Hello, Maharanis! Tradition, elegance, romance and an everlasting love story that is just beginning; that's what we have for you today! If you are eager to know more about Charu & Manan's wedding celebration, you cannot miss their solemn and vibrant wedding ceremony, it is one to remember! This time it was The Marigold, that hosted this unique and romantic ceremony. The exclusive halls of this imposing venue were completely transformed into a magical and mesmerizing scenario that resembled the interiors of an Indian palace thanks to the incredible work of Elegant Affair's crew. The beautiful bamboo mandap with white and light pink roses with greenery and a stunning flower wall provided the perfect atmosphere for Charu & Manan to share their love and commitment in the company of their family and friends. Both our lovebirds looked ravishing for this wedding ceremony, but we want to make a special shoutout to Makeup By Anu Sarin for the incredible hairstyle and makeup created for Charu. Without any question, this dreamy look endowed her with elegance and style while praising her natural beauty! Simply amazing! We also want to thank Lightyear Studio for the incredible shots that were taken during this event, as it thanks to their remarkable work that we get to relive this romantic and elegant wedding ceremony. If you want to see more of it, don't miss the gallery that we have prepared for today! You will be charmed!
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How did you meet your Groom and when did you know he was "the one"?
I met my husband at the Olive Branch in New Brunswick at Rutgers Campus. We were both there with a group of friends and just happened to start chatting at the bar and never stopped talking from that day on. He wined and dined me and after the first official date, I remember calling up my best friend/maid of honor and telling her, "I think he's the one! I'm going to marry that guy." Something about him just stuck and I always wanted to be around him or talking to him and luckily it all worked out for the best!
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.
My husband and I both have experience in the wedding industry, him a bit more than me, so we sort of had the big things planned in our head before even putting pen to paper. We knew exactly which caterer, decorator, DJ, event planner, and photographer we wanted. We started with those and kept adding on from there. We ended up choosing the first venue that we looked at, which was the Marigold. We got married right at the beginning of wedding season on March 30, so all of the vendors were available and we locked everything in.
Picking a hair and makeup artist is super important because you want to look and feel your best on your wedding day. I had only two trials and ended up picking my artist, Anu Sarin, right after the trial was done. It's important to work with someone who listens to what you want, makes changes based on how you feel in the look, and someone you trust. She and I got along from the beginning and she was very easy to work with which made me feel comfortable.
I knew that I wanted a beautiful, elegant, and romantic wedding theme, with light colors and whites and light pinks and candles. That's all I said when I went to the Elegant Affairs meeting, and they turned my vision into a reality. We had beautiful cherry blossom centerpieces, a bamboo mandap with white and light pink roses with greenery and a stunning flower wall. We had candelabras and hanging orbs and lots of candles. It was right out of a fairytale!
Picking the right DJ is extremely important because if your guests will remember anything from your wedding, its the food and the music! We went with DJ Sunny Entertainment and they KILLED it. From the Sangeet to the wedding reception, people were on the dance floor the entire night. It didn't even clear out for dinner. They helped us design our custom dance floor, our huge video wall, the sparklers and the fog clouds for our first dance. The emcee was high energy and kept the vibe going all night.
How did you select your bridal lengha or wedding dress? Did you have a favorite color in mind?
I got my wedding dress in Bombay and I had taken out a bunch of dresses to try on. I knew I wanted to wear a full red lehenga and green jewelry to contrast with it. I put on a few dresses but none of them had that wow factor. Then I put one dress on (the one I ended up with) and thought oh this one is beautiful and it's sparkling and it put a smile on my face right away. I still wanted to see other ones because I didn't want to miss anything, so we put it on the side. After seeing a few more I tried on my dress again and another woman walked by showing interest in it and pointing at it like she wanted to buy it. At that moment I told my mom to pack it up, this is the one!
What did your guests particularly love about your Wedding?
Our guests are still complimenting the food from the whole wedding week. We had Moghul Caterers and they did such a fabulous job. We have heard nothing but good things! We didn't want to repeat any items and tried to make sure our guests had food they haven't had before since Moghul is so popular. They worked with us to customize our menu and it worked out awesome.
Another thing people loved was the live music we had during the cocktail hour. Philadelphia String Quartet played upbeat music during the cocktail hour, played on the dance floor as people found their seats, and then played violins over our first dance song as we slow danced. It was definitely one of the highlights and everyone loved it!
Was there a really special moment in your wedding that constantly replays in your mind?
The first dance was really perfect. We had a whole choreographed dance that we practiced but when we got on the dance floor, we ended up forgetting all of it and forgoing the choreography. We just started dancing. We added in a few special touches and spins we remembered from the choreography but the rest of it was just pure happiness and enjoying the moment.
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.
I did a lot of DIY things for the wedding. For example, we had hotel bags custom made in India, I had popcorn boxes with the hindu ceremony program on the sides of the boxes, I designed the menu cards for the reception, custom cocktail napkins, bar signs, the signs for the food stations at the sangeet, etc. I tried to be creative, while not going completely overboard. Everything ended up coming together beautifully and all of the hard work was definitely worth it. Luckily my wonderful and super helpful family sat there and helped me assemble everything on all of the weekends leading up to the wedding! That family time ended up being the most enjoyable part of the wedding planning process!
Do you have any words of wisdom for Brides-To-Be?
I personally put the planning aside one week before my first wedding event. I HIGHLY recommend every bride do this, just so you can thoroughly be present in the moment and truly enjoy your wedding week. I was confident that I had all of the top vendors in the state working at my wedding and I left it to them to see my vision through, and they really did just that and put on the perfect wedding. Every bride needs to just be in the moment and enjoy it because that week flew by and I would do anything to relive it. Things can go wrong and it won't always be perfect, but no one will notice except you! Don't pay mind to the little things and just fully enjoy being with your family, friends, and loved ones because that week is all about YOU and everyone is there to celebrate YOU (and your hubby)!
We still have more to come, so stick around if you don't want to miss it!
