Inside Sonam Babani & Neil's Dreamy Wedding in Switzerland

Influencer weddings have been quite a source of inspiration for brides to be. They know how to turn heads and make headlines with not only their wedding outfits but also with their choice of destination and decor. And here is one such bride, Sonam Babani, who is fondly knowns as Fashioneiress on Instagram, she chose the most magical destination, Switzerland to get married to the love of her life, Neil. 

From using lemons as a decor element for her Mehndi and ring ceremony to wearing a pretty floral pink dress from Dolce and Gabanna, and getting married with the Swiss Alps making the perfect background, Sonam Babani's wedding was no less than a fairytale worth sharing. 

Let’s walk through Sonam and Neil's timeline from the romantic proposal to the wedding of the year.

Sonam and Neil got engaged in the year 2019, in November. Neil planned a surprise proposal in the Maldives on her birthday week and the pictures are proof of how romantic it was. With a kiss and jumping on the pool full of rose petals, they sealed the deal forever and the whole internet blew off.

And that ring! Words will fall short of how stunning that piece was. 

They were supposed to get married in April 2020 and Sonam always wanted a destination wedding that will be visually stunning. She wanted to have a beautiful visual when she gets married to the love of her life, surrounded by her folks. When asked about how things started between them, Sonam in an interview said, “So basically we grew up parallelly in the same environment, we had the same friends’ group. Although growing up, nothing happened, we were just friends then, but eventually, there was a little spark. And…still, nothing happened but in the last three years, there was a major emotional connection, and we knew that was it! I mean, where Neil had touched my heart, that feeling was irreplaceable!” But then the pandemic hit and all her plans went a little downhill. But she wanted to at least get started with a few wedding events, and she organized her Mehndi and ring ceremony in the year 2021.

Mehndi Ceremony

Sonam was very sure about a few things, and one of them was everything happening traditionally having closest friends and family around. The mehndi ceremony and the flower shower ceremony was the highlight of the whole event that took place in Khandala. Taking it to her Instagram, when Sonam posted her Mehndi photos, we were hooked looking at this prettiest bride, with the prettiest smile posing with her Mehndi-clad hand and feet. 

Apart from her stunning Mehendi design, what was unique was her floral dress by Dolce & Gabbana. It looked so comfortable and with the floral crown, she was looking no less than a doll. In fact, in her caption, Sonam stated that because a bride has to sit for a long time to get the Mehndi done, they should always choose to wear something light and comfortable.

Her Mehndi designs consisted of her and Neil’s special moments from the proposal, their first trip to Greece together, Neil’s favorite animals, and more. The fact she put Neil’s favorite sea creature in her Mehndi is what made her one of the unique brides we have ever witnessed. The design even had Neil and Sonam on their mehndi day and the detailing was perfect. 

The couple had a very unique decor for the mehndi and flower shower ceremony organized at her home in Khandala. Sonam, the bride was also sure that she wanted something yellow in her decor as it signifies warmth, but not in a floral element so she went with not 10 or 20 lemons, but a total of 5000 lemons for the ceremony.

If you are wondering why did she choose lemons? To which Sonam stated in a caption saying: 

• “ Lemons are a fabulous, sustainable option because they can be reused, post the event we sent out baskets of lemons used to family and friends and the rest to an NGO to make pickles.
• Lemons are known to ward off evil in our culture and this showed through at our event, it was good vibes only!!
• Our wedding was initially meant to be I'm Bodrum, Turkey and coincidentally these lemons were from Turkey which I found out after and it just made my heart so warm thinking we had a little bit of Bodrum with us, “

How cool, right? Another thing we loved about the ceremony was the terracotta pots and wicker baskets used for the lemons were all recyclable, reusable, and biodegradable. The whole event was planned and organized by Devika Narain & Company and Interflora India, and beautifully photographed by Stories by Joseph Radhik.

Flower Shower

For her flower shower, Sonam chose a stunning deep maroon Sabyasachi Lehenga, and Neil very well complemented her in a floral kurta pajama, both making a gorgeous couple.

Our favorite part about her look was the open hair with Mathapatti, which set a trend among the new to-be brides.

With lots of laughter and dance performances and a shower of flowers and love, their Mehndi event looked no less than a dream.

Ring Ceremony

For the Intimate Ring Ceremony, we saw Sonam wearing her mother’s wedding sari while her partner, Neil was dressed in a white floral kurta designed by Rahul Mishra.

