Welcome to Maharani Weddings

Ladies, go check out Krupa & Gaurav's celebration! It is now live on today's Platinum Guide Blog.

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Maharanis, go check out Sabeena & Arjun's celebration! It is now live on today's Platinum Guide Blog.

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A scavenger hunt to all of this couple’s most memorable places lead to a proposal at their favorite local hiking trail, the Giant Stairs at Palisades Park. From there the couple set their sights on a magical wedding in Portugal in 2020, but like many couples, COVID-19 derailed their plans. Led by the trustworthy team of Shaadi Destinations, the couple settled on the Dominican Republic.

Turning a dream into a reality wedding in 60 days is no small fete. This decisive couple made decisions and made them fast. The mandap took center stage to capture an airy, casual island vibe. Rattan chandeliers, white gauze and fresh florals came together to set the mood. The bride donned a gorgeous Anita Dongre's bridal lengha with a touch sparkle and detailed embroidery, and was happy to have all the decisions done! Warm beaches, fabulous food and one killer party was the best way to celebrate surrounded by friends and family who had been apart for so long.

“My aunts family unfortunately couldn't attend the wedding due to UK travel restrictions. She took up learning the piano a few years ago and had learned a song that she was going to surprise us with at our original wedding. She instead facetimed me on the morning of our wedding day and played it for me. It was a profound feeling knowing that someone could be so far and still create such a special moment. Terrible for my make up, but it's a moment I will never forget.”

Congratulations Aekta & Samir!

Share the scoop on your Proposal Story!
We got engaged in Nov 2018. He planned a scavenger hunt at all of our most memorable places. My closest friends and family were waiting at each place to deliver the next clue. He proposed at our favorite local hiking trail, the Giant Stairs at Palisades Park.

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.
Our original wedding was supposed to be in Portugal in June 2020. Unfortunately, due to coivd, like many other couples, we had to pivot from our original plan. We actually weren't motivated to do a wedding after that process but my mom insisted and started a lot of the initial search process again on our behalf. She reached out to Shaadi Destinations since we always wanted a destination wedding and there was really only 2 hotel options for us, Hyatt was one. We starting planning the wedding planning in March and got married in May. It was hectic to find all new vendors but every single one of them were so amazing and reassured us every step of the way. We were blessed with an incredible team.

How did you select your bridal lengha or wedding dress? Did you have a favorite color in mind?
I always wanted something with more embroidery and a little sparkle. Anita Dongre's bridal lenghas seemed like the perfect blend of both. I walked in, saw 3 that I loved and the one I wore seemed like the right one for our style!

What was the most enjoyable part of the planning process, and why?
We planned a wedding it 2ish months and had to find all new vendors, a new location and work through a new guest list. So the most enjoyable part for us was when it was over!

What did your guests particularly love about your Wedding?
It was the first time since covid that my whole family and all our friends had seen each other in person so to be quite honest, they loved that they could spend 3 days laying around the pool/beach and 3 nights partying together.

Was there a really special moment in your wedding that constantly replays in your mind?
My aunts family unfortunately couldn't attend the wedding due to UK travel restrictions. She took up learning the piano a few years ago and had learned a song that she was going to surprise us with at our original wedding. She instead facetimed me on the morning of our wedding day and played it for me. It was a profound feeling knowing that someone could be so far and still create such a special moment. Terrible for my make up, but its a moment I will never forget.

Do you have any words of wisdom for Brides-To-Be?
Its a crazy emotional roller coaster experience but it goes by in a blink of an eye. Enjoy every moment!

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This wedding is as dreamy as dreamy gets. The couple met on the dance floor of their respective best friend’s wedding and after some good old fashioned social media flirting the couple started dating. A special snorkeling spot in Maui lead to surprise proposal on the beach and the bride resoundingly said yes.

Leaning in, the couple worked with a local Italian wedding planner, Bespoke Unique Weddings and Events to help with venue sourcing and selecting local vendors. They only brought their DJ and photographer from the states as they had already worked with them in the past. The couple added some sweetness to their celebration with a traditional Italian wedding cake and gelato bar. Yum!

True to form, outfits custom-made in India although I am sure the Italian “sarta” would have embraced the challenge with warm kisses on each cheek. The bride designed her bridal lehenga in an all pastel embroidery on a white raw silk. A special boutique in Ahmadabad made her vision come to life.

“After our wedding, we were sent off/had our vidaai in a boat - just the two of us eating lunch in this get a way boat. It was so special and intimate to have time to enjoy the Lake and each other's company.”

