Happy Friday Maharanis! As this month rapidly comes to an end (where has the time gone?) we wanted to present you with a wedding full of vendor galore! Brides in Ohio in search of vendors take note, the following posts were created especially for you! One Maharani that has gotten the wedding process down is Kinjal. When she enlisted the help of wedding planner Elegant Events by Maria to helm the very important task of wedding design. For her wedding day, the bride donned a traditional red and gold wedding lengha embellished with intricate designs from Asopalav. The bride channeled a modern appearance intermixed with a classical nod to Bollywood. The bride and groom held a first look, one of my favorite wedding moments! Marcus Bierbaum of Making the Moment handled both the cinematic experience as well as captured all the stills you can find hanging out in the gallery. You can find our chat with the bride down below!
Share the scoop on your Proposal Story!
It was on a hot balloon ride! We were so excited! We floated wherever the wind took us. The sunrise was gorgeous. It was chilly but nice when the fire lifted the balloon up. We reached to over 3000 feet and it was stunning! Mike (who controlled the hot air balloon) mentioned that they try to hit some landmarks on each balloon ride. Meanwhile, his crew was communicating with him through walkie-talkies. I was busy enjoying the view, but the crew stopped ahead of us at a big field. They held up a big red sign with white letters. Mike got the balloon closer and closer to the ground. The bright letters of the sign said, "Will you marry me?" My heart flooded with emotions. I looked over at Anish and before I could say anything he was down on one knee with a ring. Anish said, “Miss Kinjal Parikh, I want to spend the rest of my life with you and take many more adventures with you like this one today. Will You Marry Me?” I started to tear up. I was speechless but tried to get some words out, and finally said YES! We spent the rest of the ride enjoying the beautiful sunrise. After the balloon ride, Anish took me to brunch and a few romantic spots over Cincinnati. When I got home, he had filled my apartment with tons of flowers which was super sweet.
How did you select your bridal lengha or wedding dress? Did you have a favorite color in mind?
I traveled with my father and Anish to India and met my in-laws in Ahmadabad to wedding shop and find the perfect lengha. I had researched a little bit and found my perfect reception outfit from looking online, but I figured when I saw my wedding lengha in the stores, I would know. We went to several different stores for a couple of days but nothing seemed to catch my eye. Finally, after trying on several lenghas, I found one that was a beautiful red and gold. It was perfect for our outdoor wedding. I knew it was the one when I tried it on and so did both our families. For my reception outfit, I knew I wanted a particular outfit from Shyamal & Bhumika. The outfit was a light blue/green with hints of silver and gold and we custom designed my dress. It was gorgeous! Anish's outfits were all tailored to match my outfits as well.
What was the most enjoyable part of the planning process, and why?
Our most favorite part of the planning process was definitely the food tasting! We had so much fun putting our menu together for the entire weekend, which included everything from traditional Gujarati and Punjabi foods to Mexican, Pizza, Ice Cream, and street foods like Pav Bhaji and Bhel. Food was a top priority for us and we tried to pick some items that were traditional and some items that were fun to eat. We traveled to Detroit to sample an array of Gujarati food from Krishna Catering and did a tasting at Saffron Patch which was absolutely delicious. Finally, Wild Flour bakery did our wedding cake and they send you home with a sample box of amazing flavors of cakes and frostings. This part of the planning process was stress free!
What did your guests particularly love about your Wedding?
We received so many compliments on how beautiful and magical our wedding and reception decor was and how much fun everyone had, which was most important to us. Anish and I always had a vision of an outdoor summer wedding with the soft morning sun shining down on us. In fact, Signature of Solon was one of the few vendors that would allow us to have our mandap outdoors. Our vendors were incredible! We cannot thank them enough for putting all the details together. We chose light pinks and oranges for our wedding outside and a blush fabric mandap to match the natural beauty of nature; this also allowed guests to peek through the mandap to enjoy the scenic backdrop. The wow-factor was the gorgeous garland of flowers outlining the front of the mandap. The aisle was outlined with flower petals and large glass vases with white flowers. The soft and magical wedding colors were carried over onto a silver and light blue reception theme. Silver tablecloths that looked like roses were accented with gold and silver chiavari chairs. Our centerpieces varied from glass vases with large flowers or silver branches with petals and lots of candles. Our sweet heart table had glass bubbles hanging behind it with flowers. The place card table was the main feature and had these large vases with orange callalilies and a large branch going over the entire table!
Was there a really special moment in your wedding that constantly replays in your mind?
I will never forget our first look. Traditionally, the bride and groom are not supposed to see each other before the wedding, but it was such a hectic day, and we wanted to get some pictures with the sunrise. I am so happy we decided to do the first look because it was one of the few moments on our wedding day where it felt like it was just us - and intimate and calm romantic setting. There was a bridge behind our venue where Anish was standing with his back turned. On my way to walk out and meet him, I caught a sight of our mandap and remember being brought to tears because of how incredibly beautiful it was. The mandap took my breath away. When I walked up to Anish and put my hand on his shoulder, it was such an emotional moment for me. I couldn't believe we were getting married and in that moment, with just me and him, I can't describe the amount of happiness I felt. When he turned around, I couldn't help but cry. I just felt so incredibly lucky and happy. I felt so relieved in that moment, because whatever happened the rest of the day, whatever hiccups we had, wouldn't matter. This was the beginning of everything.
Lucky guests at this wedding were treated to both Krishna Catering & Restaurant as well as Saffron Patch. The impressive menus say it all! Check them out as we return to the wedding decorated by Farrah & Nour and reception details with Naveen Productions coming right up!
