This second film of the day is short, but sweet, and right on time! Why you ask? It was just before 4th of July weekend of 2014, that our next Raja popped the question and the girl of his dreams said YES! Meet Sachin and Akta, the most adorable duo to come out of South Carolina! This energetic wedding trailer created by the phenomenal Christopher Brock Photography introduces us to the happy couple with some humorous words at the reception from one of the groom's longtime friends. Maharani Akta is glamorously aglow, thanks to the hair and makeup geniuses from Bridal Elements, and her sparkling gown is a knockout! You'll get an exclusive peek at some of the baraat moments and ceremony highlights, which feature our Indian bride in her traditional and magnificent wedding lengha. The party continues when Encore Event DJs delivers the beats that have partygoers rushing to the dance floor, and you'll definitely feel the urge to join in on the fun!

The bride, on how she met the Raja of her dreams:

"We met through a mutual friend. I really wasn't at the point where I wanted to be blindly set up but it was a good change of pace from all the bio-datas that my parents kept sending my way. I knew he was "the one" or at least that this guy was different because it didn't feel like a task to meet up and converse and hang out. It just felt right. I went back to SC during Thanksgiving after we had started dating to visit my parents, I couldn't stand to be away from him. He was so supportive when I was helping my best friend recover after having a heart transplant. All these things occurred so early in the relationship and the fact that he stayed by my side the entire time made me realize that this guy was a keeper."

On her Raja's romantic proposal:

"It was right before 4th of July weekend, we had got the green light from both sets of parents to move in together. I however always wanted a long term commitment prior to moving in together. He knew that. So he proposed after we signed our lease. He said he forgot something in the apartment and distracted me by giving me ideas of pictures to take in the apartment (I love taking pics of everything). It worked. I turned around and he was on his knee. He asked and I said yes. Of course I found out later that he had a very romantic proposal planned but I ruined his plans by changing my days off at work. He was going to setup a camera and decorate the apartment with flowers. But in the end, he proposed at the right time with just us two around. Nothing public. He later told me he would've postponed it till later that night and got his friends to decorate the place, but he wanted me to have the full day to enjoy the engagement and call everyone and give them the good news."

On her wedding style:

"Like every girl, I had started thinking about certain details of my wedding and the overall feel of it for some time now. I already had a Pinterest board labeled "my happily every after" that had ideas ranging from the invitations all the way to the favors. The most important thing to me was to have a feel of sophisticated elegance for my wedding. Everything I planned revolved around that key phrase. I wanted to work with a palette of colors that would compliment my wedding and reception outfit in a way that everything wouldn't be the same color. I also looked on Maharani weddings for color theme inspirations and found myself to be drawn to the pinks, plums, and purples. So, we decided to go with hot pink and champagne/shimmery ivory for our mandap since my lengha was the traditional colors (red, white, and green). And for the reception, we decided on a purple and ivory/silver color palette. I chose ivory/silver instead of a lighter shade of purple along with darker purple to make it a bit more elegant and softer. The chivari chairs were also silver with ivory cushions to add to the whole decor of the reception hall."

On what she enjoyed most about planning her dream wedding:

"Honestly, majority of the process was pretty stressful since we were planning the wedding in South Carolina all the way from Pennsylvania. Most of our vendors were in Atlanta, GA too so it took a lot of trips back and forth to make sure all the vendors and the venue were on the same page as us. We drove down every time with our puppy so you can imagine it was pretty tiring after the third trip. But when we got to the point where we only had 3 weeks left go, we saw all of our hard work and stressing coming together so well. We were so happy that it all just fell in to place. We definitely did enjoy the tastings. We went through two cake tastings and a few tastings with the caterers. After we decided to go with Moksha, Mangesh Uncle would make sure we had dinner at the restaurant every time we were in Atlanta."

On choosing the perfect wedding lengha(s):

"Finding the wedding lengha wasn't as stressful as finding the reception outfit. For the wedding lengha, I had spent hours on Pinterest and various online clothing sites to get an idea of styles, colors, and material before I went to Edison, NJ to shop. I knew I wanted it to be simple and elegant yet would make me stand out. I didn't want the usual crystal work that is so flashy. I wanted the traditional colors red, white, and a little bit of green. I think we went to every store in Edison before I found the right one. It was then made from scratch in India with a matching chunri. The store manager even made a matching pouch for me. The matching jewelry came from India from my mama (mom's brother). I didn't even get to see it before they bought it but it matched perfectly!

