Indian Wedding Videos

All posts with Season "Autumn"

Long Island, NY Sikh Wedding by With This Ring Wedding Films

March 9, 2020 Posted by: Shawna Comments

Welcome to this new week, Maharanis! We are here with a new film that will blow your mind. Today we are double featuring Avneet & Raymon's magical wedding! That means that you can firs enjoy the fantastic masterpiece that is waiting for you down below, and then you can also enjoy the fabulous shots captured by A.S. Nagpal Photography by just clicking here. But let's start with the visual masterpiece created by With This Ring Wedding Films, who caught every emotion and memory and transformed them into a beautiful film. Right from the top, we want to take a moment to appreciate the beauty of our gorgeous Maharani, Avneet. She trusted her beauty needs to Kanwal Batool, who delivered nothing but perfection in the flawless makeup and hairstyle designed for this Maharani! To add an extra touch of traditional style, Mehndikalogie created a fabulous Mehndi designed that we loved so much. During this visual journey, you will find yourself surrounded by all the beauty of the Sikh ceremony officiated at the grand Plainview Gurudwara, which then led to a grand reception party hosted at the fantastic Villa Lombardi's. Every corner was filled with magical decor created by our friends from Exclusive Events NY. And oh boy, we so wish we would have been there, as it all looks so amazing! If you want to relive this grand celebration, go ahead and hit play down below.

How did you meet your Groom and when did you know he was "the one"?

Raymon and I met at Sikh Camp when we were 14 years old. There were a group of boys playing a pick-up game of basketball, and I really wanted to play as well. Raymon was the team captain, and a mutual friend told him to pick "Avi" without him knowing that it was me. We played a couple games of basketball and I was instantly attracted to his skill. After that encounter, we chatted nearly everyday on Aol Instant Messenger and have been inseparable ever since. I knew he was "the one" pretty early on, but from high school through medical school Raymon has always pushed me to work harder and be the best version of myself, in a way that no one else was capable of doing. That's how I knew that we had a unique connection.

Share the scoop on your Proposal Story!

Raymon knows me better than I know myself, and planned our proposal intricately. It was the weekend of our Residency Match Day, so there were a lot of emotions already as we both matched into programs that we really wanted to train at. He wanted to celebrate with a weekend getaway to Montreal, and told me to pack and dress well. He picked me up from my parents house and I was under the assumption we'd be traveling to Montreal. Instead, he took me around my hometown with a beautiful lunch and a stroll through the park. In the park, he gave me a personalized picture book that took us through the journey of our relationship from high school onwards. The last page said, "and our next chapter awaits...", at that point he played my favorite song from Kaho Na Pyaar Hai and took me onto a beautiful bridge over a pond that was decorated with a banner that said "Will You Marry Me?" We then had a mini photoshoot and went home to tell my parents. When we got home, our friends and family of nearly 100 people were waiting for us on the driveway to celebrate, and we had an amazing engagement party that night!

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.

We had so much fun planning our wedding! I think the most challenging part was picking a venue that had our time frame available and fit all of our criteria. We explored many different venues from NYC to NJ, and ultimately fell in love with Villa Lombardi's in Long Island, NY. Once we had our reception venue set, everything else fell into place. I used Maharani Weddings for vender suggestions and was really happy with our results. Through different suggestions we were able to put together a vender group that worked together to bring our dream wedding to reality.

How did you select your bridal lengha or wedding dress? Did you have a favorite color in mind?

I've always had an idea of how I wanted my bridal outfit to be. I love the color fuchsia and was pretty set on it prior to even beginning shopping. We went to India for a couple weeks which was a unique experience in itself, but after several days of exploring different options, I decided I wanted to completely customize my outfit to my liking. I ended up choosing a magenta color with floral work on the lower half, and simple beaded work on the upper half. I wore an Anarkali for the Anand Karaj.

What was the most enjoyable part of the planning process, and why?

The most enjoyable part of the planning process was trying to envision what our guests would love the most. We wanted to throw in little surprises here and there to optimize our guests experience. For example, we had a unique traditional Punjabi video shoot in Punjab that was so much fun shooting. We kept it a secret for months without sharing any photos with friends or family. We showed the video during our reception and everyone was shocked but loved it. It was very much so out of our comfort zone but we knew it would be loved and appreciated.

