Get ready to enjoy Evani & Gurpal's intimate wedding celebration in today's Platinum Guide Blog!
How did you meet your Groom and when did you know he was "the one"?
I met my groom through my sister and his brother. Being a single mother my mom was very protective about my sister and I so where she went I had to go along... it was kind of like the buddy system with my sister. So when she began to date Manpreet, my now brother in law, my mom would always send me along cause she didn’t know in fact they were going on dates and my sister decided to wait to tell her that they were a couple. Once or twice was okay but third time Manpreet also had enough and began to bring his brother along. In the beginning me and my husband could not stand one another, but as time went on we became friends and a support system for each other of a sort, I had just gone through a break up and swore I would only date to marry because if theres no future I didnt want to go down that road. Gurpal, aka Ronie, knew that and he assured me that we were just friends, till that one day when he told me he loved me, everything changed.
I knew he was the one when I saw the way he treated his own family and my family and the way he held everyone at such a high regard. Ronie & I are both Punjabi but our religious upbringing is quite the opposite which I always felt would become an issue but we always talked openly and I found that to be such a strong quality in him. We dated for four years and in those 4 years he not once pressured me into changing, he accepted me and my family for who we were and I accepted him and his family for who they were, there was such a high level of understanding between me and him and our families that felt like it was unreal.
Share the scoop on your Proposal Story!
I always dreamed for the big proposal, I swore I didn't want to do it the desi way of roka then ring cause it never felt right to me, at that point you know theres a ring coming there is no surprise factor! But of course you imagine one way and something else happens, but he really blew me off my feet and did it in a way I never could have imagined. We had an expedited roka in April and we were deciding a wedding date and all and then in August on my birthday my mom and sister surprised me with tickets to Paris. Ever since we were young my mom told us that when we got married we would go to Paris for our wedding shopping and she made it happen! I didn't think much into it because its been a thing we've heard for so long. The day we land in Paris my sister had already booked to go up inside the Eiffel tower so we got dressed, my husband had bought me a dress for my birthday which was actually meant for this moment and I ended up wearing that exact one, and went. As I am looking at the Eiffel tower someone taps me on my back and I turn and my husband is on one knee and his parents and brothers are standing behind him. It was so magical, he even hired a professional photographer who took professional pics but only got one picture of the actual reaction cause so many people ended up crowding around. It was just so magical, then both our families stayed for 7 days and traveled and shopped and I feel like the trip brought both families closer.
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.
Planning a wedding in general is very tough, you cannot even begin to imagine how tough it was to plan during COVID! My overall experience with Venues, Hair & Makeup, Outfits, Decor theme, etc. was over my expectations!! Every vendor of mine went above and beyond and did even more than I would have imagined especially during COVID!
How did you select your bridal lengha or wedding dress? Did you have a favorite color in mind?
I selected my wedding outfit the first day I went to see options. My in laws own Samaira and husband owns Sammaira Man which are both desi wedding boutiques, they dress everyone for events so the pressure was really on to look the most unique and different. I knew I was going to do red as the color but I wanted more colors in it as well, when I tried the sample piece which was a lengha I fell in love with the concept, from that piece I customized my actual wedding day outfit.
What was the most enjoyable part of the planning process, and why?
The most enjoyable part of the planning process had to have been having family and friends over all the time planning and executing everything. It was like having a party everyday!
What did your guests particularly love about your Wedding?
All my guests kept telling me at each event how much love was in the air! Even after the wedding everyone remembers how much love and affection their was between both bride and grooms side and even among the guests!
Was there a really special moment in your wedding that constantly replays in your mind?
A special moment that constantly replays in my mind is when we did our welcome dinner photoshoot outside Taco Bell! My husband and I have a crazy obsession for Taco Bell, when our photographer asked us if where we wanted to do the photoshoot at the beach or in Central Park, etc we said no...we wanted different and we definitely got it!!
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.
Because of COVID and the social guidelines we had to follow our whole wedding was just family on both sides and I loved that!! Our guest list was the same throughout the week so the challenge was to make sure the was no repetition where guests would get bored. Overall I wanted to do colorful decor and my decorator and planner, Sonam & Ricky from exclusive decor, made it all come to life! Every event was different decor creating a different ambiance making it a different feel for al our guests!!
Do you have any words of wisdom for Brides-To-Be?
My words of wisdom for future brides to be is...have fun & go with the flow!! I planned every single detail small and big as soon as we chose a date, but then without a doubt everything went sideways with COVID. At that point I said forget it, I went with the flow and I had soooo much more fun and enjoyed everything so much more!! The tears and the stress was not needed, it was so much more fun when I began to go with the flow!
Don't forget to join us tomorrow for more!
