Today's second Filmy wedding wonder features Indian bride, Ashley, the Raja of her dreams, Mehul, and their incredible Hindu fusion celebration in Norfolk, Virginia, planned by the amazing team from KIS (cubed) Events! You'll delight in double the ceremonies from the Catholic wedding, followed by sensational garba highlights, to an Indian wedding ceremony at the Renaissance Portsmouth-Norfolk Waterfront Hotel where Partyland Sajawat decked out the interior with superb floral and decor. Boomtown Film Co. shot this beautiful reel and picked up on all the unforgettable shaadi details from Ashley and Mehul's event, from the elegant floral details that lined the pews of the church and the intricate lace on Maharani Ashley's white wedding gown, to her and Mehul's adorable first look at the 1:34 mark and Bridal Elements by Nirjary Desai's gorgeous mehndi work. Regeti's Photography was in attendance to capture it all in photographic form, and we're knocking on their door for an exclusive peek!
Maharani Ashley, on how she met the Raja of her dreams, Mehul:
"Mehul and I met our first year in college at the University of Virginia in 2007. I had seen Mehul prior to meeting him because our dorms were right next to each other. Coincidentally, several of my close girl friends also lived in his dorm and had several classes with Mehul because they were all science majors. It wasn’t until the end of October that we finally met at a Halloween party. Before that night, our paths had crossed a few times, but we had never formally spoken to each other.
Over the course of our first year of college we became very good friends. We were each other's go-to person when we wanted to grab lunch or dinner at the dining hall and we also would study together in the student lounge. Many of our friends encouraged (and peer pressured!) us to date each other, but we were both extremely reluctant since we were such good friends...but about a year later (October 2008), it just happened!"
On their engagement:
"Before I started grad school in August 2013, we decided to take a trip to Cabo. Prior to our arrival, Mehul had been in contact with the assistant at the resort we were staying at, to plan the proposal for the evening we arrived.
The night we arrived, I was under the impression that we would be going to a cocktail party at one of the resort’s restaurants. I was told it was a “VIP Cocktail Party” so I should dress accordingly since we had heard that some celebrities had been spotted at this resort as well. Mehul was rushing me to get ready (as usual) and insisted that we leave on time. Once to we walked down to the restaurant, I realized that no one was there yet! The server had a suspicious smile on his face and greeted Mehul as “Senor Patel.” This was also a little strange and it only got stranger, as we were escorted to the back of the restaurant where the wine cellar was. The path towards the back of the wine cellar was dimly light by candles and a stream of rose petals. Once we arrived at the end, I found that Mehul had arranged a private dinner just for the two of us. I also noticed there was a Microsoft Surface tablet which included a PowerPoint presentation of ‘our story,’ which Mehul hand drew himself. Mehul asked me sit down and watch the presentation, with each slide representing an important part of our 6 year friendship/relationship. The last slide was the exact setting we were in and at the end, Taylor Swift’s “Love Story” began playing (one of my favorite songs!) and he got down on one knee and proposed!"
On her wedding style:
"Because we had several events, it was hard for us to focus on 1 specific theme or palette of colors. Instead, we choose a separate color scheme for each event. We kept the Catholic ceremony simple, yet bright, with yellows, pinks, and a hint of turquoise (to remain consistent with the colorful bridesmaid saris). The Garba was going to be our "brightest" event and we played off our outfit colors and selected hot pink and orange, in addition to hints of green.
We wanted softer colors on Saturday so we opted for a blush pink lighting during the Hindu wedding and carried that over to the Reception as well, while also incorporating lots of champagne gold, ivory, and slight undertones of navy."
On shopping for her bridal fashions:
"Prior to getting engaged, I never thought too much about what my "dream" dress would look like. However, with the help of Pinterest, online blogs, and many visits to the Maharani website, I was able to develop an idea for what it was that I liked. I decided to stick with the traditional wedding colors and focus more on detail work on certain parts of my outfit, rather than having lots of work all over my outfit. With the help of an amazing designer, Surinder Bedi (Image Boutique Shop - Lawrenceville, GA), she helped create the most breathtaking pieces for both Mehul and myself. She incorporated intricate work on the sleeves of my blouse as well as personalizing my dupatta with an "A&M." She did the same thing for my fiance's piece and kept everything so tasteful!"
On her and Mehul's special song:
"We didn't have a special song for our first dance, but we did enter to the song "The Way I Are" by Timbaland feat. Franciscio. As most of our friends know, we met during a Halloween party and this was the song that was playing in the background at the time. Mehul and I bonded over how much we liked the song and that's how our friendship began. Even to this day, when are out somewhere or at an event and this song plays, Mehul and I are always so excited and reminded of how our story began. So it was only right that we come full circle with this song and enter with it for our Reception!"
On working with her vendors:
"Nirjary (KIS (cubed) Events & Bridal Elements by Nirjary Desai) was not only my wedding planner, but also did my mehndi for me as well. She knew exactly what I wanted and was able to create exactly what I had envisioned. The best part about my mehndi design was that Nirjary was able to incorporate the cross + Om that was on our wedding invitation. It was really important to me emphasize that Mehul and I had an inter-faith marriage and making sure that both religions were given equal importance.
Jessica (My Cake Delights) was SO great to work with! She was able to turn our vision into a true reality. We wanted to incorporate our "leaf" monogram throughout our wedding (wedding invitation/stationary, dance floor monogram, step 'n repeat backdrop) and Jessica was able to even use it on our cake! She created a stencil that was identical to our monogram which she used to decorate one of the tiers in our cake. Because we had a large number of guests at our reception (500+) we decided to go with a fake cake and serve sheet cake to our guests. This provided for some cost savings, while also being able to incorporate creative designs on our cake. One tier was our monogram, followed by fondant blush rosettes, an ombre design with diamond-shaped cutouts, which would be separated by a navy satin ribbon (navy being one of the main underlying colors for our reception).
Stay tuned for an out-of-this-world wedding wonder, coming up next!
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