Check out Juby & Shameer’s cross-cultural Detroit celebration—now live on the Platinum Guide Blog!
How did you meet your Groom and when did you know he was "the one"?
During undergrad, Shameer and I actually met on a mission trip in Honduras with WSU Global Brigades. We quickly became really good friends, and when we got back, we hung out a lot, whether it was studying on campus or stumbling upon new restaurants/bars in Detroit. Later on, we both went to grad schools at the same university, and our relationship blossomed from there. We've honestly grown up together and seen each other throughout all the stages of our twenties with school, graduation, long-distance moves, career achievements, and hardships. I know this is cheesy, but I knew he was the one because I felt it in my bones. Our love was steel; no matter what life threw at us, I knew that with him by my side, we could accomplish anything.
Share the scoop on your Proposal Story!
For the proposal, he planned a little scavenger hunt throughout Detroit at places that were meaningful to our relationship. One of our friends was waiting at every location with a clue and an old Polaroid of us. We went from the library where we first confessed our feelings, to our first holiday date spot, and finally to Parker's Alley, where we had left a lovelock at the gate years before. He proposed there with a heart-shaped arrangement surrounded by our closest friends. Later in the evening, we had dinner at the old Smith and Co restaurant, and afterwards, his sister and my best friend surprised me again with a decorated gazebo. He remembered that I had always loved the scene in "A Cinderella Story" with Hilary Duff dancing in the gazebo and replicated it with masquerade masks and flowers everywhere. The icing on the cake was when his brother-in-law played Kuch Kuch Hota Hai on his guitar while we slow danced as it began raining lightly. It truly felt epic.
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.
It was really important for us to tie in Pakistani, Punjabi, and Malayali traditions, so we hired Raj Singh from Events by Raj. He has done a lot of desi weddings in the Metro Detroit area from both of our cultures, so we knew he would be the best person for the job.
Starting off in the morning, I had my hair done by Lisa Malaj from Runway Salon who created a beautiful updo and adorned it with a silver crown. For makeup, I had it done by Linda Kanna who made my skin look flawless and absolutely gorgeous. We later took pictures at my house with family and bridesmaids in front of a stunning white backdrop with hanging chandeliers staged by Luxe Events Detroit.
Our church ceremony was at St. George Orthodox Church, which was absolutely stunning inside with murals and gold accents. We had a Christian ceremony with a mixture of English, Urdu, and Malayalam. Some of the Malayali traditions we had included were the Blessing of the Thali and Manthrakodi. For Christians in India, the thali has a minnu, which is a small gold leaf-shaped pendant with a cross made of small beads in the center. This is placed on a string made up of seven threads taken from the Manthrakodi (the bridal saree) gifted by the groom. The thali is tied around the neck of the bride during the ceremony to signify the lifelong, inseparable bond established in marriage. After, the groom places the manthrakodi (bridal saree) upon the bride's head to reflect the promise of the groom to honor, protect, and provide for his new bride for the rest of their lives. After the saree is placed on the bride's head, it also symbolizes the passing of the bride from the bride's sister to the groom's sister, who takes her place at the altar. We finished the church ceremony by lighting the unity candle to symbolize becoming one with Christ as our center. After the ceremony, we walked out of the church to bubbles and a traditional Kerala chenda melam played by Motown Melam. Once there, we were gifted our wedding flower varamala, which was created by Deets By J. Of course, we had to dance our way out! We also provided our guests with a snack box from Punjabi Indian Cuisine with samosas, Kathi roll, and sweets after the ceremony to tie them over till cocktail hour.
Next, we took our bridal party photos at the Detroit Institute of Arts and then headed to Wayne State's Main Campus to pay homage to where it all began.
Our reception took place at The Henry, Autograph Collection Hotel in Dearborn, MI. We worked really closely with Jennifer Silich, the hotel's main event manager. She made sure that everything was set up properly and helped us stick to the timeline to get all the events done, which was super important. During cocktail hour, we had guests enjoy different appetizers including vegetable samosas, coconut chicken, dumplings, and mini beef wellingtons. We also had a musician play Bollywood songs on the piano in the background, which was a great addition by our coordinator.
