Prachi Mantri | Life Between Cultures

Our cocktail night/ sangeet felt like stepping into a fairytale, an evening where I met my Prince Charming in the ballroom and danced through the most magical night. I loved everything about that evening: how Diego looked, how I felt, our outfits, the way every moment was captured so beautifully, dancing together under the starry lights, and our family and friends cheering us on through it all. 💛⭐️ Big thanks to everyone who made it happen. Planners @balajiaffairs Photographers @happyframes_ Make up artist @bridebyy_ashmieta Bride Dress @frontierraas Venue @hotelchomupalace Wedding stationery @illustrationpalette_ ion #cocktail #sangeet #outfit #indianwedding #blacktie

A year ago today, my boyfriend of 9 years got down on one knee. What followed was the busiest, most overwhelming, most beautiful year of my life. A wedding. A promotion. 8kg gone. A new nationality. All in 12 months. But here’s what I want you to know — none of this happened overnight. The career was years of showing up. The fitness was months of consistency. The relationship was 9 years of choosing each other across continents. It might look like a lucky year. And it was. But luck has a funny way of finding the people who’ve already been doing the work. This year I know big changes are coming again. A new country. A new chapter. A new version of this life I’m building. And this time — I’m documenting all of it. If you’re in the middle of your own messy, beautiful, in-progress year — come do this together ✨ [12 months recap, glow up journey, life in your 30s, turning 30, expat life, indian women abroad, feminine ambition, women who want it all, personal growth, confidence journey, lifestyle creator, building a life abroad]

We are officially married !! From meeting in London 10 years ago to signing our marriage papers in the same city… 🤍 After all the places we’ve lived and the miles in between, this moment feels like a beautiful full circle. (London civil wedding • Camden Town Hall wedding • just married • long distance love • 10 years together • full circle moment • Indian bride • LSE love story • international couple • LDR to married)

The silent career move nobody talks about? How you dress. 1. People decide how to treat you before you speak. Your clothes walk into the room before you do. How you dress determines how seriously people take you. That’s just the truth. You get to choose what that first impression says. 2. It opens conversations you wouldn’t have otherwise. Looking put together is a conversation starter. People connect over what you’re wearing, where you got it, what you like. That’s how relationships at work are built — not talking about the weather. 3. You feel different when you look good. There’s a confidence that comes from knowing you look nice. And as a person of color especially — I’ve seen firsthand how two people at the same level get treated completely differently based on how they present themselves. It’s not fair. But it’s real. Dressing well isn’t vanity. It’s strategy. And your wardrobe? It’s an investment — not an expense. [corporate girl, women in corporate, office outfits, corporate fashion, career woman, female leadership, corporate lifestyle, workwear outfits, office style, personal branding, career growth, women in business, corporate confidence, feminine energy, girl boss, corporate girly, glow up, feminine glow up, leveling up, self improvement, ambitious women, power dressing, soft girl era, becoming her]

Nobody tells you about the struggles of moving abroad. Social media mostly shows the exciting parts: new country, travel, freedom, beautiful canals, cute cafés, dream life. What people don’t show enough is what happens behind the scenes. The career setbacks. The identity crisis. The loneliness. The visa stress. Starting from scratch again even after already building a life somewhere else. Moving abroad humbled me in ways I never expected. I went from working at a Big 4 to becoming an intern again. Not because I lacked ambition. Not because I wasn’t capable. But because sometimes when you move countries, you lose the privilege, network, and comfort you once had. There were moments I questioned if I made the right decision. But looking back now, I’m grateful I stayed through the uncomfortable phase instead of giving up too early. Because sometimes the life you want requires you to survive a version of yourself that feels completely lost first. 5 years later, I became a Strategy Director. So yes, I eventually caught up. But first, moving abroad took almost everything out of me. Part 2 of my Netherlands story 🇳🇱 Watch Part 1 on how I moved. [moving abroad, expat life, Amsterdam, immigrant story, starting over abroad, corporate career, big 4, internship, visa sponsorship, unemployment struggle, master degree, moving countries, working abroad, corporate girl, strategy director, immigrant struggles, rebuilding life, life reset, realistic moving abroad, women in corporate, self growth, glow up, fitness journey, lifestyle creator, feminine energy, ambitious women, leveling up, personal growth, career glow up, life transformation, Indian in Netherlands, expat journey, global career]

