Happy Tuesday, ladies! We hope your week has been off to a great start! Ours has just brightened up with your lovely company because we were dying to share with you Deepali & Ajay's beautiful wedding celebration. So, wait no more and get ready to be amazed! Every single shot captured by DARS Photography overflows with beauty and traditional flair, and we cannot stress how much we love them! Just take a look at how beautiful this lovely duo looked like throughout the entire festivities! One of our favorite events was the wedding ceremony hosted at the 502 East Event Center. And all that we have to say is that we are still sighing over this wedding as it was thoroughly planned and designed by the bride herself. She had a vision of how she wanted her dream wedding to be, so she took the wheel to make it happen! How amazing is that! To accomplish it, she brought Indiana Wedding Decorators on board to take care of the decor. And what a great decision it was as the talent they have in creating magical settings is out of the question, and this wedding celebration was no exception! Everyone had a great time and were utterly impressed with our gorgeous Maharani's fantastic look after being pampered by Bhavika Pandya. But that is not all! She also got a spectacular Mehndi outlined by Mendhika - Creations by Krupali, and oh boy, we have on words to describe such a masterpiece! If you want to check more of this lovely wedding enlivened by DJ Mavi Productions, make sure to visit our full gallery. You will love it, and will get tons of inspiring ideas!
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How did you meet your Groom and when did you know he was "the one"?
Whenever someone asks, "How did you guys meet?". Deepali always answers, "At my cousins wedding." Ajay quickly jumps in to correct her and tells this story:
We did actually meet at a wedding but we didn't really get to talk to each other. Deepali was sitting on stage with her cousin and right before the ceremony started I was asked to hold the sheet up that separates the bride and groom. The first thing I noticed up there was this beautiful smile. Deepali tried to make small talk but it didn't really turn into conversation. After the wedding was over, I was serving lunch and Deepali generously offers to make a plate for her Kaka (Uncle) just so she could come back in line one more time. Once again a couple words were said but no progress.
I go up to my parents and ask them if we knew this girl that was sitting up on the stage because her face looked so familiar. Neither of them could help me figure out why I recognized this face and so I dropped it.
The day after the wedding Deepali's cousin asks her if she was interested in anyone at the wedding and she said, "The guy holding the sheet on the stage was cute." So they got Ajays cousin and uncle involved and tried to let the families make something happen.
Back at home, I finally realize where I had seen her face before...7 months earlier my friends made a dating profile for me on Shaadi.com (an Indian dating app) and Deepali was one of the girls that had caught my eye. I went back on the app a few weeks after the wedding and sent her a request to connect. She accepted the request...14 days later. Of course I still couldn't message her without paying for a subscription. I thought to myself, is this girl worth it and finally decided to pay for the app and send her a message. Little did I know, during this time my dad was talking to Deepali's side of the family trying to get a picture of her, so he could show me. That never progressed and shortly after my dad found out that I had already been talking to her.
A few days of messaging and we decided to meet up. After that it didn't take long for us to hit if off, and the rest is history.
We saw each other at the wedding in Dallas, TX on April 7, 2018 and we were engaged that same year on December 29, 2018 in Indianapolis, IN.
Share the scoop on your Proposal Story!
December 29, 2018
9:00am
Ajay wakes up and says he wants IHOP, quickly gets in the shower and continues to force me to stop being lazy and get up. I finally go take a shower and once I get out, he is no where to be found.
There is a card and a rose laying on my bed. I am told to quickly get ready and be downstairs by 9:45am
A man gets out of a party bus and asks if the ride is for me. My response, “I don’t think so”. So he gets back into the bus. A few seconds later he steps out and says “Your chariot awaits you”. Inside the bus Keya (best friend) is already waiting for me with a bunch of champagne, whiskey, and wine.
She hands me a card that I have to solve a math problem on in order to get the address to the next destination. The address turns out to be for a nail salon.
At the nail salon Keya tells them we have a reservation for 3. I said “why 3?” and then she tells me to turn around and its my sister who flew in from Florida. We get our nails done and my sister gives me another card. This card says I have to go to the place he used to stay when he used to visit early on in our relationship.
I show up at the hotel and the front desk lady hands me a card and a handicap room key. Once I get in the room there is a stuffed dog and another card. I am told to call Shachi (best friend) because she felt bad she couldn’t make it. Shachi then reads me my next clue.