Our reception theme was "A Sky full of stars" by Coldplay. We wanted the reception to feel magical, so we had our guests enter into a light tunnel leading to the room, where they would see the crystals hanging from the ceiling and stars falling on the LED Screen on stage. We had a lot of candles throughout the room, hanging chandeliers decorated by Couture Events, and large white florals with blue accents for the centerpieces from Elegante Productions by Renee. By this stage, we had a breathtaking tier wedding cake by Angel Cakes that had flowers cascading down each tier and crystal accents. Inside was a triple berry cake, which was so decadent and heavenly. Also at each table setting, we had our wedding favors from Izzy Macarons. Each favor had two macarons- one was a custom Blueberry Cheesecake flavor, and the other was Brigadeiro to represent us and our personalities.
Dj Ice & Fresh Productions did an amazing job with lighting and music to set us up for an incredible night. When it came to the entrances, we had our groomsmen enter into "Welcome 2 Detroit," and I had my bridesmaids enter into "Pretty Girls Walk." Then, finally, we got to enter in as husband and wife with the song "A Sky Full of Stars." And to add to the hype, we had fireworks go off as we danced alongside the bridal party towards the cake, which we then cut. Our first dance as a married couple was to " I Won't Give Up" by Jason Mraz. The LED screen showed stars falling in the background while our fireworks went off again. After the dance. I left to change into the bridal saree and had a surprise entrance back into the reception room with my cousins to "Sajna" by Badshah.
We had a traditional sweet milk ceremony where the mothers of the bride and groom presented the couple with sweet milk to bless the marriage, which was meant to sweeten married life. The mother of the bride gives the milk to the groom, and the mother of the groom gives the milk to the bride to symbolize welcoming their new child into their family. We also lit a cross diya along with our parents to symbolize
unity for us to create a family and bring light and prosperity.
After that, we had our dances with our parents. Shameer danced with his mom to "93 Million Miles," which was so sweet. Later, I danced with my dad to a Malayali song, "Aattuthotil," and we remixed it with "Muqabla" to end it with something fun. Muqabla was one of our favorite songs when I was a kid, so I knew we had to add it in.
Lastly, after the family speeches, we changed into our final outfits- Shameer wore a traditional Velvet Midnight Blue Sherwani, and I wore a custom silver/blue gown from Natasha Dalal to represent the theme. We made our last entry together, busting out bhangra moves to "GOAT" by Diljit, and had our Punjabi Dhol Player accompany us. Then, there were some Mollywood/ Bollywood dance performances and flash mobs by both our families and friends. Finally, the DJ gathered us all out on the dance floor for a group photo to start off the dancing, and we gave our guests customized "Juby & Shameer" LED glow sticks. Later on in the night, we surprised the room with CO2 guns blasting cool mist while we had the DJ play "Pepas" in the background. It was a lot of fun and one of my favorite moments that night.
While they weren't dancing, guests were able to enjoy our Photo Booth from QuikPix by Anthony Samona. We also had a stunning sweet treat dessert station from The Henry that featured petit fours, cheesecake, mousse, tarts, eclairs, dessert bars, turtle cups, cookies, and chocolate dipped strawberries. For a midnight snack, we had Chick-fil-A sandwiches and chips that everyone devoured.
How did you select your bridal lengha or wedding dress? Did you have a favorite color in mind?
So I had three different outfits for my wedding day. For the church ceremony, I wore an American white wedding gown designed by Jenna in White that had a beautiful beaded corset bodice and layers of lace cascading down the train. It was the first dress I tried on, and I fell in love. I tried other gowns, but my mom and bestie kept saying to go back to the first one. I truly felt like a princess in it and could imagine myself walking to my husband. For my Manthrakodi saree, we got it from Kerala, and instead of red, we picked a saree that was our favorite color, Ocean blue, with silver thread accents. It was definitely hard to find it in Kerala, but after many WhatsApp calls, we found the perfect saree. My last outfit was from Natasha Dalal Label, and it was inspired by our theme "A Sky full of Stars," fading from light blue into midnight blue with crystal appliques and heavy silver beaded embroidery. I wanted to have a dress that allowed me to move and have fun while sparkling throughout the night.
