Happy Wednesday Maharanis! Today, we are elated to share a larger than life Indian Fusion Wedding out of Dallas, Texas. All brides envision their special day, walking down the aisle to marry the man of her dreams. However, Maharani Sushmita walked down the aisle to her beau in several different types of weddings. Without further ado, let's jump into this robust wedding consisting of the Mehndi (Henna) night, Gaye Holud (Turmeric Ceremony), the civil, American ceremony, Nikah (Wedding) and a reception party that is most certainly fit for a queen. With the fusion of two very different cultures and seamless days of planning, The One Event had their work cut out for them in Dallas, Texas. Sushmita was able to interweave her Bangladeshi heritage with her future beau Matt's American background and it all started with a traditional Mehndi Night with henna artist Afshan Moosa embellishing the bride's hands and feet with ornate mehndi designs. The event was followed by the vibrant Gaye Holud (Turmeric Ceremony) at the award-winning Renaissance Dallas Hotel. During this ceremony, guests fed the bride and groom a fruit or sweet and put a bit of turmeric on their face. The ladies from Ms Painted Lady were on deck to beautify this Maharani on both of her special days with their makeup artistry skills. Indian weddings certainly can be a bit bustling to say the least, but, it appears that Matt handled himself rather well! Trying to figure out how this bride pulled her larger than life wedding together? Read on below as Maharani Weddings caught up with the beauty who dished on her special day below the gallery snapped by William Bichara Photography.
How did you meet your Raja and when did you know he was "the one"?
I met my husband Matt back in 2009. We had both just graduated college and had mutual friends in the area so we would see each other often in social settings. Eventually we became close friends and I got to learn what a kind-hearted, open minded, gentleman he is and it quickly became clear I'd never meet a better man.
Tell us about your wedding style. When you sat down to really figure out how your dream wedding would look, did you start with one central color, a palette of colors, or a theme that served as your inspiration?
When it came to planning my head was all over the place...so many options that I liked and wanted everything! I was blessed to have the opportunity to plan multiple ceremonies since my husband and I come from two different backgrounds and we were planning a fusion wedding. Because of this I was able to fulfill a different want for all different styles between each ceremony. I love all the elaborate colors, details and traditions of my Bangladeshi heritage and we were able to execute that at the Mehndi (Henna night) and Gaye Holud (Tumeric Ceremony). I've also always liked the idea of a down to earth, outdoor, daytime ceremony and since we had a Civil Ceremony to honor my husband's background it worked out perfect. For our Nikah (Islamic religious ceremony) I fulfilled the need for an intimate ceremony with only immediate relatives. Finally, for our reception style Bangladeshi ceremony I got to hit on all things Glam!
How did you choose your lengha or lenghas? Did you work with a certain designer? Did you spend hours on the internet first?
I did spend hours on Pinterest trying to decide which of many gorgeous styles I wanted to be photographed in for pictures that would last a lifetime. Finally, I decided to stop agonizing over it and just pick one of anything I liked. My designer, Red Paisley, was super helpful and were able to custom make anything or mimic any example presented. At one point I had sketched my own Lehenga and ordered it, but later changed my mind and chose something I had seen on Pinterest. Luckily my initial order hadn't gone into production yet so I had the freedom to change my mind.
Looking back, was there a really special moment that you remember from your wedding that stands out as the most magical?
The part of the wedding we spent the least amount of time planning ended up being the most special moment, our Nikah ceremony. The Nikah is the Islamic wedding ceremony which is meant to be kept low key and not about the glitz and glam. We kept our Nikah limited to immediate family members, and we held it in the Bridal suite between the time of our Civil Ceremony and Bangladeshi Ceremony. It was short but so very sweet. This is the ceremony when I truly felt like I was now married. The fact that we kept it so intimate intensified the amount of love and support we were able to feel in that moment, which made it incredibly emotional and memorable.
Did you and your Raja have a special song that you danced to as your first dance? How did you choose it?
My husband and I have multiple songs that are "our" song so it took some debating to come to a decision. We ended up picking "You & I" by John Legend. I remember him singing this song to me in the car when the album first came out, and it was also playing in the background the night he proposed so it was kind of a no brainer.
How about hair and makeup? Did you already have a style in mind or did you work with a specialist to find your perfect look?
Again, like almost everything else, I didn't know exactly what I wanted because I liked so many different styles and it was difficult to pick. This is where having a GOOD vendor comes in handy. Because if they know their stuff they can help you come to a comfortable decision. I could not praise my hair and makeup specialist more for being so phenomenal. Alex at Ms Painted Lady took any look I showed her and ran with it and talked me through anything that was iffy.
Did family or friends help out with certain special details that really added to the event?
Our events would have been nothing without the help of dear friends and family. From venue negotiations, handmade decor, food, manual labor, to incredible dances that were choreographed by my bridesmaid who had a torn ACL... the "village" really came through for our big day!
Anything else you want to tell us? We'd love to hear all about your other details! (Jewelry, mehndi, venue, cake, bouquets, etc.)
It is absolutely and genuinely heartwarming to see people of different backgrounds embrace other cultures. Most of my family had never been to an American wedding before mine, and most of my in-laws and friends had never experienced a South Asian wedding before. I kept that in mind during my entire planning process and my goal was to give both sides an experience they would cherish and remember forever.
Now that you have witnessed Shusmita’s Mehndi and Gaye Holud, make sure you return for the amazing Indian wedding, civil wedding and blockbuster reception party! This is one wedding you certainly don’t want to miss!
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By Drsaz. 07:41pm October 27, 2016 (PDT)
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