What did your guests particularly love about your Wedding?

Our guests gave us great feedback on our wedding weekend. We are very punctual people and wanted to make sure our wedding events were well organized and had a good flow to them. Besides that, two particular moments come to mind that our guests really loved.

We had a day between our Sangat and Anand Karaj to relax and for smaller events. We decided to use that time to bring our friends and family together in a unique way by hosting a Bride Vs Groom Wedding Olympics. Our cousins actually hosted this event for us, and hired an event company to come in with different kinds of relays and games in a field day type event. Everyone got customized T-shirts depending on which side of the family they were. Then, multiple teams were made to mix up the friends and family as a great way to mingle and get to know one another. Everyone had a lot of fun participating in friendly competition. It was a unique experience for everyone and we ended the event with a Mr. Softee Ice Cream truck to relive our childhood days.

Another moment that guests loved was during the reception, my parents surprised us by flying out a Dhol group from the UK, Beats by Lion. They did an incredible job getting the party started and bringing everyone onto the dance floor for the entire night.

Was there a really special moment in your wedding that constantly replays in your mind?

I always think about our dances - we choreographed one for the Sangeet and Reception together. Raymon and I were captain's of our bhangra team in College, so dance is really meaningful to us. We had a lot of fun choreographing our traditional Bhangra dance for the Sangeet, and a western fusion dance for our reception. I love to reply and watch the videos of our dance because it is evident how happy we are in those moments to be together on the dance floor.

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.

For our decor themes, we wanted a very traditional sangeet. We actually let our parents have a lot of fun with the decor and bring out their creativity. I think my favorite part of the decor was having the kites hanging from the ceiling over the dance floor. It gave such a unique vibe and really brought the whole hall together. Our Anand Karaj we kept on the simpler side because we wanted the beauty of the Gurudwara to shine on its own. We used florals that matched well with our theme of Peach & Teal. For our reception, we wanted to go elegant and classy. We went with a floral theme with lots of pastels and candles spread throughout the hall. But, ultimately the venue itself was so beautiful. Our wedding was in September, which in NY is my favorite month because the flowers are in full bloom. The outdoor area for our cocktail hour was full of beautiful flowers and greenery.

Our Sangeet was full of dances, singing, and speeches from our loved ones. My favorite movie growing up was Kaho Na Pyaar Hai and my favorite actor was Hrithik Roshan. Our friends and family loved to make references to that throughout their dances and speeches, especially because Raymon proposed to me playing that theme song in the background.

Do you have any words of wisdom for Brides-To-Be?

My advice for future brides would be to stay calm and start planning early! It is great to have enough time to really explore the different options available and decide what you love the most. Having a basic idea of how you envision your wedding to be is fundamental to having a smooth planning process. Organization is key – lots and lots of excel sheets that keep all the details straight! And most importantly, it’s ok to ask your loved ones for help and delegate tasks. Ultimately, you’ll have the final decision but to have some extra hands doing the basic research is really beneficial!

If you loved this film, I bet that you will adore tomorrow's. So come back for more!

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Romantic
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Autumn
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Fairfield, CA Sikh Wedding by Sameer Soorma Studios

March 6, 2020 Posted by: Shawna Comments

TGIF! Get ready for an extra dose of inspiration for you to have an awesome weekend. Today, we are double featuring the magical wedding festivities between Manpreet & Amandeep. You have a visual masterpiece down below, and you also have the fantastic shots of this wedding celebration here. Both are a fabulous creation from Sameer Soorma Studios, who made sure to capture every detail from this life-changing event. The Sikh ceremony hosted at the Guru Nanak Sikh Temple was simply amazing! So much beauty and traditional flair, all in one single place! After the ceremony, Manpreet & Amandeep threw a fantastic wedding reception at the Aria Dining & Banquets Fine Indian Cuisine, a perfect venue chosen to celebrate their lovely union. We are almost out of words to describe how enchanting and magical everything was! The decoration crafted by Touch of Elegance Decor, and of course, the captivating floral arrangements that Nazooq Petals created for the big day were something out of this world! Although everything was beautiful, nothing even compared to how ravishing Manpreet was! She definitely made the right choice when trusting her beauty needs to Neetu Josh Art Co as she ended up looking like the most beautiful princess from a fairytale story! So, don't think twice, click the play button down below, and get ready to enjoy this enchanting story!

