When Shruthi told me that her niece Ashlyn was a water baby, I did not take her all that seriously. Everyone treats the kid in their family like the special-est person ever, and definitely fairly so, so even when she said the party is going to be mermaid-themed, even when she said the venue is Ideal Beach Resort, I only pictured a party hall or a stage within the premises, where everyone would set things up for the party during the best evening light, and then I’d be scrambling for group pictures in the dark, post sun-down.

But boy, was I in for a surprise!

For starters, the party was RIGHT ON THE BEACH. Any closer, and we’d be touching the water. Every small detail pertaining to the party stuck to the theme. They brought the birthday butterball in a mermaid suit exactly during golden hour so we could shoot some beautiful portraits.

Just as the sky hit the most beautiful pink, the cake was cut, Ashlynn was suddenly given access to an unlimited access to sugar, courtesy, the elaborate dessert table, and frankly she was surprised the entire time too. :D

What I really felt I missed though was that, I could not get any pictures of Ashlynn near the water. She screamed bloody murder when there was any indication that she would be let down on the sand. She called and waved and laughed at the sight of every single one of her ‘annen’s and every single ‘kaka’ she spotted, but the water, for some reason, turned out to be a strict no-no.

We let her be, let her walk the length of the party area util Shruthi ran out of breath trying to keep pace, and the family lapped up every single minute of celebration, catching up on stories & good food. :)

Venue: Ideal beach Resort, Mahabalipuram
Decor & dessert table: Snehithi, Sugar Base Studio
Cake: Cacaobymann

Hit play & check out the pictures. :)