Before tying the knot with a gorgeous outdoor ceremony at the San Mateo Marriott, today's blushing Indian bride got ready to meet up wit the Raja of her dreams and Joseph Pascua Photography for a fabulous first look photo shoot that was as sweet as can be! Maharani Puja enlisted beauty expert, Mishal Sahdev Beauty Studio, to deliver flawless hair and makeup on her big day, and dazzled in her bridal pick — a vibrant red and gold anarkali with aubergine and violet accents. Her hubby-to-be, Chetan, complemented her handsomely in an ivory sherwani and red pants, and in just a bit we'll be tikka deep in the happy couple's incredible Indian wedding ceremony highlights! Before we get to those though, head into the complete gallery for an exclusive look at Puja's bridal bouquet by Thuy Dekor!
Maharani Puja, on meeting the Raja of her dreams, Chetan:
"Chetan and I met on shaadi.com. He lived 20 minutes away from me and we both went to San Jose State, but I had never even heard of the guy. It took him about 2 weeks of emailing back and forth to finally call me and after our first conversation, he called me the next day, and then the next until we finally went on our first date.
I don't know if there was an exact thing that said "Puja, its's HIM!" We said our first I love you's about two months in and ever since that day, Chetan made me feel like he was "the one" with every thing he did. He is the most humble, gentle, and caring man I'd met. He makes me smile the hardest and makes me feel like the luckiest woman out there and I knew I had to marry him. We had this thing where I'd always ask, "Are we getting married yet" and he'd say, "In less than 10 years.""
On Chetan's proposal:
"Chetan got my siblings involved and they pretended we were going to have a slumber party at his house. Because it was a long weekend, he said we'd go get sandwiches at a deli I've been wanting to go to for MONTHS and tell my siblings when we were on the way home to meet us. He came to my house in a rented convertible "for the nice drive" and I told him to wait because I was making pancake mix for the morning after our slumber party. He told me to put the directions in for the Ritz-Carlton in Half Moon Bay so we could go on a scenic drive to the deli. We're driving along Highway 1, and he said "change of plans-we're going to the Ritz." I got so mad because I was starving but said ok-because who says no to the Ritz! We park and walk in and he tells me to wait. He goes to the counter and checks in. We walk towards the room and he lets me in first. On the bed is the word "love" spelled out in flowers and I'm just like oh, you're so romantic. Then there's a card on the desk from the Ritz-Carlton reading "Mr & Future Mrs. Kotak." Everything is just so fast that I'm still thinking WHAT and then see him on his knee. I cried, Facetimed my family, and then asked if we could go eat!"
On her customized shoes:
"I LOVED my shoes! My sister and I went shopping in San Francisco and stumbled upon Shoes of Prey which is located inside Nordstrom's. They 100% customize your shoes to exactly how you want — color, style, heel size. They even let you customize the inside soles. Mine had "Mrs. Kotak" and our wedding date."
Meet me back here in a bit for all of our favorite ceremony highlights from Puja and Chetan's Indian wedding in Northern California!
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