Step into the dreamy wedding of Ashley & Nick, now featured on our Platinum Guide Blog!
How did you meet your Groom and when did you know he was "the one"?
Nick and I met in the most conventional way nowadays, over Dil Mil. He was my first and only match on the app, and he managed to get a date by smooth-talking me with Game of Thrones, crunchwraps, and margaritas. Our first date was memorable, and it lasted way longer than either of us expected (7 hours), but I would say it was our second date that really cemented things! One Yankees game and post-game cocktails at a bar on the Upper East Side, and Nick's friends knew before he did that he was serious about this girl that he ditched them for! I realized that he was "the one" slowly over the next few months and gradually through countless memories, so many funny moments, and the start of a lifetime of adventure with my very best friend. The rest was inevitable, undeniable, and he's been my best friend ever since that very first date.
Share the scoop on your Proposal Story!
Nick had already spilled the beans slightly by taking me to the shop for rings back in March, so I knew it was coming. But he somehow chose the absolute hottest day in July! He had concocted this cover story about going to his cousin's birthday, which meant we had to dress up and look fancy, of course. Nick in a suit, me in a dress, combined with the nervousness and the heat, and trying to hide a very obvious ring box in his pocket? Very funny combo. We were in the Uber en route to Jersey City, where the "drinks" were supposedly being held, which started at 3:00 pm. Nick maintained his composure when I looked up the restaurant times and saw that it was closed during the day, and said that they kept the bar open only during that time! Not suspicious at all.... When we got there, we walked all the way to the water view, and out popped a photographer in front of the most beautiful "MARRY ME" sign with pictures. Nick immediately got down on a knee in front of the sign, and I couldn't tell you the rest because I blacked out, but soon after came so many tears and a resounding "Yes, of course!" Somehow, our parents, siblings, and my grandma - I had no idea they were even there, watching the whole thing happen! After taking some fire pictures (it was 100 degrees out), Nick led us to our friend's apartment rooftop, where he orchestrated a surprise party with all our family and friends. I knew something would happen and was expecting a small number of people, but he somehow got 130 of our closest family and friends in one place to surprise me. It was the best celebration I could have ever asked for, and, of course, the night ended with Taco Bell :)
How did you select your bridal lengha or wedding dress? Did you have a favorite color in mind?
When we first got engaged, I went shopping with my mom at a few designer stores in NYC to get an idea of what kind of designs and colors I liked. I fell in LOVE with one particular red lehenga, but I still wasn't 100% sure if it was the color for me. Cut to March - my mom and I head to India for a weeklong shopping spree, and the first few days of searching, I find absolutely nothing I like. We went to store after store, and on Day 7, I was on the verge of a mental breakdown. Finally, I decided to look at bridal lehengas from Chamee and Palak - I had only considered buying outfits from this store for other events, but had never looked at their wedding outfits. I finally found one that I absolutely loved; it was a dream come true! Palak took the time to work with me throughout the next few months over WhatsApp, and she absolutely nailed it, especially the berry-red color I had envisioned from the very first dress I tried on. I'm so happy that I ended up going with this bridal look, as it was the perfect fit and a beautiful blend of intricacy and tradition.
What did your guests particularly love about your Wedding?
Even before we started officially planning, Nick and I knew in our hearts that we wanted a destination wedding for a unique and intimate experience. The two things that people still talk about, to this day, are the choice of resort and the food. Everyone knows that food, alcohol, and music are the three most important aspects of any wedding! The Omni Orlando at Championsgate Resort is absolutely stunning and was the perfect place to hold our multi-day wedding. Our guests absolutely loved the variety of food from Saffron and Khasiyat; both teams were able to use their creativity to the max to provide so many different options for our guests throughout each and every event. It was so much fun having everyone under one roof and having the opportunity to hang out with everyone for a whole week! A lot of family members also used our wedding as a reason to visit the theme parks, so I’m sure the kids (and adults) appreciated the location as well!
Was there a really special moment in your wedding that constantly replays in your mind?
Early on, I saw an Instagram reel posted by another photography team of a stop-motion video shoot to lead into our reception entrance. I saved it and referenced it when we first met with Claudia and Kevin from Riant Films. They took this one small video and absolutely ran with it, even though it was something they had never done before. On one of our trips to Florida before the wedding, we got dressed in our reception outfits and spent 4 hours on a rainy Sunday filming at the Omni with them, running around the hotel in full glam and my sparkly reception lehenga with Nick in his suit. Seeing that one idea come to fruition was one of my favorite parts of the wedding, and something we got a lot of compliments on as well! Nick and I were so excited about the video, and there’s a memorable photo one of our planners took of us peeking in through the doors to watch the video as it was played before we entered. People thought that we had filmed it the same day and were absolutely stunned when the video ended and our incredible DJ, Jiten, blasted David Guetta’s “I’m Good (Blue)” before we came in and the party officially began!
Do you have any words of wisdom for Brides-To-Be?
Both of us are younger siblings and have had some family experiences of planning an Indian wedding; however, nothing prepares you for the craziness, chaos, and all the decisions you have to make when it’s your own wedding. One of the best parts of planning this wedding was that Nick was 100% involved from the beginning and was as focused as I was about every single detail that made this wedding ours. It was about creating an event that respected both of our families’ traditions, making decisions together, and celebrating our love to the absolute fullest. My advice to future brides would be that the wedding should be an “us” event, a lot of people think that it should only be the bride, but it’s a much more enjoyable experience if you’re able to do this as a team, making sure that the events are what both of you envision for one of the most important weekends of your lives. We were both detailed about our collective “vision” during every single vendor meeting and were really clear about what we wanted during each event. However, another piece of advice is that, as clear as you are during all your vendor meetings, sometimes things happen during the actual event, and you have to go with the flow. You can spend all this time trying to plan the perfect weekend, but the second you step foot into the craziness of the wedding weekend, it’s helpful to maintain a “whatever happens, happens” mentality - we did that and we were able to enjoy every single moment of that weekend together. I'm incredibly thankful to all of our family and friends who were helping out every single moment of that weekend, especially our siblings, uncles, and parents, who did everything in their power to make this the most memorable and special weekend of our lives.
With love, laughter, and luxe décor, this wedding was one for the Maharani history books!
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