How did you meet your Groom and when did you know he was "the one"?

Aman and I met through mutual family friends. When I first saw him, I told myself, “oh no, definitely not. He can’t be the one”. We first met at Starbucks and exchanged some conversations. After the conversation at the Starbucks we happened to figure out that this friendship will go further than we expected. I was surprised by his generosity.

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.

We had about 5 months to plan the entire wedding including booking Venues and vendors. We rushed in to book all the venues and vendors that we liked before they get booked. It was overwhelming at first since there wasn’t enough time to plan everything but we made work out great.

How did you select your bridal lengha or wedding dress? Did you have a favorite color in mind?

I always wanted to wear traditional red color for the wedding day. I went to India to shop for wedding outfits, jewelry and accessories.

What was the most enjoyable part of the planning process, and why?

I enjoyed traveling and shopping even though it was stressful but I enjoyed it.

What did your guests particularly love about your Wedding?

Guests loved the wedding and my whole family being there for me. Everyone was impressed by my family being there and hosting the wedding all together.

Was there a really special moment in your wedding that constantly replays in your mind?

The special moment at my wedding that constantly replays in my mind is getting glammed up with my outfits and makeup. I just love getting full glammed!

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.

We hired one decor vendor for all the wedding events including Mehandi, jaago, wedding and reception. We were very specific about decor theme, colors we want for each event. It was a lot of work and planning things in small details so everything can go smooth for the events.

Do you have any words of wisdom for Brides-To-Be?

It can be very stressful to plan the entire wedding and sometimes you forget to enjoy the moments because your too busy planning and stressing out for your big day, don’t forget to enjoy each moment. Cherish them! This is your moment.

Wedding doesn’t have to be expensive but to be memorable.

Anything else you want to tell us? We'd love to hear all about your other details! (jewelry, mehndi, venue, cake, bouquets, etc.)

My Mehandi was done by Neeta Sharma @mehndidesiger

Makeup& hair for all events by NeetuJosh @neetujosh_artco

Decor: Touch of Elegance Decor

Photography: @sameersoorma

Link to Highlight Video:

https://vimeo.com/380189085

If we inspire you today, you can't miss what we have prepared for you on Monday!

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Traditional
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season
Autumn
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Princeton, NJ Indian Wedding by Fine Art Productions

March 4, 2020 Posted by: Shawna Comments

The filmy time of the day is here! Today, my lovely Maharanis, we will be delighted by the beautiful wedding film by Hemani & Palak's wedding festivities. Trust me; you will be fully inspired. Let me take you to Princeton in New Jersey at the Grand Hyatt Regency Princeton, the palatial venue picked by our lovebirds to seal their eternal love. You will love how our dazzling Maharani glowed during the entire festivities. She flaunted the perfect combo between good style and beauty that gave her a magnificent presence that left everyone speechless! And all this was possible thanks to the phenomenal lehenga draping skills from Beauty by Lishma, who also created a fantastic mehndi art for Hemani and, of course, a beautiful hairstyle. The ceremony was such a perfect moment; everyone was involved in the midst of love that day. Once the ceremony was over, every guest attended the wedding reception and let me tell you that this became a real party, as Premier DJ USA jumped into the stage to encouraged the crowd to dance all night! Everyone enjoyed the well-selected music, the fantastic choreographies, and of course, the delicious food catered by Chand Palace, who served a great selection of dishes! We are lucky to have all of this captured in a phenomenal film created by Fine Art Productions and Jay Seth Photography who was in charge of the photographic part inmortalizing the couple best moments! So don't think twice and click on play below. Enjoy!

We have reserved more inspiration for you, so visit us back. You will love it!

