They trekked together, fell in love and got married in a unique way, atop Mt Kalsubai, the tallest peak in the Sahyadri range of Maharashtra.
The couple–Vivek Patil and Swapnali Dhabugade–wanted their marriage to be different and decided to tie the knot atop the 1,646 metre tall Mt Kalsubai. The mountain is spread between Igatpuri taluka of Nashik district and Akole taluka of Ahmednagar district.
A traditional Maharashtrian wedding was held over Saturday and Sunday. The new couple, their parents, relatives, friends and invitees trekked all the way up to the summit for the ceremony.
Part of a group known as “TrekLovers”, Thane resident Vivek, an engineer with Larsen & Toubro, Powai, and Swapnali, a cost accountant with Social Axis in Khar, were part of nearly two dozen trekking expeditions before they decided to marry.
“We were very excited and thrilled…we wanted it differently, it happened differently and people appreciated it,” Patil told Deccan Herald on Monday. From Bari, a village which is like a base camp for trekkers to Mt Kalsubai, they started at around 3 pm on Saturday and reached the summit after nearly three-and-a-half hours.
The evening revelry comprised haldi ceremony and sangeet. “There was khichadi for dinner,” Vivek said, adding that some tents were put up so that the guests could beat the cold.
The ceremony started at 6 am on Sunday morning and at 9:30 am they started the descent.
“When we reached back, there was lunch for guests,” he said. The guest list comprised 150 people, but several well-wishers joined in the celebrations, Vivek added.