Through our ‘Real Bride’ series, we trace the stories of real-life brides, right from when they met their partners to how they planned their wedding outfits
If you are planning a wedding and looking to be more mindful of the environment while doing so, you might want to take cues from Sahar Mansoor and Mehul Manjeshwar. The founder and the CMO of Bare Necessities—a Bengaluru-based company promoting the persuasion of a zero-waste life—knew their values on sustainability had to be incorporated into their wedding, be it the ceremonies, décor or clothes. Mansoor gives us a lowdown on the first time she connected with her partner via email, having a mindful wedding and weaving in small traditions to include their individual cultures and heritage.
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If you are planning a wedding and looking to be more mindful of the environment while doing so, you might want to take cues from Sahar Mansoor and Mehul Manjeshwar
How it all started
We met four years ago when Mehul was writing a story on people working towards and spreading awareness about the environment. He started a blog called Positive Change while studying for his MBA in Canada and this was a side project he was working on. He reached out to me via email for an interview and that’s how we first connected. Once he finished his MBA, he was looking to do a short internship with us at Bare Necessities. I thought he was overqualified for it. Having grown up in Qatar and Canada, he had never lived in India, and at the same time, his parents were retiring and returning to Bengaluru. So working with us would also mean he could spend more time with his family. It led to him being part of our team at Bare Necessities and we’ve been working together for three years now.
A commitment for life
There wasn't an ‘aha’ moment of sorts or grand proposals from either of us. It was a mutual decision that this was the next step for our relationship. But here’s the most endearing thing about his family–his older brother got engaged on the same date that his parents got engaged years ago. So we kind of had a running joke in the family, about whether it will be this year or next year for us, if we, too, had to stick to this date. I even had reminders added into both of our calendars, and we did end up sticking to the date.
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"We met four years ago when Mehul was writing a story on people working towards and spreading awareness about the environment"
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"Mehul and I were sure we wanted to be surrounded by nature, as it is something that we both resonate with and something that is sacred to us"
Aht Yomyai
The destination wedding
As much as we wanted to hold the celebrations in India, for some of my family members it was going to be difficult to get their visas due to their Pakistani heritage. Since we were keen on a very intimate gathering, we wanted our immediate family to be with us, and that’s why we started to look at other places. Mehul and I were sure we wanted to be surrounded by nature, as it is something that we both resonate with and something that is sacred to us. Sri Lanka was one of our options since it has an abundance of nature to offer. But with the national crisis that the country is going through, we had to think of other options, and that’s how we settled on Thailand. With the help of Climes (a climate-finance venture that provides solutions to reduce and remove carbon for events), we off-setted our flights with a simple calculator on their website.
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"We started the ceremony with a coconut-tree planting. Coconut trees are native to Thailand and it was our way of showing gratitude and giving back to nature"
The theme of sustainability
It was important for us to incorporate mindfulness and sustainability throughout the wedding as our values and ethos regarding the environment is something that brought us together in the first place. We started the ceremony with a coconut-tree planting. Coconut trees are native to Thailand and it was our way of showing gratitude and giving back to nature. It also holds an emotional value to me; 30 years ago my father planted a coconut tree in Bengaluru where I grew up, and it bears fruit even after his demise. We still enjoy having coconut water from that tree, especially the first harvest. In a way, it has nourished me, my mum and even the next generation. Even though my dad couldn’t be there physically, it was a way to include him in celebration.
In terms of the décor, we tried to use things that were reusable. Dried flowers and leaves were something that we incorporated a lot. The garlands we put on each other were made from leaves. The welcome kits for the guests were practical bags with a little note from us, printed on recycled paper. The kits also had a few local snacks, reflecting the authenticity of the place, and a few products from Bare Necessities, like handcrafted soap and a moisturiser.
We had a small wedding registry that was not focused on material things; rather it had options to give experiences, like an outdoor adventure or make a donation to our choice of non-profit organisations like Hasiru Dala—that focuses on fighting for justice for waste-pickers, and Maruvan—a non-profit that works on reforestation initiatives.
The unconventional ceremony
I identify myself as a secular individual, rather than subscribe to one form of religion. I also believe that actions are more important than words—it doesn’t matter if you go to the church every day or pray five times a day, it’s more about being a compassionate person and showing your values in your day-to-day kindness. Since both of us come from different religious backgrounds—Mehul is of Hindu descent, while I am of Muslim descent, we wanted to make the wedding neutral of any religious annotations, simultaneously aligning with the values of sustainability and mindfulness.
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In terms of the décor, Sahar used things that were reusable like dried flowers and leaves`
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The ceremony of an antarpath but instead of having a painting of a God, they had a painting of two owls sitting next to each other with a house to symbolise the life they were going to build together
Having said that, we also wanted to be mindful of our families to be able to celebrate with us in a version that resonates with them. To make it more inclusive, we invited them to officiate the wedding. We thought it would be more meaningful to us instead of having an unknown priest or an imam we’ve never met in our lives to officiate such an important moment. So we had my brother-in-law officiate our wedding, while Mehul’s parents officiated the Hindu ceremony.
Keeping with the traditions
We tried to weave in different traditions that we believe in. We also had a small version of a nikah, which is essentially the “I do” in Urdu. We also did a little ceremony of an antarpath between the two of us and instead of having a painting of a God, we had a painting of two owls sitting next to each other with a house–symbolic of the life we were going to build together, handcrafted and hand-painted by my mother-in-law on silk. We also exchanged kali poth or mangalsutra, a meaningful ceremony for our families, followed by an exchange of vows, which was both funny and emotional.
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Mansoor wore Amit Aggarwal and Manjeshwar wore Antar Agni for one of their ceremonies
Fashionably mindful
We kicked off the wedding week with a small mehendi ceremony at home in Bengaluru. I wore a completely sustainable and zero-waste outfit—mother’s ghagra and dupatta, my sister’s blouse and my aunt’s jewellery. For an intimate gathering in Thailand before the wedding ceremony, I wore my mother’s black-and-red bandhani saree, which she wore for her own wedding. The saree is from where my family comes from—my forefather migrated from Kutch to Benagluru six generations ago. It’s quite a kutchi tradition where people wear the same outfit that was passed down to them. I wore the saree with my grandmother’s dupatta (I am the fourth generation who wore this dupatta after my mother, my aunt and my sister). It was a great way to celebrate where I’m from with a little bit of tradition and local craftsmanship.
For the wedding ceremony, he wore a brown linen suit from Studio Bassam—a bespoke menswear studio—and I wore a white dress I got from a local shop in Nice. I was planning to dye it a light pink, but it looked so pretty that I didn’t want to mess it up. I love wearing white and generally have a large chunk of my closet in this colour. Honestly, the dress was bought on an impulse and I’m hoping to sell it soon and donate the proceeds to a charity that works with environment-led initiatives.
(As told to Saloni Dhruv)
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