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Charlotte, NC Indian Wedding by Sculpting With Time Productions

February 27, 2020 Posted by: Shawna Comments

The filmy moment of the day is here! Today, we are taking you to Charlotte, NC, to witness the beauty of Neelima & Krishna's wedding festivities. We can enjoy this marvelous moment thanks to the fantastic talent of Sculpting With Time Productions; their excellent team created a visual masterpiece for the newlyweds could enjoy all the glory of their special days in the years to come. From the beginning, we knew that this was a memorable event, just because our friends from Ask Neha Now designed and planned all the festivities for our lovebirds. Such talent! The Westin Charlotte was selected by our lovely duo to tie the knot inside their halls and trust me; it was a perfect choice as everyone enjoyed the venue and the attention their great staff they provided. Neelima, stole all the attention, as she showed up looking precious. This was thanks to the great hair and makeup combo that MAU Makeup By Jenny Le designed and the beautiful hairdo Hair by Anna Pham created for our queen. What an excellent choice! This event was one of a kind, so if you want to be inspired, go ahead and click on play below. You can't miss it I'm sure you'll love it!

How did you meet your Groom and when did you know he was "the one"?

Krishna and I actually met online on the app Coffee Meets Bagel. I was quite intrigued by his profile so once we matched, we started to speak to one another over the app. Approximately 2-3 weeks later we met in person. I almost decided to cancel our first date in August but then I said to myself to take a chance and see where it takes us. We met in person for the first time on August 7th, 2016 at one of Krishna's favorite restaurants. Our conversation during our first date was memorable because our conversation felt like we knew each other for years. And what I thought would be a 2 hour date became more like a 7 hour date! As the conversation deepened, we found out more about one another including the fact that we were from the same region in India let alone the same town! That's when I realized it was the cherry on top of the sundae! After talking for several weeks while I was out of the country, I realized that I knew he was the one. And when we both met again in which we claimed as our "second" first date, well the rest was history.

Share the scoop on your Proposal Story!

WOW. To be honest, I have to give a lot of credit to Krishna. He planned our proposal from beginning to end without any glitches. I was at work one evening when he told me that he needed help shooting for a wedding- yes he is a cinematographer. He told me that it was for a VIP couple and the theme was a yacht party. So we had to dress up. Now, at the same time, our parents were coming up for the weekend to meet Krishna's parents. So I was like "how can I leave them for the day? You need to ask their permission." He said, "no problem, i'll take care of it." Well while I was thinking about what I needed to wear, he said wear something "blue" since it was a yacht based theme party. And to top that, he said George Clooney would be there! So the day before our proposal, we picked up my family and I was asking them what to wear as I needed to look professional but also wear something where I knew I could also help him through the wedding shoot. My sister was amazing because as I was trying on clothing, she was actually playing behind the scenes and sent all of my outfits to Krishna - and they coordinated on which blue dress would match Krishna's blue suit. At the end of the night, Krishna told me that I had to keep a secret and be there on time because "Hilary" would be there and there would be gates closing the park. And I said "which Hillary? Hillary Duff or Hillary Clinton?" And that's when he was like "the Hillary". So of course, I got excited.

So on the morning of June 3rd, 2017, I made sure I reached the park on time. He started walking over to me explaining how stressed out he was because there were some glitches to the wedding shoot. I told him to not worry. When we arrived closer to the pond, he asked me to look out for a few photographers. That is when he re-directed himself to a specific corner where he knew he would propose at. Everyone was ready. He then told me to come to that corner as he "found the photographers" and that is when he proposed to me! I was in shock and of course said "YES!" But it wasn't over. Krish's family and my family were actually meeting at Bethesda fountain where they met for the first time. Krishna then continued to surprise me through the day with meet ups with many of our close friends and family! It was beautiful night with a beautiful beginning to the rest of our lives!

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.

Since Krishna worked in the wedding industry, he had all of the ins and outs to planning our wedding. My parents primarily helped with the venue, food and the priest and took that off of our hands. Everything else was mostly completed by us with the help of a few key people!