What was the most enjoyable part of the planning process, and why?
We really loved our experience at The Henry, especially during our tasting, where we got to sample the appetizers and entrees that we would later serve the guests. The chef, Pat, is absolutely amazing and so sweet. We really wanted to have everything we were served. The tasting was also when it hit us that the wedding was really coming to life because it was something tangible that we got to do beforehand.
What did your guests particularly love about your Wedding?
From what we have heard, they really loved the reception decor, including the hanging crystals above the dance floor and the florals throughout the room. My aunts really loved that we had desi snacks after the wedding ceremony as well. The DJ was a big hit, especially when we used CO2 guns and LED glow sticks to hype everyone up. In addition, the kids really loved the elephant ice sculptures by the entrance, which were the perfect modern touch to tie in our Indian/American heritage.
Was there a really special moment in your wedding that constantly replays in your mind?
At the end of the reception, it was just me and my husband in the room, so we asked the DJ to play "Perfect" by Ed Sheeran, and we slow danced together, taking in the beauty of the room and that day for the last time. It was the perfect way to end the night.
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.
For the first choreographed dance at the reception, we had my cousins dancing to Malayali/Bollywood songs that ended in a Mallu flashmob with my family and church family to "Chunkzz" Wedding Song, where we got pulled in to join as well. It truly felt like we were in a Mollywood movie during the dance! When I was younger, I really struggled with being an American Mallu trying to fit in with everyone. Now, I'm so proud of my Malayali heritage. I was truly grateful for the dance and to have the support of my family and loved ones in the community.
The next group dance included our friends and Shameer's family members, who were listening to Bollywood/ Punjabi Bhangra songs. We tried to include all the hits in the past years with "What Jhumka" with all the girls, "Sauda Khara Khara," "Jhoome Jo Pathan" as a group, and of course " Sher Khul Gaye." Shameer then joined the group to his favorite Diljit song "Lover." After that, they pulled me into the group with "Chaleya" with everyone. When the chorus ended, it was just me and Shameer on the floor dancing to "Tum Kya Mile" ( our favorite Bollywood love song). But of course, the group wanted to cut the cheesiness and bust out the bhangra moves to "CASE" by Diljit. We ended with everyone dancing to "Calm Down" by Rema and free-styling.
Do you have any words of wisdom for Brides-To-Be?
Try to be present in every moment and have fun! The day goes by so quickly, and it will be all done before you know it. It is the day you have been planning for months, and it is a rare day when everyone who loves you is all in one place to support you and celebrate your love. There will definitely be things that won't go as planned, and that is okay. What matters most is that you get to marry your best friend, and no one can take that away from you.
Anything else you want to tell us? We'd love to hear all about your other details! (jewelry, mehndi, venue, cake, bouquets, etc.)
Going into the wedding, we were worried at times that the differences in cultures would potentially become trickier as the wedding week approached. But in fact, everyone involved loved the variety in our dances, food, and music. If anything, our differences actually made our wedding more interesting and fun, not only to plan but to go through. I think most, if not all, of our guests walked away happier to see a union that was able to cross country lines because it showed how much we cared about one another deep down. In the end, love will always prevail. For anyone worried about Pakistanis and Indians coming together without any drama, just remember that your love is the beating heart of it all. When others see that, it becomes infectious and sets the tone for everyone.
I also forgot to mention the bridal henna. For the bridal Mehndi, we hired an amazing henna artist, Bhoomika from Radhe Henna, who was able to bring my vision to life, plus more. In the design, we wanted to keep the back of the hands traditional and have the palms and inner arms reveal a couple of our love stories. On the right hand, we had the Detroit Skyline and a little airplane in the sky for our love of travel. On the left, we had a little Anime girl and boy giving her the cutest " I Love You" forehead kiss. We also include little elephants within the design to represent our roots.
Stars really do align—especially when love, laughter, and a little bit of bhangra light up the sky.