He said I am probably hungry and he doesn’t want me to get hangry so I have to go to our favorite Mexican place, but I was told to think small. We pull up to Taco Bell. I go inside and there is my dad and Vikash (Ajay's younger brother). We eat lunch and my dad hands me another card. This card says to go to the store he gets all his checkered shirts that I hate so much.
We get to Express and Hari (brother in law) surprised us with another clue. This clue was a roll out tube and I was told to buy a classy and elegant dress with some heels for tonight. In the roll there is $200 worth of $20 bills.
At this point we are 45mins ahead of schedule. After shopping we are 1 1/2hrs behind.
After finding my dress I was told to facetime my favorite travel buddy. I facetime Stephanie (best friend) and she tells me to go home and get ready for tonight. I get home and my mom hands me another card. On the card I was given 1 hour to get ready but my sister tells me I only have 15mins.
We get ready and head downtown. We park by the monument circle and Jiten and Mayu come around the corner with a box. In the box there are memories Ajay and I have created together. I am told to go around to the back of the monument to create one more memory.
We walk around and the first thing I spotted in the crowd was Ajay, all the way at the top of the stairs waiting for me!
I finally get to see the man I’ve been waiting to see all day long! After shedding a few tears he gets down on one knee and I say “YES!” We are officially engaged. We then take the limo to Yard House where his parents, sister, her husband, and my parents surprise us.
6:00pm
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.
A funny detail about wedding planning is that I started planning my wedding months before I even got engaged. Ajay and I had talked about getting engaged and knew when we wanted to get married, and I knew I needed at least a year to plan. When I would go visit venues they would ask me about the proposal or my ring and I would awkwardly have to say, "I'm actually not engaged yet." This is definitely something I can look back and laugh at now. The most difficult part for me was finding vendors that really stood out to me, Indiana doesn't really have a large selection for wedding vendors.
How did you select your bridal lengha or wedding dress? Did you have a favorite color in mind?
My parents, sister, and I flew to India to do all our wedding shopping. From the beginning I knew I wanted the traditional look of an Indian bride but red was not a flattering color for me and Ajay does not like red lipstick, that is when I knew I wanted to have a maroon lengha. Little did I know, finding the exact maroon lengha I wanted would take 3 cities and a dozen stores before I found the one!
What was the most enjoyable part of the planning process, and why?
The most enjoyable part of the planning process was being able to personalize and put in our own unique touches to the wedding. Little did I know, Ajay would be the one that had the creative juices to contribute to our planning. He came up the idea of making large numbers out of cardboard and spray painting them gold. After those were completed we had a photo shoot in the backyard with the numbers to use for our reception table numbers. We were lucky enough to save on a photographer and his mom took the pictures for us. Overall they turned out great and the guests really enjoying walking around to the different tables and seeing the pictures.
Was there a really special moment in your wedding that constantly replays in your mind?
A really special moment that keeps replaying in my mind is my sister doing my henna. Not many brides get to say their sister designed and did their bridal henna. She put months into designing my henna and it couldn't have been more perfect. She included mine and Ajay's favorite football teams (Colts & Patriots), she also included a bride and groom on my palms that make a heart when I join my hands together. Every little intricate detail made for the most flawless henna I have ever seen and I wouldn't have wanted anyone else to do it.
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.
My sister and I consider ourselves to be very creative, so we did the decorations for the events that took place at our house (mendhi, vidhi) and one event that took place at 502 East Event Center (garba). I would say this was probably a more DIY wedding compared to the average but I loved that it meant more personalization and unique touches. My dad made a stage that was used in our yard for the two events at our house and then we used a PVC pipe structure to decorate the backdrop with flowers and colorful cloths. For the mendhi night my sister, her husband, and my best friend did a surprise dance that blew everyone away. My sister also choreographed a dance for her and I to do at the garba the next night.
Do you have any words of wisdom for Brides-To-Be?
Don't stress about the little things. As a bride you have dreamt of this day since you were a little girl and you want it to be nothing short of perfect. There may be hiccups along the way but don't sweat it. Regardless of what happens your weekend will be perfect because you are marrying the man of your dreams.
Anything else you want to tell us? We'd love to hear all about your other details! (jewelry, mehndi, venue, cake, bouquets, etc.)
Bridal bouquet, vidhi floral jewelry and haars, wedding haars: my foi handmade them all, so it was nice to have that personalized touch.
The venue was the best to work with! They were flexable with our budget and very accomodating to the number of guests we had.
Have an awesome day, ladies. And make sure to join us tomorrow for more!