Congratulations Rupal & Sai!

How did you meet your Groom and when did you know he was "the one"?
The first time I exchanged glances with Sai was in the middle of a bridal party dance at our respective best friends' wedding (yes they were marrying each other). Several weeks went by when Rupal returned from a trip to Hawaii and posted a snorkeling photo, which Sai took a liking to. Several messages later, Sai decided to change his travel plans and ask me to go on our first date to a very special Italian restaurant in Philadelphia. A Pizza Hut commercial, trip to Italy, and the first weddings in both of our families later, Sai whisked me away on a trip to Hawaii to the beach where that first snorkeling picture was taken, got down on one knee, and asked to spend the rest of our lives together.

Share the scoop on your Proposal Story!
We were in Maui traveling with friends and after a fun-filled day at the beach, we parted ways, only for Sai to get down on one knee and pop the question on a secluded area of Wailea beach. I was totally unsuspecting and thought we were going to a speakeasy on the beach.

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 worked with a local Italian wedding planner (Bespoke Unique Weddings and Events) who helped us with venue sourcing (Sheraton Lake Como and Villa Geno) and selecting local vendors (decorator, caterers/gelato, boat transportation, hair & make-upetc). We brought our DJ and photographer from the states as we had already worked with them in the past. We had our outfits custom-made in India. Our decor theme was fun bright floral for our Welcome Night/Henna and pastel for wedding/reception.

How did you select your bridal lengha or wedding dress? Did you have a favorite color in mind?
I designed my bridal lehenga in an all pastel embroidery on a white raw silk. A boutique in Ahmadabad made my vision come to life.

What was the most enjoyable part of the planning process, and why?
The most enjoyable part was putting our heads together and creating a shared vision of what our wedding meant to us and how we could craft as such. It was even more exciting seeing it come to fruition and truly represent the things that mattered to us the most.

What did your guests particularly love about your Wedding?
Location - Lake Como, decor, color scheme of bridal party outfits/decor, food, music, photos

Was there a really special moment in your wedding that constantly replays in your mind?
After our wedding, we were sent off/had our vidaai in a boat - just the two of us eating lunch in this get a way boat. It was so special and intimate to have time to enjoy the Lake and each other's company.

Do you have any words of wisdom for Brides-To-Be?
Think about what you want from your big day, what matters to you and your significant other and craft it as such. Feel free to think outside the box and make your big day truly yours.

Anything else you want to tell us? We'd love to hear all about your other details! (jewelry, mehndi, venue, cake, bouquets, etc.)
We had a traditional Italian wedding cake!

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Maharanis, don't miss Isha & Kishan's dreamy wedding in today's Platinum Guide Blog. You'll love it!

