Bookmark this, Maharanis: Neha & Will’s all-star pros shine inside our Platinum Guide Blog.
How did you meet your Groom and when did you know he was "the one"?
Will and I met on Bumble in May 2020 during the pandemic. After a few messages back and forth, we successfully transitioned from the app to the phone. Due to the chaos of the pandemic, physically going on dates was a bit difficult. Fortunately, we were able to focus on our communication skills and were even able to have movie dates via FaceTime. Once the world opened up a bit, we were able to go on our first official date, which was the drive-in. We spent the entire time talking and making fun of the movie rather than actually watching it. Looking back, I feel like I knew pretty early on that he was "the one" based on how comfortable I was around him and that we were able to build a strong foundation before ever meeting face to face.
Share the scoop on your Proposal Story!
My favorite date we had ever been on was when he took me on a walk around the botanical gardens in Claremont, CA. We spent hours just walking around, talking and appreciating natural beauty. It was around our 6th-7th date, so I felt as if we were open to lowering our protective shields and being vulnerable. We talked more in depth about our life experiences and difficult times. I remember feeling the safest I had ever felt around a guy. After that, we ended up driving up to Mt Baldy, watching the sunset, and had dinner at the local diner. For our proposal story, Will recreated my favorite date, but this time, it included a beautiful, sparkly ring and one simple question =)
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.
Unfortunately, due to my work schedule at the time of planning, I did not have a lot of time allotted to plan a grand wedding. I knew I needed help. I was lucky to find an amazing wedding planner, Rachel Ashtamkar @ranirajaweddings, who specializes in Indian-Fusion weddings. One of the most important things for me in planning this wedding was to make sure I incorporated my husband's culture as much as my own. Indian culture, as we know, places a very strong cultural importance on weddings, and I wanted to make sure I added Colombian touches to pay homage to Will and his family.
Our venue, Los Willows @loswillows, was incredible and very open to our rich celebrations. I am very grateful to Lisa and Lynne at Los Willows for making the planning smooth and our stay at their beautiful on-property Villa comfortable. They were just as excited and accepting to celebrate our love as we were. They even provided our lively and talented DJ/host/MC, George Washington, who was so great! They also allowed us to bring in outside catering, including my friends at @biikho.colombianfoo,d who brought a little bit of home for my Colombian in-laws/family. Shout out Hanna & Hanan!
For my hair and makeup, I was so happy I found Shirley @surelybeautiful through my wedding planner, Rachel. Shirley was taught by and worked alongside DressYourFace and likely was a star student. During our makeup trial, we both vibed on music and being millennials. She made me feel seen, and her work spoke for itself. I managed to find a Latina woman who knew how to dress an Indian bride better than the Indian bride herself could manage!
For my henna, I was blessed to be graced by the queen herself, Neha Assar @nehaassar. She was the very first person I booked before my planner or venue. I have followed her work for years and was so excited when she was available for my wedding! Her work speaks for itself.
For decor, my wedding planner suggested a wonderful woman named Deepti @deeptisflorals. Turns out Deepti also had done the decor for a few friends' weddings as well, and came highly recommended! She turned my vision of an Indian/Colombian street vendor fair of a Sangeet into a gorgeous reality. She also helped turn my ceremony/reception into the pastel, elegant event of my dreams.
For my outfits, I had gotten my ceremony dress straight from India, but I was able to find a gorgeous, magenta sparkly number for my Sangeet at @manshaaobsession and a gold, custom reception lengha from @frontierheritage. A special shout-out to @shyamalbhumika, who styled my husband and mother-in-law!
Last, but certainly not least, I have to pay my respects and utter gratefulness to our photographer, Oleg, and his team at Bogdan Weddings. Oleg is INCREDIBLY talented and just an overall amazing person. He made us feel at ease with each awkward pose and continued to make us laugh through each session. I was blessed to have a very supportive team that made this wedding everything I wanted and more.
Was there a really special moment in your wedding that constantly replays in your mind?
Two special moments that stood out to me during my wedding were the reception father/daughter dance and dance battling my mom during my Sangeet. They both represented the vastly different relationships I have with my parents, but were equally important to me to experience in my life. I'll forever hold both experiences near and dear to my heart
Do you have any words of wisdom for Brides-To-Be?
The only advice I have for any brides-to-be is to truly think about what is special to you about your wedding and focus a lot on that. Make that one/two things very special and pay attention to details in how you want to portray it. Other than that, have fun and remember you are building memories/pictures to last a lifetime, so photography is key!!
May their days be peach-lit and nights car-lit; cheers to a love that never stops dancing, too!
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