As far as the reception outfit, I found a picture of this purple and silver chiffon gown on the internet and fell in love. We tried to locate it on the internet and it turned out to be an overseas site. We called the US number associated with it and after speaking to the person, it felt like such a big risk to get something for my big day from overseas so we had to back off that route. I then went to Edison to find an outfit but I was tired of seeing the same style, the same flashy work, and wasn't having any luck. I even went to American designer shops to find the right gown but no luck. My now husband saw how stressed and down I was about the purple gown; he did a picture search on bing and was able to locate a local (as in in the US) that had the same gown. We got in touch with her and everything seemed legit so we placed an order and received the gown. I wanted to wear a gown rather than a lengha to compliment the tux he was going to wear and to just be different from all the other Indian weddings I've been to."

On her most memorable wedding day moment:

"The whole three days were such a blur. Everything happened so fast. It's kind of frustrating that you spend all this time planning every little detail of your big day and it just goes away so fast. The two moments that will always be close to my heart were: (1) the way we did our first look; I had to come all the way down from the 5th floor (the elevators of course were taking forever that day) and walk outside with my whole get up on to our mandap (it was an outdoor wedding; the mandap was under a covered area), up the elevated isle to finally tap him on his right shoulder so he can turn around and we can finally see each other; We just stood there looking at each other, taking in that feeling and how perfect it felt to be there that day with the love of my life; that moment and the moment where I actually came down the isle officially to get married were the two that made this whole thing so real. It finally hit me that it's THE BIGGEST DAY OF MY LIFE!! The way my parents looked at me while i was walking down made my heart tear up. (2) our first dance was very special. He started lip singing the words to our song while we were on the dance floor. For a moment, I forgot I was being watched by the 280 people that were in the reception hall. For that moment, it was just me and him and nothing in the world could change how grateful I felt to find a guy that loves me so much."

On her and her Raja's first dance song selection:

"The song we danced to was "Ek Din Aap Yoon - Yes Boss". This song has been my designated first dance song since I was a senior in high school. We even talked my cousin out of using it for her wedding because I was so adamant that I wanted it to be my song. My cousin understood and picked another song. She knew how much it meant to me. Then when I met Sachin, I played this song for him waiting for his reaction. Midway through the song, he says I've always loved this song and want it to be our first dance song. At that moment, I knew we were meant to be together. Of all the indian songs out there, both of us had our heart set on the same one prior to meeting each other."

On her hair and makeup:

"The only thing I knew was that I wanted a hairstyle that sat higher on my head so that the chunri can rest on it well. Everything else fell into place with the help of my awesome hair & makeup specialist Roberto. He got me out of my comfort zone by using red lipstick and a middle part and yet managed to keep me happy with the way I looked. I did not feel like I had so much makeup caked on me. It looked very natural and sober. Bridal elements did a great job with my sister and my mother as well. We all got plenty of compliments. My mom who doesn't put on a lot of make up was happy with it at a first glance."

On the role family and friends played:

"My siblings and my cousins helped make the signs that my siblings held while walking down the isle. My brother's said "Last chance to run Sachin!" and my sister's said "Wait till you see her" - both ideas I found on Pinterest. Them plus my friends also helped break apart ~200 pink roses to fill 280 bags with flower petals. These bags were then hung on each chair during the wedding ceremony so that everyone had flower petals when it came time for the mangal pheras. Our friends also helped cut out all the table number cards and print the place cards for the reception. They helped set each table with the favors (elephant wine stopper)."

We still have one more amazing wedding film on the way, so make sure not to miss out!

 

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Mehndi Artists: Bridal Elements Hair & Makeup | Cinematography: Christopher Brock Photography | Floral & Decor: Dreams to Reality | Venue: Embassy Suites Greenville Golf Resort & Conference Center | Floral & Decor: 5th Season Wedding Design Studio | Cakes & Treats: Strossner's | Catering: Moksha | Hair & Makeup: Sangi's Beauty Salon