Annie and Rishi met through mutual friends during a night out in Brooklyn. Years later, they found themselves planning a wedding weekend that would bring together Punjabi and Jewish traditions, family history, and guests traveling from New York, San Francisco, and beyond.
They knew from the beginning that they wanted more than a single-day celebration. Their vision was a luxury destination wedding weekend where every event felt distinct while still reflecting who they are as a couple. After choosing NIZUC Resort & Spa, they began designing three days of celebrations that blended vibrant cultural traditions, meaningful family moments, and plenty of opportunities for everyone to connect.
What We Love About This NIZUC Resort & Spa Wedding:
- The surprise performances that turned the Sangeet into an unforgettable kickoff celebration
- Annie changing into her mother’s wedding dress for the reception
- The chuppah featuring Annie’s late father’s tallit
- The sunset jet ski portraits on the beach
- The live saxophonist and CO2 guns that kept the dance floor packed all night
Featured Vendor:
Pink Balance Weddings
Starting With a Celebration That Brought Everyone Together
The weekend began with an Indian Sangeet that immediately set the tone. Friends and family surprised the couple with performances throughout the evening, creating a celebration that felt personal from the very beginning. Between the music, dancing, speeches, and incredible food, guests from different parts of Annie and Rishi’s lives quickly found themselves celebrating together. The night ended with fireworks over the water, giving everyone a memorable start to the festivities ahead.
Planning a Weekend With More Than One Main Event
Once they secured NIZUC Resort & Spa, Annie and Rishi began thinking about the wedding less as one event and more as a collection of experiences. “We worked with Mango Weddings as our planner. Once we chose NIZUC Resort & Spa as the venue, we started thinking about how we wanted each event to feel. We pulled inspiration from everywhere and created a vision deck for the weekend, then built in the big pieces like food, music, rentals, and decor down to the smaller personal details that made it feel like us.”
Their goal was for each celebration to have its own atmosphere while still feeling connected to the larger weekend. Some events leaned into colorful Punjabi traditions, while others embraced a more refined resort-formal style. Throughout it all, they focused on creating a celebration that felt welcoming, personal, and fun for their guests.
Blending Two Cultures Together
Because the wedding combined Indian and Jewish customs across multiple days, choosing the right vendor team was one of the couple’s biggest priorities.
“Because our wedding blended Indian and Jewish traditions across multiple days, finding the right team was incredibly important to us. We looked for vendors who not only had experience with destination and multicultural weddings, but who also felt collaborative, creative, and genuinely excited about our vision.”
That same care extended to the ceremonies themselves. During the Indian ceremony, family members actively participated in traditions and rituals that connected both families to the celebration. The Jewish ceremony included several meaningful heirlooms and family touches. Annie’s late father’s tallit was woven into the chuppah, while the Kiddush cup from her Bat Mitzvah became part of the ceremony as well. Their personal vows added another layer of emotion, creating one of the most memorable moments of the entire weekend.
Letting Wedding Fashion Tell Different Stories
For the Indian events, Annie embraced bold colors, embellishments, and traditional attire. Shopping for many of the outfits alongside her mother-in-law became one of the most meaningful parts of the planning process. “I went shopping for many of the Indian outfits with my mother-in-law, who played such a huge role in the planning process and helped guide us through so many meaningful traditions and style choices.”
For the Jewish ceremony and reception, the couple shifted to a resort-formal dress code that felt elegant while still fitting the tropical setting. Annie found her gown through Mexican designer Nadia Manjarrez. “I also fell in love with Nadia Manjarrez because she’s a Mexican designer, which felt especially fitting for our wedding in Mexico. The moment I tried on the Paulina floral dress at Kleinfeld Bridal, I immediately knew it was the perfect dress.” She also encouraged her bridesmaids to choose dresses that felt true to their own style, asking them to stay within a palette of green, blue, yellow, and gold tones.
One of the biggest surprises came later in the evening when Annie changed into her mother’s wedding dress from her wedding 32 years earlier. “The moment she saw me in it was unforgettable—her reaction was priceless. It made it even more fun that the dress was this amazing, sexy, beaded 90s gown that still felt stylish today.”
Adding Details Guests Would Discover Throughout the Weekend
Some of the most memorable details weren’t the largest ones. The couple named signature drinks after their hometowns: “The Fremont” and “The Murray Hill.” During the reception, they also served Honey Deuces inspired by the signature cocktail at the US Open, a tournament they attend together every year.
Custom “Bar Bhatia” matchboxes paid tribute to their favorite restaurant in Brooklyn, Bar Blondeau. Reception place card holders were shaped like elephants as a nod to Indian traditions, while embroidered linen napkins featuring their initials added another personal touch. Guests kept discovering little references to Annie and Rishi’s story throughout the weekend.
default
Finding Ways to Bring Everyone Into the Celebration
Once the reception started, the energy never really slowed down. Their DJ understood exactly what kind of atmosphere they wanted and kept guests dancing throughout the night. A live saxophone player performed alongside the music, adding another layer of excitement to the party.
Then came one final surprise. “Our lighting and sound team brought out CO2 guns during the dancing. Everyone went crazy for them.” The reaction was immediate, turning an already packed dance floor into one of the most talked-about moments of the evening.
While the celebrations spanned multiple days, family was never far from the center of the weekend. Parents, relatives, and friends played active roles throughout the ceremonies and celebrations, while heirlooms and traditions passed between generations found new life during the festivities. Alongside the music, dancing, and packed dance floor, those moments became some of the memories Annie and Rishi carry with them long after the weekend had ended.
The Wedding Team:
Photography + Videography – Pink Balance
Venue + Catering- Nizuc Resort & Spa
Floral Design – Pistilo
DJ – Entertainment Legendary
Makeup Artist + Hair Styling – Zoe Elizabeth
Wedding Dress – Nadia Manjarrez
Bridesmaid Dresses + Groomsmen Attire – Frontier
Groom’s Apparel – Empire Custom Tailors
Groom’s Accessories – Stuart Weitzman + Tod’s + Cartier
Rings – Etsy
Rentals – Pistilo
.jpg "Photographers")