One thing nobody prepared me for after moving to the Netherlands? The driving license 😭 Indian driving licenses can’t simply be converted in the Netherlands, so I already knew getting a Dutch license would be difficult… But I definitely did NOT expect to spend almost €6000 on it. Every time you fail your practical exam, you need to take more driving lessons again — and lessons cost around €60 per hour. I failed my practical exam 3 times 🫠 And sometimes they fail you for the most insane reasons. To put this into perspective: getting my driving license in India cost me around €3 total 💀 So spending €6000 on a Dutch driving license genuinely shocked me. At one point I started wondering if taking Ubers everywhere for the rest of my life would actually be cheaper. Still proud I survived the Dutch driving test trauma 🇳🇱🚗 (Netherlands, Dutch driving license, moving abroad, expat life, Indian in Netherlands, Amsterdam, driving test, expat struggles, immigrant struggles, life abroad, moving to Netherlands, Dutch driving exam, international driver, Netherlands life, realistic expat life, funny expat moments, Indian abroad, driving school, Dutch culture shock, life in Amsterdam, immigrant reality, living abroad, Europe life, glow up, lifestyle creator, moving countries)

I have been leading teams for the last 3 years and this is usually why I promote some people faster than others: 1. They get things done. If they say they’ll do something, I don’t have to follow up 5 times or second guess whether it will happen. 2. They communicate. When they’re stuck, they try first — but within reasonable time they ask for help, explain their thinking and share their assumptions. Most mistakes at work happen because of wrong assumptions, not lack of effort. 3. They take initiative. They think about how to improve things, make delivery faster or solve problems before being asked. The best employees don’t just execute tasks. They reduce mental load for leadership and make teams easier to scale. [(corporate girl, career growth, women in corporate, moving abroad, expat life, ambitious women, strategy director, life in Europe, Amsterdam life, London life, fitness journey, glow up journey, travel creator, Indian creator, long distance relationship, modern marriage, self growth, building my dream life, career and lifestyle, high achieving women)]

Finished one of the most exciting years around the sun… had to open multiple bottles to celebrate 🍾 [ Birthday Trends, Glow Up Journey, Main character energy, life changes, feminine love, milestone, personal growth ]

Comment visa to know more about it. I quit my job, moved abroad with no plan—and everything went wrong. I left a stable career at KPMG, packed my life into a suitcase, and bet on myself with no backup plan. Then came the panic, the sleepless nights, the tears, and the constant fear that I had made the biggest mistake of my life. But looking back? It was the best decision I ever made. Because every glow up has a messy chapter no one talks about. The doubt. The breakdowns. The chaos before everything finally clicks. Proof that life isn’t linear ✨ #lse #kpmg #amsterdam #visagranted #movingabroad [glow up journey, moving abroad, expat life, building a life abroad, indian women abroad, personal growth, confidence journey, feminine ambition, women who want it all, life in your 30s, career change, lifestyle creator]

I was born ready to be a bride 💅✨ Shot & edited @houseofsocialmediaofficial Bride @explore_with_pm Wearing: @marwarcouture Make up artist @bridebyy_ashmieta (bride transition, wedding transformation, from simple to stunning, bridal glow up, bridal entry, from casual to bridal, wedding magic, bridal beauty, transformation moment, bridal style, bride reveal, before and after, stunning bride, wedding prep, bridal makeup reveal)

After 8 wedding events in 3 cities… I’ve officially lost my full-time job as a bride 💔 Now that the wedding planning is done… what exactly do I do with my time? 😭 [wedding content, indian wedding, destination wedding, bride life, post wedding blues, newly married, wedding planning, wedding diary, desi wedding, jaipur wedding, london wedding, long distance love, couple journey]

Its our my final wedding event in London, the one where we actually sign and become officially married 🤍 Since it’s the last time I’ll be a bride, I wanted to dress special… Now I’m stuck between two looks: Drama (so me) or Chic (city hall vibes) Which one would YOU pick? 👀 [civil wedding, london bride, indian bride, wedding outfit, bridal looks, civil wedding outfit, outfit inspo, city hall wedding, bridal fashion]