We have a personalized love story today celebrating Maharani Ambika and Robert. The bride and groom both live in San Francisco but decided to return to Robert’s hometown of Austin for the wedding because of the friendly people, amazing cuisine, music and quirky culture. Ambika is Indian American and Robert is Taiwanese American. It was very important that both backgrounds and heritages were celebrated and after meeting with Yellow Umbrella Events & Design. The bride began the gorgeous day with a beauty session with her lovely ladies. For her traditional Indian wedding ceremony, Ambika intermixed hues of dark pink and blue into her paisley infused wedding lengha. Coming right up we have an amazing baraat ceremony that you won’t want to miss! Get lost in the lovely gallery by Studio Uma!
From the Bride:
Share the scoop on your Proposal Story!
A girlfriend had planned a photoshoot in San Francisco (months in advance) with a bunch of her friends for a project I knew she was working on. The girls and I got all dressed up, went to the North Beach area of San Francisco, and a photographer friend of ours took photos. Halfway through, the photographer told us he wanted to relocate to Coit Tower. When we got there, Robert was waiting, with roses, a bunch of placards, our photographer friend (and an audience of passerby!), in the same spot Robert had told me years earlier that he wanted to marry me. He had illustrated our relationship on the placards and the last one had an engagement ring embedded in it. After he proposed, and I said yes, he blindfolded me and took me to our favorite wine bar in San Francisco where I found all of my family, his family (whom he had flown there from Austin), and all of our closest friends waiting to celebrate.
How did you select your bridal lengha or wedding dress? Did you have a favorite color in mind?
Robert and I visited India while we were engaged, so we bought our Hindu ceremony outfits in Ahmedabad. Though both Chinese and Indian cultures dress their brides in red and gold, I wanted to do something a bit different, so I chose an ornate lengha that was royal blue and bright pink, with ivory and gold detail. The design details on the lengha made me feel very regal, but not too uncomfortable or stifled, when wearing it.
What was the most enjoyable part of the planning process, and why?
Food tasting (dinner and dessert) because... duh. We tried a few different dinner caterers and many different dessert options and the vendors in Austin were very welcoming and delicious. Robert and I love tasting different foods and this was also an activity that we could share easily with our family members.
The day before our wedding, I was determined to have a Lady Sangeet, but we wanted the men to be entertained too, so we sent them next door to start a pub crawl down Rainey Street. They had a great time and it turned out that some of our relatives are very generous after a few drinks! For the baraat, Robert was standing up on the back of this huge longhorn, in his sherwani, dancing to bhangra music. Those moments were so hilarious and energizing and unforgettable.
Do you have any words of wisdom for Brides-To-Be?
1) Decide upfront what you want your wedding to be about. For us, it was about sharing our culture and our big step with our loved ones and having a big budget bash. If, for you, it's about wearing the most beautiful clothes, that's great! Prioritize that and make sure everyone involved (including you) takes that to heart.
2) Look for ways to keep your guests engaged. A lot of our friends are students and couldn't give us gifts, so I asked them to get together and make some decorations for the reception the day before our wedding. This way, they met each other, made new friends, and contributed to our wedding in a unique and visible way.
See you in a twinkle!
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