If wes anderson planned a wedding in india, this would be it

Words cannot express how obsessed we are with this elopement in India. The venue, the fashion, the color–literally every last one of these photos by Emma Quinn has us completely speechless, so just keep scrolling and enjoy the ride. But be warned–you will want to throw out all of your existing wedding plans and elope in India.

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the destination: jaipur

The two of us didn’t have a location in mind when we initially started thinking about our wedding… but travel is a big part of our life, so we knew we would get married abroad. We spent a year looking at rental houses in some of our favorite countries but ultimately concluded that to pull off an intimate experience the way we wanted it, we would need to give up some of our travel wish list for the upcoming year. That’s when we started chatting through the possibility of eloping, and to both of our surprise, we were on board. India has been at the top of my bucket list for SUCH a long time, so I pitched the idea to my fiancé, and the next thing we knew, we had our venue locked in. Neither of us had ever been to India, nor did we have any connection to the country, but I had a deep fascination with its culture, architecture, and we share a love for Indian food.

The unknown made it feel like more of an adventure and a once-in-a-lifetime experience, which is exactly how we wanted the day to feel. I have followed the owner and interior designer of Villa Palladio on social media for a handful of years as they have worked together on other stunning projects. When Villa Palladio opened in August of 2022, I immediately jotted it down in my notes of places to visit someday… little did I know that we would elope there a year and a half later. Going this route relieved us of so much of the pressure over having a “perfect” day. We truly got to make the day about us, soak up every moment, and enjoy each other’s company. Not to mention the fact that we didn’t have any guests made it easier to laugh off the unexpected hiccups that came that day—boy, were there several!

the vibe: wes anderson goes to india

I love sprinkling sentiment and meaning into anything I can, so I had a lot of fun incorporating nods to our wedding location throughout the design process. Villa Palladio is a 9-room boutique hotel located 30 minutes outside of Jaipur. There is truly no place in the world like it with its candy-striped corridors and Mughal-inspired hand-painted walls. The garden, filled with palm trees and canopied daybeds, leads to a chevron-striped pool house where we spent the day relaxing post-wedding. Scalloped arches are a signature of Indian architecture, so I went with a scalloped design throughout the skirt and hem of the dress. My wedding band is a scalloped-edge gold band with an engraving inside.

getting ready

As the Indian sun peeked through the windows of their honeymoon suite, the two lounged for a bit and enjoyed the leisurely morning that only an elopement can allow. Then, the bride helped her groom put the finishing touch on his look before going their separate ways. Come on, a dress like this needs a grand entrance!

the fashion

I’d never had a hard vision on what I wanted my wedding dress to look like. My personal style is all over the place, so I went into my dress appointments with an open mind. I didn’t want to box myself into a particular style of dress, so I pulled an assortment of styles to get a feel for what I loved on myself. At the end of my four dress appointments, I was left feeling like I still hadn’t found “the one.” That’s when I started looking into having a bespoke dress made. From a young age, I have loved art and drawing, specifically when it came to fashion. I kept a notebook with me where I’d sketch pieces of clothing that came to mind, including their colors and the fabric I envisioned them in. I felt like dreaming up my own sketch for a dress would be a fun way to fulfill this childhood dream of designing clothing, so I started sketching! After reaching out to several seamstresses, I landed on someone in South Africa whose work I really loved and who was able to make the dress within my budget. My fiancé and I had a trip planned there in November 2023, so it felt like a sign that this was who I should have make my dress…although it was a huge risk, being that I live in the U.S. and would only have one fitting. I did my first fitting with her in November of 2023, and she had the dress done and delivered to me in the U.S. one week before we left for our wedding. I still can’t believe she pulled it off! Not to mention that one month before our wedding, I decided to add some drama with an overskirt. I wanted my main dress to remain visible when I had the skirt on, so we went with an open-front tulle and organza skirt that mimicked the scalloped design of the dress. I am SO happy that I took the chance on a bespoke gown. I also made special tags for all of our attire by embroidering our names and wedding date onto grosgrain ribbon. I stitched these inside my wedding dress, Patrick’s jacket, etc.

some next-level diy

A project I worked on for months leading up to our wedding was our hand-embroidered vow books. I chose Italian marbled paper in our wedding colors (we took our engagement photos in Sicily, so this was another nod to our relationship) to make booklets where we would write our vows. I designed a crest with our wedding venue’s name and embroidered it onto paper along with our names, which I then turned into the covers. I loved writing our own vows, as it made our ceremony feel so much more intimate and special. Now we have these keepsakes that we can hold onto, which I love.

the cake

If the venue wasn't adorable enough as is, this cake and the pink chef's uniform set it over the edge. Seriously??? Pink buttercream with red fondant bows–it's too cute!

words of wisdom from the happy couple

My biggest advice to anyone planning a wedding would be to think about what’s meaningful to you and your significant other. It’s very difficult to make ALL of it perfect without driving yourself crazy and creating lots of stress. Choose 4-5 things that are non-negotiables, things that you really want to pour your heart into, and focus on those. I would rather look back and say I nailed the important things and didn’t waste time and energy on the details that didn’t truly matter. Along the same lines—this is your day, and it should be exactly what you want it to be. Do what feels right to both of you and don’t do anything for the sake of pleasing others.

• Wedding Photographers: Emma Quinn DeBoef
• Venues: Villa Palladio
• Venues: RAAS Rajmahal Palace