The age old advice of “maybe you will meet someone at the wedding” paid off for these two, when sparks flew and it is still unclear who initially approached whom. Akshay had grand plans for his proposal to Naomi, but after a few details went by the wayside, the classic combination of a knee, a beach and a ring once again worked it’s magic.
Fortunate enough to make a trip to Bombay before COVID was everywhere, Naomi had her eye on a one of a kind look. Her personal style is more reflective of neutrals & dark colors so the idea of wearing traditional bright bridal colors didn’t feel natural to her. After mapping out stores and revisiting places with lenghas that really made her heart sing, she went with a piece that made her find her bridal magic. Her outfits became the cornerstone of the event decor and all the designs went around them.
The bride always had her heart set on an outdoor ceremony. A fall wedding in New York didn’t make it possible so the team of designers brought the outdoors, indoors for an ultra dramatic look. A few larger trees came together to create the central canopy, and were flanked by dozens of branches, greenery, and loads of cream and white mixed flowers. Soft lighting created the ambiance and everyone was blown away by the transformation of the ballroom.
"When you think about your wedding, you won't want to look back and remember all the moments of stress - you will want to think about the moments of love and celebration"
Congratulations Naomi and Akshay!
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How did you select your bridal lengha or wedding dress? Did you have a favorite color in mind?
I did my wedding shopping in Bombay and was fortunate to get to make a trip before COVID cases got scary there. I had been following a number of designers on Instagram and had some sense of what I liked from when we shopped for my sister's wedding and from seeing multiple friends & cousins' weddings. The one thing I knew for sure was that I didn't want to wear red for my wedding day, and I wouldn't be caught dead in pink anything. In general my style is more natural or dark colors and rarely any bright colors. So my mom and I mapped out and visited multiple stores the first few days of our trip just to get a sense of what the options were in style, cost, quality, etc. Then we went back to places that really caught our eye or stuck out. Obviously, we did a lot of trials and in the end I went with my gut -- what felt great on my skin, what made me feel like a bride, where did I feel the magic, and what felt like me.
I picked my outfits before almost any other detail of our wedding. Then we based a lot of the themes and colors of events around that :)
What did your guests particularly love about your Wedding?
The wedding ceremony decor really stood out to people. I very much wanted to get married outside, using nature as our backdrop. That didn't end up being possible given the year and constraints we had, so all my direction to our decorators were about how we can bring the outside inside. I had a tree-based mandap concept in mind and they really brought it to life in the most memorable way. I, and our guests, were blown away with the stunning transformation of the whole ceremony room. I think it was also something so different that what people were expecting or had ever seen before -- especially at an Indian wedding -- but it was so fitting for me, because nothing about our wedding was uber-traditional :)
Do you have any words of wisdom for Brides-To-Be?
Do what you need to make sure you can be present for day(s)-of. Protect your emotional wellbeing and surround yourself with joy. You won't want to look back and remember all the moments of stress and not the moments of love and celebration.
Anything else you want to tell us? We'd love to hear all about your other details! (jewelry, mehndi, venue, cake, bouquets, etc.)
I enjoy mehndi, but I've definitely had mehndi put on that was not great or to my taste. So for my own wedding, when I'd have the most mehndi on and would have to look at it for weeks, I was very selective. I hate tips and thick designs, I didn't want lots of imagery, but loved intricate/delicate jali work, etc. I value the artistry that comes with mehndi and wanted to find someone who treated it as such as well.
I found my mehndi artist on Instagram through another friend and ended up flying her out to NY from LA for my bridal mehndi :) It was a bit extravagant but totally worth it.
