Good morning, Maharanis! We know how much you enjoy these love stories, and how inspiring they can be, that is why we are really excited to share Ashmi & Akshat's wedding celebration with you as it is one for the books! We are starting this love story by taking a look at the lovely photos that Lightyear Studio captured, showing the most tender and intimate moments of this young couple prior to their wedding ceremony. Through each of these photos, we can follow the process of both our lovebirds getting ready and heading to a charming and fun-loving photoshoot that we cannot stop seeing. Although outdoor photo shoots are becoming really popular, Ashmi & Akshat managed to surprise us, creating an outdoor photo session like no other! Even their friends participated in this photo shoot, creating romantic and fun scenes that made us draw a smile on our face, and we are loving every single detail of it! Ashmi looked like Royalty on her traditional burgundy lengha that was embellished with golden patterns, while Akshat was rocking a stylish yet traditional Sherwani suit in champagne and golden colors, and ended up looking like the real Raja he is! We are loving the glowing yet discreet makeup that Makeup by Shaili created to praise Ashmi's beauty. The color palette selected for the shades, the on-point eyeliner contour and the matte tone selected for the lipstick, all a perfect combination to create a dreamy look for Ashmi. And what about that Mehndi design done by Henna by Jinal, it is spectacular! All the talent, expertise and artistry present on this design is simply mesmerizing. If you don't want to miss any single detail of this photoshoot, head into today's gallery for more! 

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How did you meet your Groom and when did you know he was "the one"?
When Akshat and Ashmi first met all those years ago at Rutgers, they didn’t know what to expect. But getting to know one another was easy and soon enough, they were goofing off together all the time. From study dates to poking wars, they became best friends even though they were like night and day. They say the best relationships start off as friendships first. Even though they lost touch, both of them somehow found their way back to one another. Akshat and Ashmi's story was never meant to end there; it was only just beginning. After reconnecting years later, both of them found themselves falling back into old patterns and restarting an old friendship. So, Akshat and Ashmi ventured back out to where their story first began and spent their first night out together on College Ave catching up and sharing old stories. Eventually, endless texts became long phone calls, which became late night conversations that led to the first date of many. Rose petals and scented candles lit the path to where Akshat stood in his room waiting to ask Ashmi to start the first of many adventures with him. What they thought to only be friendship turned out to be so much more...
 
Share the scoop on your Proposal Story!
Akshat decided to fly all of our closest friends into Tampa, Florida where we were living together at the time. I admit that I was slightly oblivious as I had thought I had arranged for all my friends to come see me for the weekend. I started to get suspicious when my girlfriends kept asking me to get a mani pedi since I'm not really one to paint my nails. The next day we were all headed to Sunset Beach where Akshat got down on one knee and asked me to marry him with the most beautiful Harry Potter inspired ring in a golden snitch with all of my closest friends wearing Harry Potter shirts spelling out "Will You Marry Me?". Of course I said yes! 
 
How did you select your bridal lengha or wedding dress? Did you have a favorite color in mind?
I knew I wanted a maroon or wine colored bridal lengha so my mom decided to go shopping in India for it since she was already there for a business trip. It was definitely a grueling process since the whatsapp video connection in India was terrible. So, I finally agreed to a lengha not knowing what it fully looked like due to the poor quality of the video call. However, when I saw it in person, I fell in love. When I wore it the day of our wedding, it was everything and more. I felt absolutely stunning in it. 
 
What did your guests particularly love about your Wedding?
Probably the food. When is food not the big winning factor at a big fat indian wedding? Unless of course it sucked, but in this case it didn't. Thanks Rasoi for coming through for us! 
 
Do you have any words of wisdom for Brides-To-Be?
I would say elope! Or have a destination wedding because planning a wedding for 300+ people is crazy hectic. At the end of the day, I would say I wanted a more intimate wedding at a more romantic location. But we all know know at the end of the day, indian weddings are not really about us but more for our guests and parents. Despite this, I loved each and every moment of our big day and ended up being such a remarkable memory that I can't wait to share with my children and grandchildren one day. 
 
Don't forget to join us at Ashmi & Akshat's wedding ceremony! We will be waiting for you! 
STYLE
GUIDE
style
Traditional
Romantic
Mehndi
season
Summer
color
Planning & Design: Chandai Events | Mehndi Artists: Henna by Jinal | Venues: The Marigold | Hair & Makeup: Makeup by Shaili | Catering: Catering By Rasoi | Cinematography: Lightyear Studio | Photography: Lightyear Studio