Ladies! Don't miss Navya & Nikhil's enchanting wedding bash in today's Platinum Guide Blog!

How did you meet your Groom and when did you know he was "the one"?
Nikhil and I met 10 years before we got married, at Wayne State University, in the heart of Detroit. We were neighbors in the dorm and first met on the elevator. I noticed Nikhil was carrying a biology lab book and mentioned that I need to buy one of those too, and he immediately offered me his, and said that he had an extra one. I stepped in his room to grab the book and was so impressed with how clean he kept his room, and that's when I knew he was the one! Haha just kidding! We quickly became best friends and spent so much time together between our classes, studying, and doing homework. We danced together on the Wayne State Raas team, ate countless meals together at the dining halls, and ignited a passion for traveling during our long walks around the city.
 
Nikhil has been my personal hype man and always encouraged and supported me throughout my years of medical training. He stands by my side and empowers me to be the absolute best version of myself. Whenever I'm with Nikhil, we laugh until our bellies hurt, I forget all of my worries, and seeing him makes my soul light up.
 
Share the scoop on your Proposal Story!
We went to Thailand in June 2018. It was a medical school graduation gift to me from Nikhil. He told me we had to go to Thailand and nowhere else because there were elephants there and of course how could I say anything but yes to that! After all, elephants are my favorite animal and it has always been a dream of mine to meet one of these majestic beasts.
 
It was exactly halfway through our trip. June 6th, 2018. We woke up super early and got ready just like every other day so far on the trip. But this day was different. This was the day I would get to spend the day playing with elephants and taking care of them! I was ecstatic to say the least.
 
I couldn't figure out the perfect outfit to wear, so he gave me one of his sweaters to wear. Luckily I got my nails done the night before because I insisted that my nails needed to look cute for the elephants! We got to the elephant sanctuary and I didn't realize a group of wild animals could make me this happy. Little did I know, I was about to become exponentially happier.
 
I was playing with two baby elephants when I heard "hey Navya..." I turned around and saw Nikhil down on one knee. I didn't really hear anything else he said after that (don't worry we have it captured on video). Of course I said yes and we shared the rest of our day with those glorious beasts that were part of the proposal.
 
We called our family that evening and I found out that Nikhil went to my parents house before our trip to ask their permission to marry me! He made sure I was out of the house by asking me to go shopping for our trip and he knew this would keep me out of the house for a few hours. Haha he knows me so well!
 
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.
We wanted a very simple and elegant wedding ceremony so we could keep the focus on the main event of the day- getting married! We designed a custom monogram/logo together and had a custom vinyl runner made with it. We also had take away bags printed with this monogram.
 
We all know Indian wedding ceremonies can be long, so we made a fun wedding program with a crossword puzzle on it. The clues were questions about Nikhil and I and all of our guests had so much fun figuring out the answers!
 
Nikhil and I collect ornaments from each new place we visit, so we wanted to give our wedding guests a Detroit ornament to commemorate the beginning of our journey! City Bird had the best wooden ornaments custom made for us and they were the perfect take away gift!
 
How did you select your bridal lengha or wedding dress? Did you have a favorite color in mind?
Nikhil and I went to India and went to countless stores to try on all the dresses! Each dress I wore, Nikhil would ask me how I felt in it and then he would tell me if he liked the dress or not. I had no idea what color dress I wanted, but I was definitely leaning towards a lighter color- because I love all things light, bright and airy! However, every time I tried on a light colored lengha, I was not impressed and did not feel special. I realized that I loved the way jewel tones looked on me and shifted my entire focus for the dress search. After several days of not finding "the one," I finally found a store that had the fabric types and dress styles that I loved. I tried on THE dress and immediately fell in love with it, and so did Nikhil!
 
What was the most enjoyable part of the planning process, and why?
Right after we got engaged, I moved across the country and started my medical residency. Busy with work and living in another state made wedding planning a bit of a challenge but my sweet husband made the entire process a breeze for me. Although we were only able to see each other a handful of times over that year, we became closer than ever!
 
I spent my evenings planning and designing each event, and then I would convey my thoughts to Nikhil over a phone call. I would find a list of vendors that I thought would be suitable for us, and Nikhil would set up meetings and go to visit each one of them, and facetime me each time. He coordinated with both of our families, arranged all the taste testings, vendor meetings, and went to every meeting prepared with a document with all of the details I asked for.
 
What did your guests particularly love about your Wedding?
To this day, over one year later, our guests continue to talk about the food at our wedding. We couldn't be happier because food is what makes both of us the happiest, so we are so pleased that our family and friends thought that the food at our wedding was as great as we hoped it would be.
 
Was there a really special moment in your wedding that constantly replays in your mind?
Although we planned to do a first look, we didn't have the chance to do one. The first time we saw each other was at the mandap, and I will never forget the look on Nikhil's face when he saw me. That was the moment that we both realized that we finally get to marry each other and we were so excited.
 
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.
The mehendi was an intimate event with close friends and family hosted in our parents backyard. My decor inspiration came from the handwritten notes that Nikhil would fold into origami paper cranes and give to me back in college. I showed him my vision and he and his family hand made hundreds of paper cranes to make it come to life!
 
We wanted the sangeet to be all about dancing and food, so we had a very colorful and dance oriented street fair themed event. We really wanted authentic Indian street vendor style food and Taste of India Suvai made our wishes come true with live food stations. Our guests spent the entire night dancing away and snuck away to the outdoor food stations whenever they had the chance.
 
Do you have any words of wisdom for Brides-To-Be?
Have fun planning and enjoy the whole process, it'll be over before you know it! Don't stress about the little things and keep your eye on the big picture because no one will know about those little details except for you! Pick vendors that you can get along with and communication is key!
 
It can be hard with Indian weddings to plan everything the way you want it, because traditions, culture, and family is such a big part of it. But, find a way to make your vision work while keeping those things in mind. Work with your family to see how you can incorporate your flair while keeping in mind some of the more traditional elements.
 
Anything else you want to tell us? We'd love to hear all about your other details! (jewelry, mehndi, venue, cake, bouquets, etc.)
Thank you to all of our vendors who made our wedding weekend so special and memorable!
STYLE
GUIDE style
Traditional
Romantic
Mehndi
 season
Summer
 color
Photography: Strokes Photography | DJ: Naveen Productions - DJ, Lighting, Entertainment and Photo Booth | Planning & Design: Marigold Wedding Planners | Baraat: DJ Ice & Fresh Productions | Planning & Design: Marigold Wedding Planners | Ceremony Venue: The Henry Autograph Dearborn | Cinematography: Capturing Arts | Outfits & Jewelry: Custom made in India | Mehendi & Sangeet HMUA: Jennifer Martin | Ceremony Makeup: Bianca Sandiha | Ceremony Hair & Draping: Aysha Riaz | Mehendi: Henna Beauty by Krupa | Mehendi Venue: Groom's House | Mehendi Decor: Handmade by Groom and His Family | Sangeet Venue: Bharatiya Temple | Sangeet Food: Taste of India Suvai | Sangeet Food: Ann Arbor + Desi Indian Kulfi | Ceremony Aisle Runner: The Original Runner Company | Ceremony Food: Ashoka Indian Cuisine | Wedding Favors: Detroit Ornaments From City Bird
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