Cut to next year, that is this year, the 2nd of May, 2022, Sonam Babani released her wedding ceremony photos with her long time beau Neil and our excitement had no boundaries. Sonam and Neil got married in Switzerland, with Swiss Alps making the perfect backdrop for this stunning wedding ceremony. 

Haldi Ceremony

Their wedding celebration started with a Haldi ceremony where Sonam was seen wearing a green Velvet Kurti from Sabyasachi’s collection based on what Neil chose for the ceremony. She is definitely one of the very few brides who chose an outfit based on her beau’s outfit and that is inspiring and super cool.

Their Haldi look was similar in design and different in shade yet very unique and with the floral velvet kurta, Sonam went for silver jewelry that made her whole look stand out.

In her interview with Vogue, she mentioned “The velvet was fitting for a winter destination. I did not want to wear floral, jadau, or uncut diamond jewelry for the occasion, as it’s not very me. So I opted for all-silver accessories from Amrapali instead — it’s not a look I’ve seen many brides go for before,” she explains and we definitely agree. We haven't seen many brides opting for silver jewelry for their wedding accessories. 

Wedding Day

As a matter of fact, Sonam and Neil are both ski fans, so getting married in a ski venue with the Swiss Alps serving as the perfect backdrop looked like a dream, given that they waited for two whole years after the proposal which made it all the way more special and emotional. The magicians behind this gorgeous wedding were Tehiya Narvel Events and the floral decor was handled by Floralia Event Design. 

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A post shared by Sonam Babani (@fashioneiress)

Bridal Look

Sonam always wanted to wear white for her wedding which is not very common among Hindu brides. She went for an utterly stunning lehenga designed by Abu Jani Sandeep Khosla. Neil went for a matching outfit made by the same designer. 

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A post shared by Sonam Babani (@fashioneiress)

She looked ethereal in that whole get up and while walking down the aisle to her new beginnings, it was like we were watching a Disney princess getting her happy ending with a visually stunning background.  

Sonam stole the show with her minimal makeup look given by Charlotte Tilbury , Hair by Dastan London and complimenting jewelry from L.S. Zaveri.

Reception Night

After the fairytale wedding, the couple's reception night was also something that we just couldn't stop talking about it. We all know Sonam planned something different for all her wedding ceremonies but not everything goes as per plan, isn't it? She was planning for almost 2 years to wear this stunning high slight lehenga for her beach sangeet pre-pandemic party, but instead wore it for her reception party. 

Sonam went for the Atelier Versace lehenga that no one has ever worn and rightfully said: that the design of the outfit was something never seen before on a bride.

She was specific that she wanted something light-weighted to move freely and dance the whole night. The outfit was a  classic, bold Versace Medusa printed and it dazzles with zari embroidery and crystals on the blouse and band of the skirt. What completed her look were the Versace Medusa Aevitas Platforms and her emerald jewelry piece from LS Zaveri.

Matching her beautiful self, Neil was looking dapper in a black suit designed by Govinda Mehta’s Raisson D’être.

The very talented Italian wedding photographer David Bastiononi and Videographer Alexander Ma were the magicians behind the lens for this most beautiful wedding. 

Sonam Babani and Neil Sanghvi’s wedding was definitely the wedding of the year and it was a wedding worth getting inspired from. Sonam as a bride definitely set a trend with the choices she made with her outfits, venue, and decor. We wish both of them a beautiful married life and all the best.

Vendor Credits

Bridal Outfit: Dolce and Gabbana (Mehndi); Sabyasachi (Flower Shower, Haldi); Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla (Wedding); Atelier Versace (Reception)

Groom Outfit: Rahul Mishra (Ring Ceremony) Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla (Wedding); Govinda Mehta’s Raisson D’être (Reception)

Jewelry: Sunita Shekhawat Jaipur (Mehndi and Flower Shower); Amrapali Jewels (Haldi); L.S. Zaveri (Wedding and Reception)

Hair: Dastan London (Wedding)

Makeup: Vardan Nayak (Mehndi); Charlotte Tilbury (Haldi, Wedding, and Reception)

Photography: Ibtida by House On The Clouds (Mehndi); Stories By Joseph Radhik (Flower Shower Ceremony); David Bastianoni ( Haldi, Wedding, and Reception)

Videography: Alexandra Ma (Wedding)

Bag: Judith Leiber India

Shoes: Le Silla (Reception)

Gloves: Kerry Parker Official (Wedding)