The affectionate nature between Neha and Chetan is uncanny. You could just feel the love between the couple and as our Maharani gushed about the love she shares with her new husband, I had to hold back a tear. Or two. The couple wed in the town of King of Prussia on a beautiful, sunny day. The wedding ceremony was held at the prominent Sheraton Valley Forge Hotel and planned by Raquel who works for the same venue. Ryan and Maria with Studio Nine Photography was on board to capture the numerous wedding moments. The venue was decorated beautifully by Wedding Design while PrettyNeatBeautydolled up our Maharani. Neha looked amazing in her red wedding lengha. Just looking at the intricate details of her outfit and how well Neha carried herself has me spouting tears. Neha inflicts a kind of humor so sincere that I just find her so adorable. DJ Ravi Jackson took charge of the DJ station while Moghul Catering kept guests satisfied with mouth watering samosa's and pakora's.
Read on as Neha unravels her personal love story.
How did you meet your Raja and when did you know he was "the one"?
I met Chetan when we were both just starting medical school at Temple in Philly. We met during orientation and then again when we just happened to sit in the same row during our first lecture. Day by day we grew closer, and when I realized he loved his parents as much as, if not more than, I loved mine, I realized that we were a match made in heaven!
Do you have a super romantic proposal story or engagement memory?
Chetan had told me his Fai Ba, his father's aunt and who he considers to be his grandmother, was coming into town from California and that he wanted to go out to brunch with her and his parents so I could officially meet her. The morning of the brunch, his dad texted us to come up to the roof of my building. We got off the elevator and as I looked through the door that opened up to the rooftop, I saw rose petals lining the walkway and paused. He looked at me, smiled, took my hand, and said "come on". We walked along the path of rose petals to an area he had lined with long stem roses and one of his best friends was waiting around the corner to take pictures the whole time. He got down on one knee and I was completely surprised. He then surprised me with brunch with both of our parents who already knew, and then took me out to dinner that night just the 2 of us. Then we went to a local bar where we were greeted by 40 of our friends from med school, college, and home who all came to celebrate! It was a day of surprises and couldn't have been more perfect!
How did you choose your lengha or lenghas? Did you work with a certain designer? Did you spend hours on the internet first?
I found exactly what I was looking for at Bawaree in Mumbai, a velvet maroon and gold lehenga with 3/4 sleeves and an A-line silhouette. We then found the rest of my outfits for the various events including the mehndi, Ganesh puja, and garba in Jaipur - took several 8 hour days looking through numerous shops to find them, but we were successful and finished all of our shopping within a week.
Anything else you want to tell us? We'd love to hear all about your other details!
The jewelry: My parents and I were fortunate enough to find all of my jewelry for the ceremony and the reception at a jewelry shop in Jaipur. My jewelry for the remaining events were given to me by my Naniji, my mom, and my now mother-in-law.
The mehndi: Sangeeta auntie was recommended to us by one of our family friends in Reading. She's based in Bensalem, PA, and came all the way to Reading to do not only my mehndi, but the mehndi for almost 15 of my friends and family members. She was patient, efficient, and we were all so happy with the way the mehndi turned out! It was beautiful!
The venue: We had our wedding at the Sheraton Valley Forge Hotel. The staff was friendly and incredibly accommodating! Raquel, in particular, was so amazing - she helped us iron out all the details of our wedding weekend including which events we'd be hosting throughout the day and she and her staff and plenty of experiencing hosting Indian weddings in the past which made it incredibly easy to plan the wedding there. It was also great because she even assigned one of her staff members to look out specifically for me and my husband making sure we were eating and taken care of throughout the weekend. They were extremely attentive, and it was definitely the venue of our dreams.
The cake: We catered from Isgro pasticceria in South Philadelphia. We set up a tasting as our venue frequently caters from their bakery. It was a 4-tier cake, and Tina and the decorating team were fantastic in helping our vision for our cake become a reality. They were wonderful and very easy to work with! Everyone loved the cake!
The decorations/bouquets: Our decorator was Ravi Verma from Wedding Designs based in Edison, NJ. He was very professional, and quickly set up our mandap and reception stage. He helped us design a unique mandap for us and has a spectacular showroom in Edison that helped us get a better sense of what was within his realm of possibility. It was great working with him and he provided us with exactly the vision we were hoping for including beautiful red rose bouquet for me and coral/white bouquets for my bridesmaids which matched their saris and the groomsmens' kurta pajamas. He also had boutonnieres for my husband and all the important family members in both of our families. We also had a catwalk leading to our mandap lined with bouquets of coral and white orchids, which gave it a unique look, along with the beautiful red fabrics that were used to drape the mandap. We also had a candle wall at the reception behind our couch on the stage, and the centerpieces we used for the reception included coral and white orchids and calla lilies. We were very pleased with our decorations, they added to the ambience of the evening.
The photographer/videographer: Studio Nine Photography crew was amazing! They're also based in Philadelphia and met with us beforehand to discuss our vision for the weekend. They attended all of our events and were very pleasant to work with. They also made us a gorgeous cinematic same day edit video that again made me feel like we were the hero/heroine in a Bollywood movie! It was simply amazing what they were able to do in such little time and the photos were amazing - memories we'll treasure for a lifetime!
Join us tomorrow for another tear jerking Indian wedding! Until then, have a wonderful day!
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