How did you meet your Groom and when did you know he was "the one"?
My cousin was friends with my husband for years in college before I met him. I used to always hang out with my cousin and his friends all the time but never met Kishan because he was in Boston for work. One day, my cousin says we are going out to dinner with his friends (very common). We get to the restaurant and there he is, I thought he was so cute when I first saw him but he wouldn't speak to me even though we were sitting right next to each other! Of course, later, I learned this is because he is very shy. From dinner, we decided to go out to a bar. I wanted a tequila shot at the bar and out of nowhere, Kishan says "I'll take the shot with you". Kishan did NOT like tequila at all. It was at this moment, his friends knew that he liked me. We went to the bar together to take the shot, we hit it off and the rest is history!
Share the scoop on your Proposal Story!
Kishan had moved to Dallas, TX a couple months before and we were long-distance at that time. I had come to visit him 4th of July weekend, my birthday is July 6th and he proposed on July 5th. He proposed to me the day before my birthday because he knew I wouldn't be expecting it. Summers in Dallas are HOT, it was 96 degrees the day he proposed. Kishan took me to a beautiful garden in Dallas called the Arboretum. He said he wanted to make a pit stop before our brunch plans. He was walking me to a specific part of the garden and the whole time I kept complaining about how hot it was and if we could skip this part and just go straight to brunch. When we finally got to where he wanted to propose, it was in front of a beautiful small fountain and he had set up a picnic blanket and pillows. I knew at that time but on the blanket was a puzzle he wanted me to complete (we love to puzzle). The puzzle said will you marry me? And when I turned around he was on one knee. After I said yes, our siblings popped out of nowhere and we celebrated with champagne, of course!
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 always knew we wanted to do a destination wedding. We both have older siblings that already had the big local weddings so we wanted something with a more intimate guest list. When it came to wedding planning, Kishan only had one request - he always wanted to get married overlooking the water. Our next step was to book a wedding planner, we wanted someone who had a lot of experience in destination weddings and went with Sonal Shah of SJS Events. We wanted to book a venue on an island that many people hadn't been, somewhere guests would feel like they're getting a vacation as well. The wedding events were planned at night to ensure guests got the day to sleep in, relax, enjoy the beach, and explore the island. This is how we ended up with Marriott Curaçao Beach Resort, located on the island of Curaçao which is part of the Dutch-Netherlands ABC Islands (Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao). Once the venue was booked, we booked the rest of our vendors: Style by Susmita for hair and makeup, Alain Martinez for photography and videography, DJ Raj Gandhi for DJ and MC, a local company Confetti Company for decor, and a local company Massive Productions for audio and visual. Because the wedding was going to be intimate, we wanted to incorporate a lot of small details and experiences for guests. We made welcome bags that included everything from personalized hangover kits with liquid IV, hand sanitizer, and Emergen-C to personalized do not disturb door hangers, Indian snacks, local snacks, and small blue Curaçao bottles. We had a sunset wedding on the beach and once it got dark, we incorporated fireworks which was a nice surprise factor for our guests. There were his and hers personalized scents as a final party favor at the reception. And finally, one of my favorite moments of the weekend is when we decided to forego a traditional cheer at the reception and did tequila shot cheers with everyone instead to commemorate the first time we met. Throughout the planning process, the hardest part was not being able to go to India and working around the pandemic fluctuations, especially with a destination wedding. We had to work around the clock and back and forth via WhatsApp with many vendors in India for our outfits, favors, invitations, jewelry, and other small details. Despite the struggle, we were both extremely happy with how everything turned out.
How did you select your bridal lengha or wedding dress? Did you have a favorite color in mind?
I wanted to definitely go the traditional route and wanted an all-red outfit. I found a Kolkata-based designer named Pallavi Poddar on Instagram and absolutely fell in love with her Padma lehenga. I immediately reached out to her via WhatsApp and through video/messaging, I finalized my outfit. When I received my outfit, I could not be happier. The work was so intricate and beautiful, and the outfit fit me like a glove.
What was the most enjoyable part of the planning process, and why?
The most enjoyable part of the planning process was the decor. I am very creative and love to think of outside-the-box ideas. My decorator and I had a very collaborative experience. I was hands-on with many aspects of the decor including the floor plans, lighting, seating chart display, signage, etc. It was especially gratifying seeing it all come together.
What did your guests particularly love about your Wedding?
They loved the relaxing atmosphere of the wedding. All of the events were in the evening so our guests got the chance to explore the island, relax on the beach/by the pool, and enjoy their vacation during the day. We provided breakfast, lunch, and of course dinner every day during the wedding weekend, so they didn't need to go too far to find food.
Was there a really special moment in your wedding that constantly replays in your mind?
Our first look. Kishan's sister tested positive for COVID the day of the wedding and could no longer be apart of any wedding festivities. It was a very emotional time for all of us as we were getting ready and an especially tough time for Kishan as his one and only sibling would not be able to attend his wedding. There were so many times I wanted to just go and see him but I knew I couldn't. When we finally saw each other for our first look, it was a mixture of so many emotions and we both had tears of happiness and sadness. But it was also that moment that we knew we only needed each other to get through life's happiest and saddest moments.
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 sangeet was a poolside event, and I immediately knew I wanted the stage to be built on top of the pool. Guests would have the unique experience of being on a dance floor in the pool. We centered the rest of the decor around that. The decor was rust pink and yellow, very boho chic with string lights. The reception was conversely very romantic and glam. The color theme was red black and gold, with lots of red roses and candles lighting up the room. The cocktail hour was in an outdoor courtyard with the seating chart engraved in round wooden boards hanging from the trees, there were also twinkle lights hanging from the trees. For our first dance, we decided to do a mix of songs but we started off with a salsa number to Señorita by Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello which was SO fun to learn!
Do you have any words of wisdom for Brides-To-Be?
So much stress and pressure are put on ensuring everything is perfect but things may not go exactly according to plan. At that moment, remember that things have a way of working out, what's meant to be will happen and in the end, you're going to look back at your wedding as a really special moment in your life. And don't forget to be in the moment and have fun!

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