Silpa Vincent & Shyju Gopalakrishnan | 7.6.2024

Destination Utah

Originally from New Jersey and New York, Silpa and Shyju brought their love story all the way to Utah for their beautiful wedding celebrations. Silpa always knew she wanted to do a destination wedding—somewhere different, somewhere she’d never been, and somewhere scenic. After searching for places in states like Georgia and Colorado, she and Shyju eventually found and fell in love with Siempre, right here in Utah!

From a first date in Hobokken to saying, “I do!” in the Salt Lake Valley (and a honeymoon in Hawaii), this love story spans all the way across the United States.

When they chose Utah as their destination wedding location, their friends and family were skeptical. But then they saw what Silpa and Shyju saw, from the gorgeous mountains to the beautiful July weather. “It’s very different from what we have in the New York City area. The mountains in Utah, they just look like they’re from a whole different planet!”

And we couldn’t agree more! Who wouldn’t want a destination wedding with the Utah mountains as their backdrop after seeing how beautiful they are in the summer?

Stunning Sari and Lovely Lehenga

During the wedding planning process, Silpa knew she wanted beautiful, unique flowers as the base of all her creative design choices. “I love flowers, and I didn’t want to do the types of flowers that I’ve seen at a lot of other weddings. I wanted to stand out. I knew my outfits would have more brighter colors so I wanted the florals also to go along with that—I wanted them to not exactly match all the way, but still stand out.”

Yes, you read that right, she said outfits, plural. Who doesn’t love multiple bridal looks? Between her ceremony dress, where Silpa and Shyju exchanged private vows at a traditional Hindu ceremony, to her reception outfit that she danced the night away in, our jaws are on the floor.

Her first dress, called a sari, complete with her veil and the stunning jewelry and florals to go with it, has us contemplating adding more colorful wedding gowns to our permanent inspo boards.

Their first look and private vows have us in tears over how sweet they are! It’s obvious how much love Silpa and Shyju have for each other.

Her second look of the night was a gorgeous lehenga, and Shyju came out matching her in a blue outfit change of his own. They came out dancing and then kept dancing the whole night!

Fun and Fabulous

Dancing, both with his new wife and with their friends and family, was one of Shyju’s favorite parts of the whole wedding. “Having not only us being together, but all our close loved ones with our family and friends, just enjoying the day together, it meant a lot to us.” They even had a surprise Michael Jackson-themed dance from Silpa’s cousin!

Not only was their Utah destination wedding stunningly beautiful, but it was fun too.

And their wedding celebrations weren’t just one day long—they had a rehearsal brunch the day before, complete with karaoke and a caricature artist. Their wedding brunch turned out to be a highlight for Silpa. “It was a really nice time for us and all our guests to let loose and for them to know that this would be the vibe of the next day too.”

If there’s one thing clear from their photos, it’s that everyone had an amazing time—throughout every part of the celebration!

Sharing Sweet Moments at Their Utah Destination Wedding

For both of them though, the best part of their whole wedding day was just being together. Silpa loved the small moments she got to share with her new husband throughout the day. “There were a lot of moments I loved. The car ride home after the reception where it was just the two of us—I thought, ‘Now we can just start our lives together.’”

And Shyju felt the same. “I loved just being with her—tying that garland around each other, finally getting to do that, signifying her being my wife, and walking up the aisle with her finally as my wife.”

We feel so honored to have had Silpa and Shyju celebrate their marriage right here in Utah!

Utah’s Amazing Wedding Vendors

When it comes to planning a destination wedding in Utah, there are bound to be a lot of ups and downs. “It was tough wedding planning from the East Coast. Every time we had to speak to our vendors it was a long plane ride away.” Luckily for them, they were able to get a lot accomplished over the phone. “We did fly out there a total of two times before the wedding, but it was still a little bit hard.”

What made the biggest difference for them though, was working with incredible Utah wedding vendors. “I think what made the whole thing easier was that all of our vendors were overall just really nice people. It was nice to know that they have our best intentions at heart and they were willing to make compromises and come up with ideas along the way.”

Silpa and Shyju’s biggest advice for couples in the middle of planning a wedding is to hire a wedding planner or coordinator as far in advance as possible, along with other tips for making your wedding planning process as smooth as possible. “Hire a wedding coordinator in advance—research all the vendors in advance. Start looking at venues as soon as you get engaged.”

“And remember, at the end of the day, you’re there for each other. Hiccups are gonna happen, not everything’s gonna go the way you want, and it’s okay because you’re gonna have a great time with each other and so will your guests.”

Take it from these two, you don’t have to look too far to find the perfect spot for a beautiful and exciting destination wedding—just start right here in Utah! Their wedding celebration, from the gorgeous colors to the awesome dance party at the end of the night, is one that we’ll be celebrating right along with them every time we flip through our magazine!