How Vishal and Dhwani's Wedding Was the Perfect Blend of Tropical Romance And Timeless Tradition

It all started with a stolen glance across a sports field, the kind of moment that wouldn’t look out of place at a teenage coming-of-age romance. At 16, Vishal Vithlani had already heard about Dhwani Rajani long before he met her and made sure to turn up at the community sports festival just for that chance encounter. “It wasn’t love at first sight,” Dhwani says, “but there was definitely a spark.” What began as a friendly exchange about who they were crushing on eventually evolved into a connection that stood the test of time, distance, and countless late-night conversations.

Years later, that teenage spark turned into a lifelong promise when Vishal proposed in the most cinematic way possible: atop the Musandam mountains in Oman. “He’d planned a beautiful three days at Six Senses Zighy Bay,” Dhwani recalls. When it came to the wedding, home called them back. Born and raised in Tanzania, they knew there was no better place to say ‘I do’ than the sun-soaked shores of Dar es Salaam. “We wanted our wedding to reflect our love and make everyone feel a part of it,” says Dhwani. And that’s exactly what they did over three days at White Sands Resort, blending Swahili sunsets with Indian traditions.

The celebrations kicked off with a Mediterranean-inspired cocktail by the beach, followed by a vibrant haldi in plum and lemon tones, and a glimmering red-and-gold sangeet under fairy lights. The wedding day was pure poetry: a soft, minimal mandap set by the ocean, pastel florals, and an ivory palette that mirrored the calm of the waves. The festivities closed with a chic black-and-white reception that felt timeless and modern all at once. “We tried to ensure that we covered every ritual and enjoyed every part of our culture. We made it a point to have fun with all the little rituals that have so much significance, like the Pokhavanu ceremony—where the bride’s mother pulls the groom’s nose, or who sits down first after the pheras—the bride or the groom, or even the koda kodi ritual after the wedding.

Every outfit was personally styled by the bride herself, from her lime-green Vvani Vats lehenga at the sagai to the dreamy ivory Pallavi Poddar wedding lehenga with ruby red accents. Vishal kept it equally classic, with an ivory sherwani for the pheras and a crisp white tuxedo for the reception.

Before the festivities, the couple escaped to Zanzibar for a prewedding shoot that perfectly captured their love for nature and the sea. “It honestly felt like shooting with two friends who had trusted me completely with their story,” says photographer Himanshu Patel, of The Epic Stories. “Tanzania gave us the perfect mix of raw landscapes and quiet moments that just unfolded on their own.” The shoot even had its share of laughter. “During the turtle shoot, one of the turtles got a little too playful and gave Vishal a soft bite on his chest,” Himanshu says with a laugh. “We joked it was a jealous love bite!” For Dhwani, walking down the aisle was the moment that made it all real. “We were excited, happy, nervous, and so in love,” she says. And when Vishal handed her a handwritten letter just before the ceremony, the tears flowed freely.

As the waves rolled in and the night sky filled with stars, Dhwani and Vishal’s celebration felt like the perfect reflection of who they are: grounded, adventurous, and deeply in sync. “It taught us to stay grounded and remember the purpose behind it all,” says Dhwani. “It was like working on a project together, and it eventually became for both, a full-time job. So no doubt we learnt a lot, but out of everything it taught us to always stay grounded, and never forget the true purpose of what we are trying to achieve! Big or small—we wanted to spend the rest of our lives together, and that’s exactly what we managed to accomplish by reaching such a huge milestone!”