Vaishnav Shetty & Sonali

The Celebration

The most ambitious chapter of the Shetty celebrations was a homage to Mangalorean temple architecture, recreated in full within the grounds of a Mumbai hotel. Across more than 100,000 square feet of immersive design, DreamzKrraft raised an entire temple complex from the ground up — and did so in under three weeks.

The build drew on a workforce of more than 5,000 artisans and technicians, who shaped over 250 intricately carved pillars, sweeping arches and a striking twelve-foot Ganesha idol. The visual language was handled with the finesse of a celebrated Bollywood set designer, so that what could have read as spectacle instead felt like a place with history — somewhere that had always stood.

The vision carried deep personal meaning. The groom's mother, Mrs Arathi Shetty, had long imagined her son married within a temple environment, and this recreated world brought that wish to life. From the central mandap, the design extended outward into a Mangalorean street and further still into an elegant glasshouse, each transition carrying guests deeper into the family's heritage. What lingered was atmosphere as much as architecture: jasmine-laden pathways underfoot, temple bells carrying across the complex, and live devotional renditions threading through the evening.

For Vaishnav Shetty — son of Shashi Kiran Shetty, founder and chairman of the Allcargo Group — DreamzKrraft designed not a single event but an immersive, detail-rich world that guests could step inside and inhabit, unfolding across three of Mumbai's landmark venues. It began at Fairmont Mumbai, where guests were welcomed into an all-day lounge with its own salons on each floor, a tuck shop, a spa room and a game room.

The sangeet arrived under a train theme that ran through every touchpoint. Tickets were placed in guest rooms and stamped by costumed train conductors, while a station-style culinary showcase brought specialty chefs flown in for each event. That commitment to specificity carried into a glasshouse conceived over several months and executed in just three weeks — a structure that transformed from a Mehendi venue by day into an intimate wedding-dinner setting by night.

At the heart of the design sat a recreated Mangalore street that captured the charm of everyday coastal life: stylised homes and market scenes, coconut-water stalls, live Benne dosa counters and Mallige flowers flown in specially. The guest welcome drew on the gentle world of Malgudi Days, with live tabla, flute and sitar musicians, hostesses offering Gota Patti and Elaichi malas, and coconut water with chia seeds and cinnamon coffee served on banana-leaf trays. In the lobby, a 3D Ganesha installation was formed entirely from hanging bells, and a white postbox stood ready for a postman artist to gather handwritten wishes.

The reception raised the register again, with ambient artists performing atop pedestals placed across the ballroom. Behind it all stood a workforce built for scale — a 245-member planning team, more than 60 hospitality and RSVP specialists, over 75 family managers and food-and-beverage butlers, and a 250-strong catering team — each detail held to the standard of a family that wanted heritage honoured without compromise.