Foram Baraiya and Ionut Aldeailie began their wedding venue search with Rajasthan. BrBaraiyaaiya wanted the architecture of an Indian palace and a traditional red bridal lehenga, but finding Castello Brancaccio redirected their plans to Italy. The castle offered the elaborate interiors they had been looking for while giving Aldeailie’s Romanian family a European destination for the celebrations.
Baraiya says, “We realised we didn’t have to choose between cultures—we could celebrate both.”
The couple planned the wedding themselves from the United Kingdom, coordinating with vendors in Italy over several months. They kept the wedding intimate over three days, limiting the guest list to approximately 50 people.
“We wanted every guest to be someone who had genuinely been part of our journey,” says Baraiya. The format gave relatives and friends from different countries time to meet before the main ceremonies. “It created a warm atmosphere where strangers became friends and everyone celebrated together like one family.”
Every event was held at Castello Brancaccio, with different areas of the property used across the weekend. Guests gathered for a welcome celebration on the first day. A traditional Gujarati wedding followed the next morning, with a reception that evening. The couple held a Christian ceremony honouring Aldeailie’s Romanian background on the final day, followed by a farewell brunch.
A Gujarati priest conducted the Vedic wedding according to the customs observed by Baraiya’s family. The Christian service retained its own religious format, allowing both families to participate in ceremonies that reflected the couple’s respective backgrounds. Their setting and guest list connected the two weddings without being compressed into a single hybrid service.
The castle’s decorated rooms influenced how little the couple added to them. Fresh flowers and candles were used throughout the weekend, with ivory, gold and soft green recurring across the décor. Different sections of the property provided distinct settings for each ceremony while keeping guests within the castle for all three days.
Baraiya spent six months working on her wardrobe. She wore a bespoke bridal ensemble for the Gujarati ceremony, featuring extensive hand-done zardozi embroidery inspired by Gujarati craftsmanship, its motifs and colours chosen to honour her heritage.
She changed into a hand-embroidered sari for the evening reception, worn with an intricately beaded blouse featuring gold zari work. Traditional bridal jewellery accompanied her ensemble, while simpler pieces were chosen for the remaining events.
For the Christian ceremony, Baraiya wore a Pronovias gown and chose softer hair and makeup. Aldeailie alternated between Indian clothing and Western tailoring over the weekend. “Walking through the castle in my bridal attire after months of designing every detail was surreal,” Baraiya says. “Seeing my dream come to life was an unforgettable feeling.”
The menus combined Indian food with Italian cooking, with vegetarian options served throughout the celebrations. The couple also gave their guests keepsakes from Italy as wedding favours. More traditional music accompanied the religious services, while DJs took over for the reception. One celebration centred on songs from the 2000s that Baraiya and Aldeailie had grown up listening to. The familiar tracks drew guests from different countries and generations onto the dance floor, giving the weekend one of its least formal and perhaps most memorable evenings.
