable. They executed our vision to a tee for all three of our main events, and executed it even better and with more artistry than we could imagine. We had specific ideas for each event—lots of citrus at the welcome cocktails, lots of colorful petals at the Indian sangeet, and white florals galore for the Wedding—and wow did they bring that. It’s not often that guests remember the

flowers at your welcome cocktails, but others continue to recall them and echo what we remember too: that they put love in all their floral arrangements.

7. What is your advice for other couples getting married in Barcelona?

Go with your gut. That was the most helpful way to move forward in the planning process without losing our minds! There is no shortage of beautiful venues, amazing food, and lovely vendors to partner with in Barcelona. In fact, the sheer amount of choice can be overwhelming. But your instinct is helpful in picking what will feel like YOU. For example, we came across Swite Duo from the musicians list Barcelona Brides gave us and after looking at 15-20 other talented musicians… Swite Duo immediately stood out. It was a heart feeling. So we went with them, and they were perfect.

shivani in traditional dress at casa del mar

8. What cultural aspects did you include in your big day?

As a testament to our beautiful host country, our welcome cocktails were an ode to Spanish culture. Guests got a Vermouth takeaway gift and dined on paella amongst other amazing food true to Sitges. Our Sangeet party had a mehendi station, amazing Indian food, and a full hour of Bollywood-esque dance performances. On the wedding day we honored the traditions of not seeing each other before the big moment, and followed core traditions of a Hindu wedding ceremony. Our wedding weekend was a multicultural mish-mash, and that was our intention!

9. What song brings you back to the day and why?

Steal the Show by Lauv. It was our first dance song, featured in the movie Elemental’s soundtrack which is a film all about two unexpected people finding each other. We didn’t choreograph our dance until two days before the wedding, so hearing the song throws us back to memories of us making up dance moves and laughing and failing at remembering any of it in our hotel room between events.

Barcelona Brides are too gracious to say it but we can bet that we weren’t the easiest clients—very involved in the details, very ambitious in the vision, and wanted to do everything a la carte. But Rebecca and Maily were so kind to us. Meeting with us as often as we requested, very hands-on in facilitation of every event, and very fun and loving with our guests during the four days. Working with Barcelona Brides was also a choice that we made based on a gut feeling, and we’re so glad we did. They are such dedicated partners!