Happy Friday, beautiful Maharanis! If you were seeking inspiration to start planning your dream wedding, you've come to the right place! Today's romantic story features the lovely wedding festivities between Setu & Shivam, and it packs so many beautiful and inspiring ideas that we cannot wait to share with you. So, let's dive into this magical celebration of love through the impressive shots captured by Afterglow Creative. The big day arrived, and these lovebirds were more than prepared to unite their lives in marriage. They both looked ravishing, but it was our gorgeous Maharani who stole the show. She looked like a princess thanks to Makeup by Jenny Le, who took care of beauty needs. In case you were wondering who was in charge of planning and designing this cornucopia of beauty and traditional flair, it was none other than Divine Occasions, whose expertise in making brides' dreams come to life is out of the question! Utopian Events crafted enchanting decors to elevate the beauty of this charming wedding, creating the perfect backdrop for these lovebirds to tie the knot. After the wedding ceremony officiated at the Founders Hall, it was time to celebrate the newlyweds in a glamorous reception party hosted at the Hilton Charlotte City Center and fully animated by DJ Rang. They owned the stage and took the reception party to the next level! If you want to relive every moment of this romantic wedding, make sure to visit today's full gallery. Every single shot is a visual masterpiece you don't want to miss, so make sure to check them out!
How did you meet your Groom and when did you know he was "the one"?
Shivam and I initially met through a mutual friend in college back in 2007. We went to different universities though so didn’t run into him again until a year and a half later at a friends gathering where we remembered each other and instantly hit it off. After college though, we had plans in other cities so went separate ways but remained close. We reconnected in the same city a few years later and the rest is history!
Share the scoop on your Proposal Story!
Every year for the last 6 years or so, Shivam and I go on an international trip with friends. The year of our engagement was no different so we planned a trip to Chile, South America. I was incredibly busy at work during that time so Shivam planned most of the trip - and little did I know, he was also planning the proposal. On the second day of our trip, while we were in an incredibly beautiful part of Patagonia, he popped the question! It was so surprising and unexpected that I yelled “OMFG” - we even have video of it and played it at our wedding reception (of course, with the bad word bleeped out).
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.
A lot of planning went into our wedding and I’m so thankful for all of the incredible vendors that came together to make it happen! My first step was getting a wedding planner and luckily my cousin had just worked with and recommended Kathy Grate at Divine Occasions. Kathy was incredibly easy to work with and really went the extra mile while planning and during the weekend of the wedding as well. Once we partnered with Kathy, all other items came together through recommendations from people we knew or through Kathy - venues were Founders Hall and Hilton in downtown Charlotte, NC and both were very flexible and easy to work with, food and catering was with Bombay Grille and Nishal and his team were amazing - so easy to work with and made some of the best tasting food, outfits were with Sushma Designs and Kalki in India which had some of the best selections for bridal wear, hair and makeup were Jenny Le Makeup and A Step Beyond Beauty who both made me, my family, and bridesmaids look incredible, decor was with Utopian Events which blew everyone away - just fantastic decor, photography and videography was with Afterglow Creative and Cory and his team were such a pleasure to work with and incredibly timely and left us with the most memorable photos and videos, DJ was with DJ Rang who is the best in town, and Henna4Happiness by Minaz who put some of the most beautiful mehndi on my hands and my family and friends hands. There a few other vendors that we worked with that added some extra touches such as ThePaanWaala for custom paan at our Garba, Ultra Mix Events with cold sparklers, and Southern Breezes with horse carriages. And finally, while they are not formal vendors, we cannot thank our family and friends enough for their incredible help and love to bring it all together!
How did you select your bridal lengha or wedding dress? Did you have a favorite color in mind?
My bridal lengha design was actually quite popular and saw pictures of it on Pinterest. I fell completely in love with it at first sight. I knew I wanted a similar outfit so luckily my mother-in-law and aunt took my mom and I to the best in Mumbai - Sushma Designs - and I was immediately able to find what I was looking for!
What was the most enjoyable part of the planning process, and why?
My favorite part was putting in small touches to make our wedding unique and special. For example, we had custom popcorn boxes made that had a drawn image of Shivam and I in our wedding outfits and the bridal party and itinerary on the other sides. They were placed everyone’s chair at the wedding. We also had a trolley for our bridal party after the wedding that took us around Charlotte to celebrate (it was a unique way to do the Vidai). These were just a few of the touches that really made our wedding special for us!
What did your guests particularly love about your Wedding?
Our guests mentioned several parts of the wedding they loved but they especially loved our Garba night because of the decor, food, live music, and of course ThePaanWaala who many people asked about after the wedding! They also loved the decor throughout the wedding as well as the flexible timing (we had an afternoon wedding and evening reception which gave some time for guests in the morning).
Was there a really special moment in your wedding that constantly replays in your mind?
One of the most memorable events of the wedding was our surprise family dance! My dad and I were having our father/daughter dance which led into a full family dance and that was a complete surprise to everyone, including Shivam! It was one of my favorite parts of the wedding because nobody knew it was coming and it was so meaningful to have my family up there with me. I still watch that video pretty often!
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.
Other than our ceremony, we had a mehndi, grah shanti, Garba night, and of course reception. The Garba night was one of my favorite evenings because of the live music, family and bridal party dances, and speeches. The decor was also incredible! Our mehndi and grah shanti were also special because we held those at home in our basement so it was wonderful to be able to see and connect with all of our loved ones on a more intimate level.
Do you have any words of wisdom for Brides-To-Be?
Try your best to enjoy every moment and not get overwhelmed by the amount of work that goes into planning a wedding, especially on the day of! These are some of the best memories of your life and how you feel during this time will stay with you forever so it’s so important to cherish every moment.
Anything else you want to tell us? We'd love to hear all about your other details! (jewelry, mehndi, venue, cake, bouquets, etc.)
All of the little details made our wedding incredibly special and we are so grateful to have had the wedding of our dreams!
Have an awesome weekend, ladies! See you on Monday for more!
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