How did you meet your Groom and when did you know he was "the one"?
Chandni and Jay first met at one of their mutual friend's apartment in Irvine. Towards the end of the night Jay was looking for a new beer pong partner and Chandni had volunteered to join his team. After running the table for the rest of the night the two of them starting becoming good friends. After a few hangouts, the two realized that this friendship was turning into something more. A month after the couple had met, Chandni had graduated from college and moved back home to San Fernando Valley. The couple remained friends and kept in touch through texting and phone calls. Jay always tried to get Chandni to come to hang out with him (he is very persistent) after she moved back home but the timing never seemed to work and it was hard when Chandni lived in the boonies. After 6 months of being friends and staying in touch, Jay decided to ask Chandni out on their first official date, April 6th, 2013.
After their trip to Peru, is when Chandni knew Jay was "the one."
Share the scoop on your Proposal Story!
The day Jay finally popped the question. Jay planned this day out to every single detail. He planned and designed a scavenger hunt with the use of a scavenger app called Klikaklu. He led Chandni to believe that they were just going out on a late anniversary date that involved an app telling us where to go all day. Jay asked a bunch of ordinary questions as if he was filling out a survey of things the couple enjoyed to do, their shoe size, favorite color, etc. Little did she know that Jay was actually gathering all this information to plan out the whole proposal ;)
The date started off by opening the app on their phone that had a countdown of when they could start the scavenger hunt. The concept of the app was to guide you to different locations and to match the picture in which the app would give you to reveal the next clue. The first clue lead the couple to a shopping center where they had to match an image on one of the windows of the shopping strip. Once the couple matched the picture the app revealed that they had unlocked a free reservation for a cooking class (which Chandni and Jay attended on their first anniversary). After the class was complete the couple then opened the app again to receive clue #2. This clue took them to the Oaks mall, where both Jay and Chandni had to find and match a specific directory location. Once the couple matched the picture, the app asked for them to look under the directory for an envelope. The couple opened the envelope and inside was a free coupon for Chandni to get a touch up at Sephora and a drink coupon for Jay to indulge at the local Lazy Dog restaurant. Clue #3 was a QR code printed on the bottom of the coupon code that they had to unlock which asked the couples to go to the fitting rooms at the Nordstroms located in the mall. Jay with the help of Chandni's closest friends purchased an entire outfit for the proposal and that outfit was waiting for her inside the dressing room. Once they changed into their new attire the couple then opened the last and final clue. Clue #4 the last stop on the list was Westlake Village. The clue told Chandni and Jay to follow the red balloons to their final destination where Chandni would have to type in a 8-digit code. At the final balloon, there was a table with flowers scattered all over and an iPad. Once Chandni inputted the code to unlock the iPad, a video montage started playing that Jay had created (similar to how he asked Chandni to be his girlfriend 4 years back). Once the video ended, Jay took Chandni's hand and started to express his love for her. Chandni, overwhelmed with joy, did not really remember what Jay had said because she was already in tears but recalls just saying "YES". After the proposal all of Jay and Chandni's close family and friends came out to celebrate with the couple.
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.
I had my dad, Raj Patel, be my wedding planner. He organized and planned the entire wedding. I would research online and send my dad excel sheets of vendors, ideas, and pictures and he would contact multiple people and just make sure each one was executed successfully.
How did you select your bridal lengha or wedding dress? Did you have a favorite color in mind?
I knew that I wanted a velvet outfit but the color was undecided. I went to India, and my first day of shopping I did not want to buy anything. I wanted to try on different styles and different colors to get an idea of the perfect outfit that I wanted. I did my research before going to India and had a style in mind. After trying on different styles and colors, I ended up creating a custom wedding lengha. I decided to go with a traditional red with a pastel pink dupatta.
What was the most enjoyable part of the planning process, and why?
Getting to pick out every little detail of the decor. This was one aspect of the wedding that I got to have full control over and discuss with our vendor (Kumba Events).
What did your guests particularly love about your Wedding?
The ENTERTAINMENT! There were a lot of performances and a lot of music and dancing.
Was there a really special moment in your wedding that constantly replays in your mind?
The entire wedding was like a dream come true. My dad (who was my wedding planner) did an amazing job to make sure that the entire weekend went smoothly. I wish I could replay the entire weekend over and over.
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.
I wanted to do something different for my henna night, so I had a Mediterranean themed henna party. We had Mediterranean food and decor! Additionally, for my garba night, I wanted it to look and feel like a village in India. We had food stalls ( just like the food stalls on the streets of India), decor (decorative umbrellas, matkas, bike riksha, swing, etc.) and the traditional Gujarati street food. I surprised the groom at the garba with a fusion dance and the groom surprised me at the reception with a cute "Chandni" dance (since my name is Chandni) and a bhangra dance. We had families and friends all perform both nights, which was exciting for all of the guests.
Do you have any words of wisdom for Brides-To-Be?
Enjoy every minute of all of the events. Do not get stressed out if you see something missing or if plans change, because there is nothing you can do about it at that moment. This is your wedding day and you will cherish these moments forever.
