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He may be "the
Godfather of Bhangra" with more than 40 hit
albums, his own music label Ishq Records, and a
tour with Michael Jackson under his belt, but
when Bally Sagoo looks at his life, he sees his
marriage to Sita Pall as his greatest
achievement to date.
"Finding Sita is the most significant
thing to happen in my life," says Bally. "We
share the same tastes and thoughts, and
there's an amazing spark between us." And
the feeling's mutual. How often do you find
everything you want in one person?"
replies Sita with an enviable happiness. Bally
proposed to Sita on New Years Eve 2004 while
DJing at a club in India. During the
countdown, he turned to her, and on the first
stroke of midnight, popped the big question.
When it came to planning
their wedding a lengthy search led them - via
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specialist Asian wedding plannerTania-Tapel, based
in Leicester and run by Anita Patel. "I did
originally try to plan things myself, but just ended
up getting very stressed," admits Sita. "We
wanted to take the stress out of organising our
wedding, so we decided to put the pressure onto
someone else's shoulders."
So how did Anita feel about taking on such a
grand and important celebrity wedding? "To me
every client is as important as the next because a
bride choosing to have a wedding planner is going
to be particular about her needs. I felt rather
privileged to be asked by Bally and Sita
And this couple certainly knew what they wanted
to achieve. "We wanted the WOW factor,"
says Sita. "Impressive from start to finish,
and for people to be in awe." With
experienced planner Anita in the driving seat, the
couple were soon discovering the best of
everything - with no room for compromise. "We
saw so many reception venues, but didn't want a
mass produced reception," explains Bally. "We
liked the idea of a castle, but the maximum
capacity for anywhere like that is 120. |
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Many places wouldn't allow
outside caterers, and we weren't going to compromise
on the quality of food either, so we kept searching"
But right on cue, Anita, came up trumps with
Heythrop Hall in Oxfordshire. "We instantly
knew Heythrop was the one. From the second you enter
the gates, to the long countryside drive up to the
front doors, it was a very impressive backdrop for a
wedding," explains Sita. "We wanted a
magical journey for our guests from start to finish,
and with Heythrop it was all there for the taking."
Having both been married
before, second time around called for a more
intimate ceremony. Simple, chic, and complimentary
to the extravagant reception to come. And this took
place at Solihull Registry Office in Birmingham .
Sita arrived in a stylish cream Phantom Royals
Royce, wearing a gorgeous ivory coloured Indian
outfit lightly ordained with antique silver and
maroon threadwork, and carrying a tear shaped
bouquet made of cream and red roses. |
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"During the English
civil union there was pindrop silence and I
found reading my vows very nerve racking,"
said Bally. "I had to take a breath to
compose myself, and I shed a few tears. "My
daughter cried too, which really moved me. They
were happy joyful tears though; the aura was
electrifying, and it seemed to unify everything."
"It was really emotional for me too,"
admits Sita. "The loneliness of not having
any family around, and leaving my home that day
with only my son to reassure me, was hard to
manage. I knew I had nothing to worry about
though. Bally's my lover, partner and best
friend all rolled into one."
With a line up of
celebrity guests including Gurinder Chadhar -
producer of Bend it Like Beckham, Asian popstar
Taz of Stereo Nation, and top Asian hairdresser
Dar; Bally and Sita's wedding reception could
have been a media frenzy. But the grounded
couple had their minds set on a much more |
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"Initially we had over 350 people on our guest
list, so we had to cut our numbers. "We know
many people in the industry and could have invited
them all, and lots of press and acquaintances wanted
to be there, but we didn't want the people we truly
care about to be compromised. |
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