Darlings, we're diving into Lori & Rakesh's fairytale. Their love story started at the Warwick Hotel Rittenhouse Square, where Mehndi's night unfurled with rhythmic beats, thanks to DJ Ravi Jackson. Lori's palms were adorned with intricate mehndi designs by the talented Henna by Sushma. Her designs were a splendid mix of intricate traditional motifs and contemporary elegance. Jamie Hollander Weddings hosted the solemn ceremony and exuberant reception, where the creative geniuses at Beautiful Blooms Events enhanced its beauty—Rakesh's arrival in style, courtesy of Rags To Rickshaws. The seamless flow and exquisite attention to detail at each event were the handiwork of the exceptional wedding planner, Ask Neha Now. She knows all the secrets of the perfect vendors and specializes in mixed-culture weddings like this one. Sugar Bomb Entertainment accompanied this journey with melodic tunes. Lori's hair and makeup by Elegance Artistry made her look like a true Maharani. Sajda By Suman was in charge of the perfect white/light pink lehenga and customized sherwani. Bukhara Grill tantalized my taste buds with its exquisite catering. What truly captured the essence of this wedding was the timeless photographs by Maria A. Garth Photography. Her lens captured every moment, weaving a visual narrative that this couple will cherish forever. Enjoy it.
Share the scoop on your Proposal Story!
We designed my engagement ring together with the help of William Schwartz Jewelers in Philadelphia. Since we had gone ring shopping together, I knew the proposal was coming, but I was not exactly sure when. One February morning, I had gone out for about 45 minutes, and in that time, Rakesh sprung into action decorating our entire house with candles, flowers, and a million pictures from our years together. When I walked in, I think my first words were, "Is this what I think it is?!" At the top of the candle trail, Rakesh was waiting on one knee!
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 could not have done it without our wedding planner - Neha Joshi of Ask Neha Now. Neha might be the best wedding planner and coordinator in existence. She specializes in mixed culture weddings (Hindu and Jewish in our case) and worked hard to ensure smooth and seamless coordination for our Sangeet and wedding.
Neha knows all the secrets of finding the perfect vendors, and we could not have been happier or more thankful for these vendors -
Wedding planner: @asknehanow
Photographer: @mariaagarthphotography
Decor: @beautifulbloomsevents
Hair & makeup: @eleganceartistrygroup
Bridal henna: @hennabysushma
Bridal draping: @shilpashenna
Venue: @jh_weddings @jhcateringevents
Wedding day lehenga/sherwani: @sajdabysuman
Band: @sugarbomb_entertainment
Officiants: @cantorlaurastein & Priest Vimal Raval
How did you select your bridal lengha or wedding dress? Did you have a favorite color in mind?
Since we were having a multi-cultural fusion wedding (Hindu & Jewish), I wanted to make sure our outfits were appropriate for both cultures, so I landed on wanting to find a white lehenga. Nishi from Sajda in Edison, NJ, helped create the perfect white/light pink lehenga and then customized a sherwani for Rakesh to match.
What was the most enjoyable part of the planning process, and why?
We LOVED food tastings! We wanted to have Indian street food for our Sangeet, a traditional Indian buffet for our Wedding day dinner, and an American-style cocktail hour. And I had my heart set on which cake I wanted for my wedding for over 5 years (the white chocolate cream with chocolate chip cake from Sweet Eats Bakery in Voorhees, NJ). Our tasting at Bukhara Grill blew us away with the amount and quality of food we were able to try - we were sold right away. We also went to a group-style tasting at Jamie Hollander Catering and Events, which created the perfect cocktail hour.
What did your guests particularly love about your Wedding?
Our ceremony! We wanted a fusion ceremony with two officiants who could complete the ceremony in under an hour! As the traditional Hindu wedding can be multiple hours/days and the rituals are more elaborate than a 20-minute typical Jewish ceremony, our main focus was ensuring that our cultures were balanced and that it wasn't a Hindu wedding with one or two Jewish elements or vice versa. Our two officiants, Cantor Laura Stein and Priest Vimal Raval (Indian Priest NJ), worked together to create the most unique and special ceremony, helping us to select the elements that were most important to us as a couple and condense the ceremony in a respectful and meaningful way.
Do you have any words of wisdom for Brides-To-Be?
Build in time to eat/escape together for a few minutes on the wedding day! This helped us slow down the day and be able to soak it all in.
Let this love story inspire your dreams. Remember to leave us a comment and come back for more.
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