Wedding Planner: Neha Joshi: Our wedding planner, Neha was fantastic! She helped Krishna and I organize everything, who to contact and who to keep her in contact with- that way I didn't have to over stress myself. She was great with creating a timeline for our events and the day of the wedding made sure we were all running on time and that there were no hiccups. Neha also knew when I needed a hand to hold and a shoulder to cry on. She was always supportive not just as a planner but also as a friend.

Venue: Westin Hotel, Charlotte, NC: Our venue was perfect. It had tall ceilings and a lot of space to work with. Our coordinators Betsy and Eric were extremely responsive to all of our emails and were also accommodating in making sure the weekend events all went smoothly.

Hair and Makeup: Anna Pham and Jenny Le: I will say word of mouth is a great way to meet other vendors. Many of my friends were also getting married within the same year in NC! I loved how the Jenny and Anna did their wedding looks, so I decided to use them as well as their work was flawless and their attitudes and personality were so positive! They couldn't have been a more perfect pair to work with!

Outfits were overall a piece of cake. I wasn't too picky and when I saw something I liked, I went for it. The only outfit I took some time to work on was my Sangeet outfit. A very close friend of mine and fashion designer, Punarvi Patel helped design my Sangeet outfit. It was quite unique and brought so much elegance. I already knew Punvari was an amazing fashion designer but when I saw what she put together, I couldn't stop smiling.

Decor: Utopian Events: We initially wanted to have an outdoor wedding but since it was a hot summer, we knew we had to look at other options. So with our wedding being indoors, we decided to have the theme of "Outdoor meets Indoor". Shushil and his team worked extremely hard in creating such a beautiful piece of work that represented both Krishna and myself. With Neha's help, as a team we were able to organize our thoughts and ideas and execute a truly remarkable piece. Our thought process behind the Mandap was that it should be the visual corner stone of our day but be extremely practical and cost effective. Krishna is a cinematographer by trade and has nearly a decade of experience in the wedding industry, so he had a strong foundation of ideas to go into the design. The Mandap was primary chosen to be hanging as it would be utilized for both the wedding as well as the reception, and to maximum visibility of the wedding ceremony for our guests. Krishna requested in the design to integrate close to 40 dimmable hanging light led bulbs to create a warm soft light in the inside of the dome to illuminate us during the ceremony. He then requested that all 8 of the dj's moving heads be focused on the outside of the dome with a contrasting cooler light. In the end Utopian Events delivered a piece that uniquely transformed and transcended our wedding ceremony

Food: Blue Taj: I would like to take a moment to thank my parents and Blue Taj's team for their extraordinary work! We had an amazing menu of items for each and every event! Tasting was obviously a blast and helped us narrow down to a few specific dishes! Blue Taj is mostly known for their north indian dishes but with the help of my mother, he was able to work outside of the box and bring out some delicious South Indian dishes as well! They were very easy to work with and our guests were thoroughly impressed!

Was there a really special moment in your wedding that constantly replays in your mind?

Our wedding vows. Krishna and I were very insistent about having wedding vows in our ceremony as we both primarily grew up here. We figured it would be a great way to personalize our wedding and share our love and promises to not only one another but for everyone else to hear.

Do you have any words of wisdom for Brides-To-Be?

Stay in communication with your fiance and your family. Challenges will always arise but it is the challenge that you must overcome. Also, stay patient and delegate as much as possible. You cannot do everything! This is why it is important to let others help you when you feel like the world is spinning too quickly!

Anything else you want to tell us? We'd love to hear all about your other details! (jewelry, mehndi, venue, cake, bouquets, etc.)

If you have your wedding in NC, go to Amelie's for your wedding cake! I love how I was able to customize my cake with whatever flavor I wanted per layer, its frosting, and the ganache and fruit in the middle! It was worth every penny! They also helped with breakfast sandwiches for the bridal party!

Photo: TNK Photo: Elmer and his team did such a fantastic job! His work was unique and he made sure that we were getting the photos we wanted! We also had the opportunity to build a good relationship with Elmer when he completed our engagement shoot in Jersey City! We felt at ease through the whole process and Elmer knew exactly how to make Krishna smile (with his teeth showing).

