Water is the predominant element of our next featured wedding. Like love, it combines both calmness and the movement of life. Surrounded by lakes and the coolness of May, it only made sense that Nevi, Michigan was the ideal scenography for Reema & Sarang's beginning of the journey through its mysteries. The ones that bind themselves with another soul for the eternity or the ones that like water, create and nurture life. Love is in everything our eyes can reach and the oxygen we breathe! Prism Media Lab brings to us Reema & Sarang's entire union experience, carefully crafted and designed by the hands of Utsav Planners, Inc. Images now embedded in our couple's memories forever, relive and germinate the seed for the new ones to come in the vast ocean of love they decided to dive together. So join us in Reema & Sarang's incredible celebrations at the Diamond Center and make sure to check their images featured in our Platinum Guide Blog!
How did you meet your Groom and when did you know he was "the one"?
My now husband and I met in 2006 shortly after middle school (yes, we were babies at the time!). We were both taking a physical education class the summer before we started high school. We were introduced by our cousins. Although we never spoke during that summer, I remember seeing him during passing time in a distance. A funny thing about us meeting was that Sarang and my first cousin, Kishan were best friends since the 4th grade. They went to the same elementary school and carpooled together. Our first actual meeting occurrence was the first day of freshman year. We both ate lunch together! After that day, we ate lunch together every day of freshman year. After lunch, Sarang saw his best friend and my cousin in the hallway and told him he ate lunch with this "good looking girl" named Reema and he knew he wanted to be with me from that day. Kishan nearly had a heart attack knowing he was talking about me as the "good looking girl"! Sarang and I quickly became best friends which then led to us ultimately dating many years later. He asked me to senior prom (the same venue we chose to get married at) using red rose spelling out "PROM". Sarang and I went to undergraduate school together at the University of Detroit Mercy (UDM) and then went on to graduate school at UDM to become Physician Assistants (hence the PAtel part of our hashtag). I knew he was the one after seeing how much he loved and cared for me as we were friends. He was always my best friend but now is, more importantly, my husband too!
Share the scoop on your Proposal Story!
After several years of trying to get me to be his girlfriend, Sarang finally decided to ask me out at Hart Plaza in downtown Detroit under the fireworks on 4th of July. I told him that day that I would "let him know" and laughed it off. Although I never officially said yes, he knew I wanted him to be my boyfriend.
Sarang used this same location for the proposal. Several weeks in advance, he had our friends create a group chat to ask us to have dinner with them downtown. We all agreed to go to Andiamos (now looking back it was also where we ate at before prom and a few Valentines day dates). Little did I know, he had called my office a week prior to let them know what he had happened and they made certain I could leave work on time that day. We both arrived at dinner and sat down at a large table while we waited for our friends. Several minutes later, Sarang received a phone call stating our friend's grandfather was sick and they could not make it. While he was on the phone, I quickly began googling the nearest Taco Bell to go eat at. Sarang was determined to eat there and asked the hostess to change our table to a smaller table. They took us to a private area with a view of the Detroit River. Little did I know, this was all pre-planned. After eating, he said he wanted to go on a walk so we walked on the boardwalk. From there, we walked to Hart Plaza (the same place he asked me to be his girlfriend years ago). While approaching the area, I saw hundreds of candles and red rose petals spelling out " Will You Marry Me?". I stopped walking and began to hysterically cry. I honestly cannot remember much of what happened after that as I was in such shock. Shortly after, our friends who bailed on dinner, sister, and others came out to surprise us. It was the best surprise anyone could ask for. When we got home from the evening, we were surprised by our closest family and friends.
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.
Wedding planning was so much fun now looking back at it! Our parents gave us full reign on making all of our events perfect. Hiring Ustav Planners for our planning, coordinating and decor was honestly the best decision we ever made. They made our dreams a reality...so much so that when we did our room reveals before each event, I cried every time. Jahura Hobby for makeup and Raimonda Pepaj for hair made me feel like a real-life princess! I still cannot get over how flawless everything looked even after 12 hours of wearing it. Krupa Thomas did my mehndi and incorporated my husbands love for Detroit sports - The Lions and the Tigers. I had both team symbols on my arms along with the wedding date and hashtag.
