Good morning, Maharanis! We are right in the middle of this fabulous week, and there is no better way to start this Wednesday than taking a look at all the amazingness surrounding Riddhi & Ankit's big wedding festivities. So, let's not wait any longer and jump right into it! Right from the start, we have to say that this whimsical wedding ceremony was a cornucopia of beauty, love, and traditional flair, so you are going to love every bit of it. Still, what we loved the most was the magical, and almost heavenly, wedding ceremony hosted inside the halls of the Lucien's Manor. The interiors of this luxurious and exclusive venue, completely transformed into a mesmerizing backdrop filled with floral arrangements in soft-pasteli-hues thanks to the marvelous decor put together by the good friends at Partyland Sajawat. They took our lovebirds' vision of a dream wedding and made it a reality. How amazing is that! Although the decor was something to die for, it was our Riddhi, who stole all the looks after being pampered by Heena Das Beauty. The nude makeup, the on-point eyeliner contour, and the classy hairstyle, all a perfect combination to create a ravishing look for this Maharani! On the fashion department, Falguni Shane Peacock designed a gorgeous red lengha with golden embroidery that we absolutely adored. And the final touch, to achieve the ultimate bridal look, was in charge of Mendhi by Anuja, who designed a beautiful Mehndi that we cannot stop seeing. Beauty and flair at its best! After the wedding ceremony, it was time to celebrate the newlyweds with a vibrant reception party animated by none other than MVP DJs, who owned the stage and played the best Bollywood hits that put everyone to dance! When dinner time arrived, all the guests enjoyed a full culinary experience prepared by the talented from Moghul Caterers, who served mouth-melting plates that left everyone speechless! If you want to take a closer look at this fabulous celebration of love, don't miss the jaw-dropping gallery captured by Impressions By Annuj. Every single shot is an absolute visual delight that you don't want to miss, so go check them all out!
How did you meet your Groom and when did you know he was "the one"?
Ankit and I met at Rutgers University where we both graduated in Finance. Being in the same classes and having mutual friends, we became friends ourselves. As our friendship grew into crushes and then into love I knew he was the one when I saw what he valued in life. Family above all.
Share the scoop on your Proposal Story!
Ankit proposed to me in Dubrovnik, Croatia! Everything was picture perfect. I was ready for a full day of sightseeing and as the planner I am wanted to bring a backpack, water bottles, snacks etc Ankit convinced me to bring nothing at all because he wanted to go see the location of GOT scene of Battle of Blackwater. Since this was the only place he planned I decided I would just go along with it. He led me through back alleys and narrow roads. We made our way to the water edge on beautiful rocks with the walled City in front of us. Ankit got down on one knee and proposed. I actually was so shocked I didn’t say anything at all just shook my head yes so he had to ask again! The photographer he hired had captured our magically moment. The most heartwarming part of the proposal was when we got back to our AirBnb. Ankit had asked all our friends and family to record a congrats message and he played the video for me. For the entire 15 minutes I was in tears seeing my parents, grandparents friend and family wishing us on the moment important day even know they couldn’t be there in person!
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.
Both Ankit and I are the eldest and one of the first to get married in NJ. We worked together like a team throughout the process. I would do the research and make initial contact. After narrowing the vendors down Ankit would swoop in and work with them on negotiating and the contacts. There was not even one aspect of the wedding where we didn’t overlook. We budgeted with spreadsheets and graphs, we created our own wedding programs, handpicked our menu for each event and choreographed our dances. It was such a magically day because we become very close to the vendors since we worked so hard together to find people that worked well with us. We wanted each moment to be as special to our friends and family as it was to us. They were the reason we were there and we wanted to make sure they knew we appreciated that!
How did you select your bridal lengha or wedding dress? Did you have a favorite color in mind?
Red!!! I always pictured walking down the aisle in a red lengha. I’m pretty decisive with my choices and when I saw my red lengha with floral pinks and blue and bottom of jade I knew it was the one for me. My reception lengha was even more special to me. I worked with Falguni Shane Peacock in person to customize and create the perfect look. We took parts of designs from her previous looks and added and took away details to make a customized and perfect look for me. Meeting her was such an honor as I was such a fan of hers!
What was the most enjoyable part of the planning process, and why?
Weeks leading up to the wedding my entire family camped out at my parents house all together and it was the most amazing part of the wedding process. Whether it was creating the welcome baskets or making signs, we would all sit in the living room chatting, singing, loudly arguing and laughing together. From my grandparents, parents, cousins and aunts and uncles we all would stay up late, practice dances and make jokes. Those were the days I will cherish for the rest of my life.
What did your guests particularly love about your Wedding?
The personal touches were very important for us! We wanted to make sure our guests knew how valued they were in our lives. Anyone that entered our hotel on Friday had a special Welcome Committee that would greet them at the front door. They would have a garland presented to them, tikko in their forehead and would be handed the welcome basket which was an actual basket packed with essentials. For the wedding we had food packets on the chairs, each with special food we parceled from India and handmade sweets and snacks from my mom and grandmother for all 500 guests. Our wedding programs were designed by Ankit and I. During our Sangeet we had food stalls of paanwala, ice gola and even pani puri! We tried to keep all programs to a minimal so everyone had plenty of time to eat dance and enjoy! Our cake was even packed in to go boxes for anyone that missed out!
Was there a really special moment in your wedding that constantly replays in your mind?
Our entrance dance. Ankit and I had practiced our entrance dance for hours and days in our apartments. There were stressful days and days we were just exhausted from work but we practiced. Right before going out in the crowd, Ankit and I looked at each other. We were officially married, after 7 years of dating, 1 year of being engaged, months of planning, we were finally here. We knew everyone outside were the most special people that made our lives as blessed as it was. We knew we would be going outside as a unit and team officially for the first time even though we had felt it for long! We had so many nerves but we smiled and we were ready!
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.
One epic part of our wedding were the dances. Ankit and I worked hard perfecting our entrance dance as well as our first dance! We choreographed both and practiced endlessly. We only had one performance and it was our bridal party. They did a epic 15 minute skit/ performances fully equipped with props, voiceovers and surprises of our love story and bringing us back to present day.
Do you have any words of wisdom for Brides-To-Be?
Work as a team! The day of your wedding is all yours and seeing the details come together is so fulfilling and even more to cherish knowing you did it as partners.
Your vendors are also your partners. The day of you end up spending more of your time with your photographer, videographer and make up artist so please choose wisely. It’s your team, your the captain and only choose team members that you work well with because it will make the day of so much more stress free!
Anything else you want to tell us? We'd love to hear all about your other details! (jewelry, mehndi, venue, cake, bouquets, etc.)
One of the highlights for Ankit and I are were our engagement shoots. Annuj our photographer who is from Canada is absolutely brilliant. As Ankit and I love to travel, I found an old war plane museum in Canada and we were able to do our photoshoot there! Annuj made the experience unforgettable! The week of our wedding we did another photoshoot in NJ - whimsical and beautiful Gardens where ever picture looked right out of a fairytale. We wanted a large contrast from both shoots from edgy to romantic etc and Annuj captured everything perfectly. When Ankit proposed he booked photographed in Croatia and Greece and were able to do our pre wedding shoots in Dubrovnik and Santorini as well which was absolutely epic!
That is all for today, darlings. Remember that we have new and inspiring stories every day, so make sure to join us tomorrow. Same place, same time!
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