Video: Sculpting with Time: Krishna worked very closely with Alex and Whitney. They are the most genuine couple to work with. They were efficient and made sure not to miss a single detail! They were always accommodating and receptive to our feedback! The film they delivered was beyond our expectations and truly shows their capabilities not just as wedding cinematographers but artists.

Violinist: Edith Yokley: Edith was introduced to us by our DJ. She always brought a lot of style to her work! She was great and created my walk down the aisle memorable!

Reception Dance by Priti Udeshi-Gupta: If I tried to choreograph our reception dance, Krishna would have waited till the last minute to learn it. I knew he wanted to learn how to dance, so we found a dance teacher right here in Jersey City! Priti was fantastic! Given her history and what she has accomplished over the years, we knew she would be the right fit for us! Krishna learned quite a few steps that took him out of his comfort zone, and I myself was able to let go of my fears with certain moves. We learned a lot about one another through this process and it helped us understand each other's strengths and weaknesses with time and patience. Overall it was a lot of fun and everyone loved it!

DJ and Lighting: DJ BayBFace: Manish and I have known each other for many years- in fact he is family and has always been an older brother to me. He did a great job with helping out on the lighting for our wedding day and also the music (especially for the after party when he played all the old school hip hop songs!)

Maharnis, come back tomorrow for more inspiring moments like this!

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Cinematography
hindu
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Autumn
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Chantilly, VA Indian Fusion Wedding by Akbar Sayed Photography

February 24, 2020 Posted by: Shawna Comments

Happy Monday, Ladies! We hope you have had a fabulous weekend! Today, we have prepared something special! And you, my beautiful Maharanis, will love every moment of this fantastic fusion wedding! Today, we are double featuring this magical event. So, if the visual masterpiece by Akbar Sayed Photography is not enough, you can also take a look at beautiful shots we have compiled in today's Main Blog! Isn't that amazing, ladies? So let's begin this journey! We want to start by presenting you with all the beauty surrounding Vishaka & Harrison's fusion wedding. A celebration that not only marked us but every single guest who attended this spectacular event. Right from the start, we have to say that everyone was captived by the beauty of Vishaka, who made the right desition when choosing Styles By Swati - Salon SBS for her beauty needs and Mehndi With Heena as her Mehndi artist! And we cannot stretch how much we loved her final look. She looked ravishing! The traditional Hindu ceremony was hosted at Chinmaya Somnath, while the Christian ceremony and the wedding reception were celebrated at The Bellevue. Such perfect venues to celebrate this life milestone. And you will love how the talented crew from Shagun Weddings worked their magic to enhance the beauty of these venues. They created two different environments with well-mixed ornaments and flowers that gave a fairy tale aspect to the celebration. So don't think twice! Click the play button down below and get ready to be inspired by all the beauty surrounding today's wedding!

How did you meet your Groom and when did you know he was "the one"?

We met at a trivia night in Dayton, Ohio, shortly after the Air Force stationed us both here! The rest is history.

From the Bride:

Harrison always makes me feel safe and protected. He made me feel comfortable being my true self since day one, and before I knew it he broke my walls down and was my best friend. I never had to doubt he would stand by me and stand up for me, but also encourage me to be my best self and grow with me.

From the Groom:

Vishaka always puts me and my needs above her own from the first day and every day since. Her love inspires me to be my best self and I've known from the beginning that she was the woman i wanted to spend the rest of my life with.

Share the scoop on your Proposal Story!

He proposed at Disney World, during HIS birthday dinner, on the shores of the Grand Floridian resort while watching the Magic Kingdom fireworks across the lake!

Because it was his birthday I told him he could pick any restaurant that sounded good to him and he said he would make the reservation. When I found out the time of the dinner reservation I was initially super stressed out because we would be missing the Magic Kingdom fireworks, which would start around 15 minutes after our reservation time. He apologized and said he really wanted to eat at this one restaurant and this was the only reservation available, I softened up a bit and told him that we could just watch fireworks at the park the next night. Little did I know that our dinner reservation was at a restaurant with a patio across the lake from Magic Kingdom! He had planned with the restaurant for the waitress to offer to take a photo of us because it was his birthday, at which time they brought out my ring on a platter tucked into Cinderella's slipper along with champagne! Not only did he sneakily manage to capture our big moment with photos, but we also got to watch the fireworks from the patio of the restaurant with the show's audio streamed straight to the restaurant speakers! It was a fairytale night.