I got married at the Suburban Collection Showplace in Novi, Michigan. They were amazing to work with! All of the food was catered by our friends at Rasna Catering aside from the reception which was done by Ashoka. We could not have been more pleased with the food and service our guests had.
Sangeet - fun, bright colors and lounge vibes with gold tones
Wedding - greens, golds, and pinks with earthy and elegant/grand decor
Reception - purple, gold, and super regal!
How did you select your bridal lengha or wedding dress? Did you have a favorite color in mind?
I picked my bridal lehenga after just seeing 4-5 outfits. I wanted something white and red but I ended up going with all red with some pinks and blues. I knew my outfit was the one the moment I saw my dad and mother-in-law's reaction of me trying it on. Instantly they both started to cry and my mom and sisters jaw dropped the floor. I ended up only trying on 2!
What was the most enjoyable part of the planning process, and why?
Family was the most enjoyable part. My siblings helped me so much throughout the whole planning process. We had family from across the country helping us plan with every detail. I cannot thank everyone enough for everything they did for us. I wish I could relive the whole weekend again
What did your guests particularly love about your Wedding?
Everyone loved our reception cocktail hour surprise - we had Cappuccino Man come to make specialty cappuccinos and smoothies for our guests. In addition to that during the evening, Pastry Guru came out and served all of our guest custom Ice Cream sandwiches for dessert! Guests could order what they wanted and add on their our toppings. The best part came last though -- Taco Bell served around 11:30 PM. We had 3-4 of our favorite items ordered and served to those still on the dance floor with us.
Was there a really special moment in your wedding that constantly replays in your mind?
Our first look- I just remember walking up to him shaking and a stomach full of butterflies like the day we had lunch together for the first time. I still replay it in my head to this day. His reaction to seeing him and tearing up is surreal.
Another memory was watching our same day edit by Prism Media Lab at our reception. We were in such awe over the whole video capturing our whole weekend
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.
Sarang is obsessed with the Detroit Lions so we made sure to incorporate Lions into each and every event. Whether it be on my mehndi, wedding chairs, his shoes or somewhere in the decor, I wanted to make sure he knew this was about the both of us.
We both did a dance at our Sangeet choreographed by our friend Nikita Patel. It was so much fun performing it and having a great time. Both of our families did dances with our parents included! One of the most memorable dances for me was dancing with Sarang's mom and grandmother in a surprise dance that his 83-year-old grandmother choreographed. Sarang's reaction was priceless!
Our closest friends also did an amazing surprise dance choreographed by my best friend, Riaa Dutta.
Sangeet - we used pink, blue, purple and orange for decor. We had a gorgeous gold structure as our backdrop with candles. Our ceiling decor included colorful umbrellas and lanterns. Throughout the room, we used canopies for our food stations as well as for family seating. We had black lounge furniture as well.
Wedding- My vision came to real life for the ceremony! A huge boxwood backdrop with handing flowers and chandeliers with a gold mandap. I had a sleek white raised aisle to walk down with boxwood on the side and candles/acrylic trays and pink rose petals. It was absolutely stunning and grand!
Reception - we used large wisteria chandeliers and crystals above the dance floor. Our dance floor was a large all white LED dance floor. It looked amazing during our first dance. We had fireworks along the aisle for our entrance as well as along the dance floor to go off during our first dance. The stage was stunning was hues of purples, golds, and crystals hanging. We also had large LED panels on both sides of the stage playing photos from the ceremony as well as the engagement shoot we did.
Do you have any words of wisdom for Brides-To-Be?
Take a deep breath at each event and take it all in!
Anything else you want to tell us? We'd love to hear all about your other details! (jewelry, mehndi, venue, cake, bouquets, etc.)
I was gifted my wedding and reception jewelry from my parents on my wedding day, I will forever cherish this.
Our photographer, videographer, and DJs came in from Toronto, CAN and made sure our memories will last a lifetime. I am so happy we decided to pick them!
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