Dubai Cafeteria to Red Sea Sunset: A love story brewed over chai

For five days at Simran Rishi and Karan Bhawnani’s wedding celebrations, there was always chai. It appeared at every event, in the hotels and wherever guests gathered, a reminder of the Dubai cafeteria where their relationship began. Amid performances by Akon and Vishal and Shekhar, elaborate couture and a sunset ceremony beside the Red Sea, that cup of tea had a history everyone could share.

Their hashtag, Love at First Chai, traced it back to Koukh Al Shay in Satwa, where they met in 2017. Simran laughs at the setting, calling it “a very dingy place to meet”. Both had recently come out of serious relationships and were trying to find their footing.

“Somehow, from the day that we met each other, everything just kind of started falling into place,” she says. “You know, where you feel like there’s someone in life with you constantly.”

That sense of constancy became the foundation of their relationship. Simran, who has worked in real estate since she was 16, now runs the business with her mother. Karan owns a trading business alongside other ventures, while his family operates prominent supermarket chains in the UAE. Within about two years of being together, she knew he was the person she would marry. “This is my person,” she says. “Over the nine years we have been through an entire life together.”

By the time they reached their wedding in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, they thought those years of familiarity might spare them tears at the ceremony. They had already spent so much of their lives together. Surely seeing each other at the mandap would feel familiar too.

Then Simran entered the venue and saw Karan waiting. “That was the moment in my life where everything that I have done has gotten me here, marrying the love of my life after long years.”

She cried throughout her approach, then ran towards him, forgetting in her excitement to let her mother place her hand in his. They held each other and cried. “We finally made it,” she says. “It was a dream come true. It was a dream we had for too long.”

The beach ceremony unfolded at sunset beside the Red Sea, in a place Simran found so beautiful that she stayed in Sharm El Sheikh for about ten days after the wedding. She wanted time to take it in and remain close to where they had married.

The celebration itself carried ideas she had gathered throughout her 29 years, shaped together with Karan’s tastes. The couple made the planning decisions themselves, bringing their shared vision to every detail. Each event had its own décor, while the mandap received particularly close attention. “My mandap was exactly what I wanted it to be,” Simran says. “I spent so many nights planning that mandap that I cannot tell you how much work went into that.”

Their families had their place in the ceremonies, with rituals honouring Karan’s Sindhi background and Simran’s Punjabi heritage. “We let our families have their moments, which was beautiful,” she says.

The wardrobe was equally considered. Karan knew precisely what he wanted, making the search for his outfits easier. Abu Jani dressed them for the sangeet, wedding and reception, with different colours and silhouettes giving each occasion its own character.

The Egyptian-themed sangeet, Pharaoh’s Night, called for Egyptian and Arab-inspired dressing. For the ceremony, Karan wore a sherwani whose cut and design Simran loved, while her lehenga remains a source of emotion. “Honestly, till today, I haven’t stopped crying because my lehenga is so beautiful.”

At brunch, she wore orange silk by Gaurav Gupta, and Karan chose a custom outfit by Mala and Kinnary. The Mumbai designers also created 56 outfits for the family. For the reception, Simran wore a vintage Abu Jani design, a piece dating back 30 years that was put together for her, featuring vasli work. Karan wore a purple and gold kaftan by the same designer. Jewellery included pieces from Amrapali and Anmol Jewellers in Mumbai.

Alongside the clothes and ceremonies came the pleasures they wanted their guests to enjoy. Diva Catering, led by chef Ritu Dalmia, provided food Simran still misses. Vishal and Shekhar and Akon brought favourite songs into the celebrations, with Akon fulfilling a particular childhood wish. “We wanted to live our childhood dreams of our favourite songs,” she says.

Smaller details drew just as directly on their lives. Room hampers were tailored to older and younger guests. A supermarket in the guest lounge, open around the clock, stocked drinks, chocolates and crisps, reflecting Karan’s family business. A Lindt counter supplied Simran’s favourite chocolate, and chai kept their first meeting present throughout. “From the small details to the big details, everything was just us.”

For all the planning, the feeling that surprised her most came from seeing their loved ones together. Everyone had come to celebrate a marriage the couple had waited years for. “This was a surprise that has filled my heart so much that it’s gonna last a lifetime.”

Simran’s advice grows out of that long shared history. Keep choosing the relationship, she says, and during the wedding, pause long enough to experience what you have spent months preparing. “Take a breath and look at each other and enjoy each and every moment, because this is what you build up to.”

She knows how quickly the events pass, how easily the noise and activity can consume them. The moment she returns to is the one when she saw Karan at the mandap and ran towards him. “Find your stillness in your partner in the middle of all that chaos,” she says, “and you will enjoy your wedding.”