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.

We did our mehndi party at my parents house and kept it at an intimate 70 guests (haha!), whereas our wedding ceremony and reception sat at 200-250 guests.

Wedding day started off with a 3AM wakeup call to start hair and makeup for myself, my mother, and the bridal party. Although it was such an early start to the day, we enjoyed each other's company and my amazing day-of coordinator made a Starbucks run for us. (I absolutely love planning and I wanted to have a say in every detail of our big day, while being respectful of the traditions and rituals that my parents cherish and value, so finding balance was really important. We got a wedding coordinator involved fairly early in the process so that she could make sure all of our voices were heard and so she could bring my vision and planning to life on the big day while my groom, our families, our bridal party, and I were all able to truly enjoy the day. Definitely one of the best investments in wedding planning- we love Anisha from Our Day Events and are so grateful to have her team as part of our dream team!)

We had a tradition-meets-glamour Tamil Brahmin Hindu ceremony in the morning, followed by lunch. This was at a Hindu community center. It felt more spiritually focused than a hotel ballroom but was also a more elegant and private venue than a temple. Because it is a long ceremony and our American guests as well as many of the Indian guests don't know about the beautiful meanings behind the traditions, we did a lot of research with the help of our priest, and put together a narrative script for my cousin (who was my Maid of Honor) to read through so the guests would understand the significance of each phase of the ceremony.

Manju Mehta from Shagun Weddings was great to work with because she makes sure she gets to know each couple and each family to truly personalize your decor and bring your vision to life. She went through every aspect of decor with me from lighting to fabrics and layout of each event space. She also toured the venues with us to ensure that we would get what we wanted. One of the tricky things with a big ceremony like that is when close family members and the bridal party are actively involved in the ceremony it is often hard for guests to be able to watch the ceremony. We rented out special 2 feet tall risers for the whole mandap and jhoola/oonjal (Swing) so that no one would have to stand up or move around to be able to watch our ceremony.

The guests had a few hours of downtime to rest, and in the evening we had cocktail hour, followed by a Christian ceremony at the reception venue that led us straight into our reception. This venue was the embodiment of glamor-- marble floors, grand staircases, and huge chandeliers with an AV system that was out of this world. I really wanted cold sparks (indoor fireworks), and they were able to make that dream come true, but also able to include versatile uplighting, dance floor lighting, and fog/cloud effects for our first dance. The AV systems were incorporated into the venue, so planning for our DJ and lighting and special effects was easy because it all came part of the package!

The evening was basically a luxurious fairytale dream. My family is very traditional in their Hindu background and my husband's side of the family has non-denominational Christian backgrounds, so we wanted to be able to incorporate both traditions into our big day. We are both active duty Air Force officers (which is how we met in Dayton, OH) so he wore his mess dress uniform (or as I like to call it his "Prince Charming getup") for our Christian ceremony and reception.

The trickiest part of wedding planning is figuring out priorities and budgeting. Although parents are often as generous with their wallets as they are boundless with their love, it is important as an Indian-American woman to be able to contribute to her own wedding and minimize unnecessary expenditure when possible. Instead of getting a multi-tiered traditional wedding cake in a few flavors, we opted for a unique twist with Nothing Bundt Cakes! We got a cupcake tower from Amazon, had them place our bundt cake on the top tier, and filled the remaining tiers and our dessert table with bundtinis (their version of cupcakes) in 7 or 8 different flavors! We bought gold cupcake liners from Hobby Lobby in lieu of the dark brown standard ones the bakery uses so that they would tie into our decor theme a little better, and that small detail made a very pretty difference. We also had a variety of Indian pastries on platters, so our guests had a vast repertoire of desserts (and flavors) to indulge in. There were several things we definitely splurged on -- especially venues and photo/videography, but we wouldn't change that for the world. Our venues were beautiful, our decor was true to our vision, we had a dream-come-true day, and above all of it we have breathtaking photography and videography that artfully capture our memories.

