Schaumburg, IL Indian Wedding by Gandhi Films and Photos

Hello, dear Maharanis! We hope you are ready for an adventure because we are taking you on a visual journey to Chicago Marriott Schaumburg to enjoy Siddhi & Parthiv's wedding! Due to the pandemic, they had to delay their wedding for two years; however, their families reminded them to keep celebrating their love. The wait was worth it since there was so much beauty, and love overflowing from the traditional ceremonies at the Holiday Day Inn Elk Grove Village that perfection was written everywhere you looked. It was the same perfection and beauty we found in our gorgeous Maharani Siddhi, who walked down the aisle dressed in a fashionable outfit designed by Gauri Alkapuri and rocked a glamorous makeup and sleek hairstyle created by Makeup by Sonu Patel. And this head-turning look would not have been complete without the incredible Mehndi design created by Anisha Creations. As a result, a dreamy look for this long-awaited wedding day! After the ceremony, all guests joined the newlyweds at the Chicago Marriott Schaumburg to celebrate their life milestone with an epic reception party where our Maharani shined with an outfit from Gauri Old Padra Road. To set the musical mood for the evening, our lovebirds decided to bring Dholmaster Sherlock on board, who put everyone to dance with upbeat tunes and the best hits! And, to crown an all-rounded top-of-the-line experience, India House and The Baking Institute cooked delicious plates, so everyone got their favorite food! The wedding brought together all families who were separated during the pandemic to celebrate this unique wedding. You can relive and visit this event through the amazing shots captured by Gandhi Films and Photos.  You are a click away from having a such great time!

How did you meet your Groom and when did you know he was "the one"?

Parthiv and I met during undergrad at the University of Illinois Chicago. We met our freshman year and were friends throughout. Just another Indian couple who met at UIC. Shocking! Sparks didn’t fly till our senior year, however, we were both too stubborn to acknowledge it. Despite being away for graduate school, we continued to connect and here we are a decade later. His nickname is Party, my nickname is Sid, hence #PartywithSid!

I knew Parthiv was the one when one night after a date my car battery died. He drove to get jump cables, started my car, and then followed my car home to make sure nothing else happened (and he lived in the opposite direction 45 mins away!).

Share the scoop on your Proposal Story!
Parthiv and two of his cousins have their birthday in November. They planned a cousin’s birthday party in Chicago. Three weeks before that, my friend was trying on dresses for a wedding she was attending, she and my other friend convinced me to buy this red dress I fell in love which my friend was wearing (little did I know they were ensuring I wore something beautiful to my proposal). His cousin's wife took me to get our nails done the day before just because (little did I know she was ensuring I had my nails done for the proposal). Parthiv insisted before we go out we should get some quick food, he really wanted Busy Burger (a place were visited A LOT at UIC). We decided we would get food and then meet everyone out. Parthiv called an uber and as we got closer towards UIC campus, he said let’s go take a walk (that’s when I knew!). We walked to the UIC quad and he proposed. It was perfect proposing at the place where our relationship started.

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 originally planned our wedding for May 2020(yes, we were one of many couples impacted by the pandemic). We canceled all our events, moved into our new house, got court married November 2020, and eventually had our wedding weekend August 2021. From engagement to our actual wedding celebrations, we have been planning this wedding for 2+ years!

I did a significant amount of research on all vendors/venues, I have PowerPoints, charts, and excel files to prove it. As a detailed oriented person, I wanted to make sure I looked at many aspects before choosing something. The running joke at the reception was my 47 page wedding weekend timeline (including pictures of locations individuals need to be at, floor outlines, and even the exact time Parthiv needs to wake up, shower, and leave his groom suite).

Our venue and vendors were amazing from beginning to end. They were with us pre-pandemic helping us plan, they went out of their way to accommodate us as we worked thru finding another a date the year after, and they advised on things that I didn’t even think about having in the timeline.

How did you select your bridal lengha or wedding dress? Did you have a favorite color in mind?
Being the detailed oriented person, I did my research for two months straight before going to India. I knew the color, fabric, design, and style I wanted. My first day of wedding shopping, we went to Gauri-Alkapuri in Baroda, India. I pretty much chose my dress within 2 hours because I knew exactly what would work for me. I choose red because I wanted the wedding ceremony to have a classic romantic vibe. My red bridal lengha popped amongst the white tent and mandap.

What was the most enjoyable part of the planning process, and why?
I secretly did enjoy spending hours on researching, making all those excel files and the 47-page timeline. I enjoy planning, coordinating, and organizing!

What did your guests particularly love about your Wedding?
Everyone was just excited to be together! The pandemic distanced family and friends. We were all excited to safely be in one place to party the night away. Every single person in that room was impacted by COVID in some way, and like my cousin said during the reception, everyone deserves a round of applause for preserving.

Was there a really special moment in your wedding that constantly replays in your mind?
I still can’t stop thinking about the amazing dances we had at our reception. Special shout out to our 30 person bridal party and group of friends for the skit and dance, it represented the bride, groom, and the relationship!

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.
For my Grah Shanti and mehndi, I wanted to honor the traditional values, the respect and love in my circle of friends/family, and the fun relationship of the bride and groom. For my Grah Shanti, I wore the blouse my sister wore to her Grah Shanti 6 years prior (my something old!). Our Mahrej for this event was a close family friend who did my sister’s Grah Shanti and my cousin’s Ganesh thapia. For my mehndi, we celebrated Raksha Bandhan, danced to songs my friends and I performed at other weddings, and set up some pictures of Parthiv and I as we went thru college. A special moment: my sister and I danced to the same song to each other (Phoolon Ka Taron Sabka Kehna Hai). We surprised each other with it!

Do you have any words of wisdom for Brides-To-Be?
It is acceptable to over plan, although things will happen out of your control, you know you put your 200% towards it while it is executed. It is also acceptable to overthink before deciding because when it is executed you know you looked at all aspects prior.

Anything else you want to tell us? We'd love to hear all about your other details! (jewelry, mehndi, venue, cake, bouquets, etc.)
The coolest part, our wedding photographer/videographer did my parents wedding 30 plus years ago in India! I love that I can say the person who took pictures at my wedding is the same person who took pictures at my parent’s wedding. Other unique details
1. We booked our wedding/reception venue while it was still being remolded(they didn’t even have floor down in the ballroom yet!). We booked it sight unseen (except pictures).
2. My grahshanti and mehndi venue, I found it while doing deep research on the Maharani wedding posts.
3. Our wedding table numbers were in gujurati numbers (a nod to our BIG gujurati families!)

Wedding Ceremony: Red/Gold/White color scheme to emphasize a traditional Indian wedding
Reception: Jewel toned and gold color scheme to emphasize the “party vibes” in an Indian wedding.

I hope you are feeling imaginative, queens. I will see you tomorrow with another happily ever after!