Happy Friday lovelies! Today’s darling featured couple are a match match in heaven! Reema and Sunny took two years to plan their dream wedding bash and trust us when we say you’ll want to look carefully through these snaps by Photographick Studios to gather plenty of inspo for your own celebration! To help brides-to-be with planning, we asked Reema to share some wedding advice with us. She told us: “My advice to brides-to-be would be to: 1) Try to rest up before each event, remember to drink lots of water and seek time for yourself! It can be super overwhelming to run on 2 hours of sleep while everyone is pulling you in every direction to get things done. My hubby and I snuck away from the reception for a bit just to kick our shoes off and enjoy being married! 2) When shopping, try on things that you don't think you'll like. I purposely went to India without knowing exactly what I wanted so that way I wouldn't be limiting myself to a few dresses. I definitely saw everything with an open mind and ended up with an outfit that I probably wouldn't have picked in a million years... and I loved it! 3) Don't stress the small things! Two of my flower girls had inadvertently left their matching outfits at home - I honestly didn't even stress about it. At the end of the day, I still had a magical weekend and I was married to the man I love! Isn't that what all this is for, after all?!” The duo crafted the ultimate dream team to ensure that they pulled off a fairytale wedding. Margi Thakkar-Patel was tasked with the important role of spearheading planning and design while L'Ambiance whipped up delightful decor. Makeup masters from Mahwish Ali and mehndi artists from Bhavna's Henna showed up bright and early to transform Reema into a magnificent Maharani in a green and red lehenga. This love journey is just beginning, so hurry back to witness all the ceremonial beauty. In the meantime, head into the full gallery where Photographick Studios has captured oodles of lovely photos.
How did you meet your Groom and when did you know he was "the one"?
Sunny and I actually went to college together for a few years at Temple before I transferred to Maryland. The funny thing is, we never actually met in college! After I transferred a mutual friend introduced us, knowing that we'd hit it off immediately considering our shared love of all things Bollywood. Sunny says that he knew that I was "the one" after our first date, he even has the text receipts to his best friend to prove it! I knew Sunny was "the one" after I met his family - the way he cared for his loved ones so deeply totally solidified that he'd treat me like a princess for the rest of my life!
Share the scoop on your Proposal Story!
Sunny told me that his sister wanted a girls weekend in Philadelphia for her birthday and I wanted to help her celebrate! He told me he was out of town for most of the day but that he'd meet up with us later for drinks. We had a hearty brunch, accompanied by a few mimosas (and a bottle or two of champagne), got our nails done and headed over to the art museum. Sunny met us there and walked me over to a gazebo overlooking the falls (just like in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai). He told me he had a present for me and pulled out a little black box. My heart stopped because I thought he was proposing but to my surprise, it was a golden snitch locket from Harry Potter. Being a huge Harry Potter fan, I was happy nonetheless. He asked me to open the locket and inside was a note that said "Will you marry me?" Sunny was on bent knee with a shiny ring and the rest is history!
Tell us how you went about planning your wedding, and your overall experience with the Venues, Hair & Makeup, Outfits, Decor Theme, and all of the other important details.
We actually started planning almost two years in advance! I wanted a super traditional wedding - think Devdas and a clean, minimalistic, modern reception. The venue was actually selected for both size and convenience. My parents, and most of my family, live 10 minutes away from the hotel. For guests traveling from outside of the area, the Marriott had a compliment 24 hour shuttle to and from BWI airport. A lot of our friends from NY or PA ended up taking the train in, which was also really close to the hotel!
All of our vendors were super experienced and that made all the difference in wedding planning. The hotel coordinator, Catrena, was amazing! She'd worked many other Indian weddings and she was always a phone call or text message away if we had any questions or concerns. Our day of coordinator, Lucky Events, did a great job communicating with all of our vendors and making sure things would be done in a timely manner. My makeup artist, Mahwish Ali, not only did my makeup but also did my hair which was great because I spent A LOT of time with her over the weekend and she definitely made me feel comfortable and confident! I had seen her work on social media and gotten a few referrals from previous clients of hers which put me at ease before the event. We went shopping in India and I actually travelled to four different cities in search of the perfect bridal outfit! For my henna, I had booked Bhavna's Henna after seeing her work on social media. Her professionalism far exceeded that of any other henna artist I had ever met and she even provided a consult to help custom design my bridal henna. I loved that bits and pieces of me and my love story were incorporated into the henna that prepped me for the biggest day of my life! As far as decor went, we just wanted a simple, colorful garba with "street cart" stations for food. Our decorator, Lambiance, even had a "food truck" set up that a lot of our guests enjoyed! For the wedding I wanted something super traditional - lots of reds and golds. (Think Devdas!) and I wanted a complete flip for the reception. We decided to go with a clean, elegant, minimalistic look for the reception which provided a stark contrast from the morning's ceremony.
