Ladies, the tale of Janya & Ben's wedding is enchanting. Dive with me into this mesmerizing journey! Under the soft sun at Hyatt Regency Jersey City on the Hudson, this union was a masterpiece of culture and love. At the heart of this stunning affair was the impeccable planning and design by Urvashi Mishra, Wedding & Event Planner, ensuring every detail seamlessly flowed into the next. Elegant Affairs Inc.'s floral and decor mastery transformed the space into a romantic haven. Janya looked the queen of the day, thanks to the artistry of Color Me Rouge, who delicately crafted her hair and makeup, ensuring she looked picture-perfect for every cherished moment. The same gifted hands adorned Janya's hands with Mehndi designs, weaving stories of love, promise, and dreams. Transitioning from the sentimental ceremony to a night of revelry, D&S Event Solutions captured the essence of the celebrations, ensuring the dance floor was never empty, and spirits were always high. And when it came time for the sweet conclusion, Palermo Bakery presented a masterpiece cake. The lenses of Memories Studio immortalized all these timeless moments. Their impeccable photography ensured this wedding would be relived and cherished for generations. Dive deeper into the gallery to grasp the magic of this wedding. You'll get lots of inspiring ideas from it.
How did you meet your Groom and when did you know he was "the one"?
Ben and I were introduced by my best friend. Ben attended graduate school with her husband, and when she started hanging out with him, she knew we had to meet. In addition to our compatible personalities, we went to the same college and graduated in the same year. It's a big school and we never met there; I am so grateful fate intervened and gave us another chance to meet!
Our relationship took several months to blossom. When we first met, I was wrapping up my job as a teacher in Connecticut and Ben was on the verge of completing his grad school program and traveling abroad for 3 months. After he came back from his travels, he started a new job which required traveling out of state Monday-Thursday and I was setting into a new job in the city while living in New Jersey. Needless to say, our schedules were tough to align! Once I moved into the city and we were able to spend time together more consistently, our connection was clear and it was worth the wait.
When the pandemic hit in March 2020, Ben and I left the city and went to stay with my parents in New Jersey. He had spent time with them before, but there is nothing like living together during a lockdown to really get to know one another. I could already see a future with him, but I knew he was the one after seeing how seamlessly he blended in with my family during those months. We were fortunate to have the opportunity to live with his parents in Michigan shortly after that, and we felt a great sense of comfort knowing that we could fit into each other's families with ease. Jokes about our former "roommates" were abundant at the wedding!
We met on November 21, 2015 in New York and Ben proposed on November 21, 2021 in Detroit.
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.
I would love to give a shoutout to out wonderful vendors! Urvashi Mishra is an excellent wedding planner. She brings an exuberant, creative side based on her wealth of experience working within hospitality and wedding planning, which allows her to be an ideal partner for facilitating each and every detail in a realistic manner to bring your dreams to life. Her team is also extremely easy to work with, goes above and beyond, and makes sure the bride and groom are able to focus on enjoying their wedding events and relishing each moment with their guests. She connected us with high caliber vendors who have also mastered their respective crafts. We feel very fortunate to have worked with Mehul from Memories Photography. In the months since the wedding as we've finalized our photos and videos, he has been highly accessible and never makes even the most minor requests feel like a burden. Chef Vipul from Moghul worked with us to curate a tailored menu that payed homage to our cultures as well as our personal favorites. Ben proposed to me in front of red Firehouse doors, and Dhwani Doshi from the Royal Co worked with us to incorporate this theme into our stationary. Sharda Aunty from Elegant Affairs understood our vision and vibes and made it come to life in a way we never could have imagined. Meghna Parikh from Color Me Rouge incorporated meaningful items into my mehendi design and I was so happy with how my makeup turned out! D&S did a great job with our lighting and music.
We are very fortunate to have worked with these vendors and highly recommend them to anyone planning their wedding.
What did your guests particularly love about your wedding?
One consistent piece of feedback that we received on the day of the wedding and afterwards was appreciation for the way our wedding weekend celebrated both cultures equally and how there was a palpable feeling of two families coming together as one. Our sangeet was atypical in that most of the performances were by people who had not attended a sangeet before. We appreciated seeing our friends (and the groom!) step out of their comfort zone and put together dance routines to make our day that much more special. My cousin provided an intro to the sangeet to explain what the event was to our guests. His main message was that in the beginning of the night there are two sides - one for the bride and one for the groom - and by the end there is just one side, the only side. Our guests truly felt that fusion by the end of the night and going into the weekend.
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.
Given our sentimental nature, Ben and I wanted to include meaningful touches wherever we could. One way we did this was through our floral choices. Our garlands for our Hindu ceremony matched my parents’ wedding garlands from 1983, and my bridal bouquet matched Ben’s mom’s bridal bouquet from 1989 (I can share photos from their ceremonies if you are interested!). Similarly, at our cocktail hour we displayed wedding photos of our parents and grandparents to honor the legacies of the wedding ceremonies that brought us to this day. Finally, as a way of honoring our family traditions and our love for cooking, our table names at the reception were named for spices that are featured prominently in Indian and Italian dishes (e.g., saffron, cardamom, fenugreek for Indian and basil, rosemary, thyme for Italian). To that end, our party favor for guests each contained a travel-sized jar of ghee and bottle of olive oil, continuing the broader symbolism of our wedding that brought together our families and cultures.
Do you have any words of wisdom for Brides-To-Be?
My advice is for both brides and grooms. First, the wedding day moves fast, but one way to try and stay in the moment is by looking whoever you’re talking to in the eye and ignoring everything around them. Since you are at the center of attention and everyone is vying to get to you, you will naturally get excited as you see familiar faces appear in your periphery. However, this intentional focus helps you to slow down and be present for the person you are speaking to in that moment. Also grooms, don’t be afraid to get involved! This is one of the rare moments where you get to showcase whatever you want about yourself to your guests, and you want the fingerprints from both sides to be present in the end result. In addition to my mom and our planner, I’m lucky to have had a partner who was excited to get involved with details and was with me every step of the way. It made the planning process that much more fun.
Ladies, this enchanting wedding story is one for the books. Come back for more ideas and love!
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By Matchmaking. 01:26am September 7, 2023 (PDT)
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