How did you select your bridal lengha or wedding dress? Did you have a favorite color in mind?

For our Hindu ceremony in the morning, I have been dreaming of a luxurious red kancheepuram silk saree from Chennai Silks since the moment I saw it on a commercial several years ago. It was part of their Vivaaha collection and my mom actually went to India to get it for me! I felt so elegant in that saree.

My favorite part was my 9-yard saree which is traditionally worn during the second half of a Hindu Brahmin wedding. I didn't want a cookie-cutter maroon one, but I wanted it to be fun and true to who I am while paying respect to our roots. I actually ended up getting a saree made straight from the silk looms of Kancheepuram with multicolored checkers and a border in my favorite colors: hot pink with gold embroidery!

I knew there was no way I could pull off wearing an all-white gown in front of my parents and 200 of their best friends (as all-white is often considered inauspicious), so my white gown dreams came true in the form of the most beautiful ivory lehenga I've ever laid eyes on (thanks Meenal aunty from Meenal's Indian Fashions in Herndon, VA!).

What was the most enjoyable part of the planning process, and why?

We scripted our Christian ceremony ourselves (as in, I did it with his help in selecting scripture readings) and a close friend of his from college (the United States Air Force Academy) also happens to be an ordained minister so we had her officiate our Christian ceremony. It was a really special and personal touch we were able to add to our day.

I also really enjoyed putting together the narrative for my MoH to read during our Hindu ceremony. Not only did it help our guests understand the phases of the ceremony but it also helped us better understand and appreciate the traditions that we were honoring.

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.

We DIY-ed a lot of stuff! We got blush and gold gift bags in bulk from an online outlet, designed and made our own Thank You stickers using Avery software to put on the bags, and even made our seating cards for our guests at the reception with Avery software and cardstock.

With the help of some of my bridesmaids, I was able to make a sign for the shoe room at the ceremony venue, welcome signs for the ceremony and reception venues, a Pinterest-style sign for free seating at the lunch, and a sign in memory of my great-grandmother for her seat at the wedding ceremony.

Using the Audacity app, I cut the music for several of the dance routines: our first dance, another choreographed Bollywood duet we did, a bride and maid-of-honor duet dance, as well as the music for each of the bridal party entrances and our Christian ceremony entrance! I actually counted the number of steps at our reception venue and timed the counts of music for us to make it down the stairs at the same time and meet in the middle for the ceremony. It all takes time and hard work but all the personal pieces made our day so special.

Do you have any words of wisdom for Brides-To-Be?

We had an unforgettable day that still feels like a dream, and we hope it helps inspire other couples to believe you really can have all you want in your big day if you plan for it and make it happen-- no matter the different backgrounds you come from, it'll be a beautiful dreamy union of you and the person you love and choose and fought for, but also your families. Remember that the people you include in your dream team for your dream day should be the people you want and trust to make the best of the day for you.

Anything else you want to tell us? We'd love to hear all about your other details! (jewelry, mehndi, venue, cake, bouquets, etc.)

Instead of bouquets we did diyas (clay lamps) for each of the bridesmaids to carry down the aisle. We used LED candles inside the lamps and the outside of the lamps were decorated with mirrors and intricate Indian paint patterns.

Mehndi with Heena was an amazing decision for us. Heena aunty and her team were stellar in personalizing my Mehndi and making each woman's experience so special. She included every unique detail of my and Harrison's love story and life into my henna design, and even did a beautiful pattern on his hand with my name written in it. Fabulous genuine high-quality art which I will remain forever grateful for.

Visit us tomorrow for a new film that will inspire you!

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Long Island, NY Sikh Wedding by With This Ring Wedding Films

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MAGAZINE

PLATINUM VENDOR BLOG

FILMS

Indian Wedding Videos

All posts with Season "Autumn"

Long Island, NY Sikh Wedding by With This Ring Wedding Films

Fairfield, CA Sikh Wedding by Sameer Soorma Studios

Princeton, NJ Indian Wedding by Fine Art Productions

Charlotte, NC Indian Wedding by Sculpting With Time Productions

Chantilly, VA Indian Fusion Wedding by Akbar Sayed Photography

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