How did you select your bridal lengha or wedding dress? Did you have a favorite color in mind?
I had originally anticipated wearing a Gujarati-panetar inspired lengha. I was looking for something that was predominantly white or cream, with hints of red and green. I had decided I would only purchase something that wowed me - this was more difficult than I had anticipated. I tried on numerous outfits and nothing seemed unique. Finally, the salesman started pulling various outfits that vaguely resembled panetars. When he pulled out the dress I chose, I was a little hesitant because it wasn't exactly what I pictured. However, when I tried it on, everyone in the room was stunned and I even found myself tearing up - despite the dress being mostly red. My biggest piece of advice to any bride that'd wedding shopping, try on things you think you might not like because you really never know!
What was the most enjoyable part of the planning process, and why?
My favorite part of the entire planning process was just working with my future husband and getting to spend so much time with him. I know a lot of people get in fights and end up dreading anything wedding-planning related but we actually worked really well together! It really solidified that I was making the right decision and that I picked the right partner for life. The road trips to and from Baltimore were always filled with laughs and love and I think that's something I'll cherish forever!
What did your guests particularly love about your Wedding?
While our decorations were beautiful, our main focus was the guest experience. We wanted everyone to have a good time. A friend of mine is a wedding planner (Memories by Mitali) and she gave us the best advice: Focus on three aspects of your wedding and try to highlight those. For us, the three aspects were convenience for guests, food and music! We made sure that all of the events, including breakfast, were conveniently located in the same area so that guests wouldn't have to travel too much. We still get compliments on the food at our wedding! Our caterer, Rasoi, did an amazing job helping us create a complete menu and the best part was that the food was made at the venue fresh every day! The guests enjoyed the live stations (what's cooler than seeing your food made right in front of you?!). In addition, both of our families and all of our friends LOVE to dance. For garba night we hired a live garba band which everyone seemed to enjoy a lot and our DJ, Live Sounds Entertainment ensured that the dance floor was packed the entire night at the reception!
Was there a really special moment in your wedding that constantly replays in your mind?
My favorite moment from the wedding was definitely my vidaai! Not the sad part, obviously, but the carriage that took us away was something straight out of a fairytale! I had wanted a "Cinderella Carriage" and had left it up to my husband to find it. He searched high and low until he found the perfect carriage. When I walked out and saw the carriage for the first time, I was speechless. I had never seen such beautiful horses, and the carriage was perfectly draped in vines and lights. I really felt like a princess when I stepped into the carriage!
For events other than your ceremony, please tell us as much as you would like about the decor, style, dances, and all the special details.
One of the cutest memories of my wedding would have to be the surprise performance by my nieces. An avid Bollywood fan myself, I used to dance at all of my family events and it just wouldn't be right if my nieces didn't dance at mine! They had choreographed an eclectic array of songs but the finale was the BEST! They performed to a childhood song that I used to dance to, using almost exactly the same choreography I did... I couldn't believe it!
Do you have any words of wisdom for Brides-To-Be?
My advice to brides-to-be would be to: 1) Try and rest up before each event, remember to drink lots of water and seek time for yourself! It can be super overwhelming to run on 2 hours of sleep while everyone is pulling you in every direction to get things done. My hubby and I snuck away from the reception for a bit just to kick our shoes off and enjoy being married! 2) When shopping, try on things that you don't think you'll like. I purposely went to India without knowing exactly what I wanted so that way I wouldn't be limiting myself to a few dresses. I definitely saw everything with an open mind and ended up with an outfit that I probably wouldn't have picked in a million years... and I loved it! 3) Don't stress the small things! Two of my flower girls had inadvertently left their matching outfits at home - I honestly didn't even stress about it. At the end of the day, I still had a magical weekend and I was married to the man I love! Isn't that what all this is for, after all?!
Anything else you want to tell us? We'd love to hear all about your other details! (jewelry, mehndi, venue, cake, bouquets, etc.)
Another small detail (I'm all about the details) that was a big hit was our cake. I had a pretty simple cake - it wasn't huge, trust me. However, we got fondant caricatures of ourselves and our puppy as cake toppers. The toppers were wearing the same exact outfits as us! In addition, the bakers hand painted roses all over the cake to match the details of the roses on my reception outfit. Kupcakes & Co. executed our vision seamlessly! And of course, the best vendor of all, Photographick, was there to capture it all. Sometimes the simpler things are, the better!
The ceremony kicks off in our next post!
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