Good morning, darlings! Today, we are very excited to share an insight into the magical wedding celebration of Naina & Yakshu. The San Diego beach was a fortunate witness of it all. This event combines everything we love and immerses us in a beautiful journey that we can be part of thanks to the talent of Wed Diaries. Throughout the magnificent and loving shots of this film, we will relieve a journey that mixes traditions, colors, emotions, dances, and above all, a lot of love. We are almost sure there was not a single dry eye at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront as our bride walked down the aisle. Our lovely bride looked stunning in a fantastic rose peach lengha by Kalighata Stores, which had silver accents that were both: traditional and sophisticated. After the ceremony, the reception party was genuinely full of fun and luxury, animated by Sound Nation LA. The couple shared love with their family and friends in all these uplifting moments. As you will, we couldn't help but smile at all the fantastic family and friends Naina & Yakshu have been blessed with. This reception party had everything! It combines an amazing atmosphere with emotional moments that will make you drop a tear of joy. Definitely, this is a ceremony that you can not miss! So, to live the experience to the fullest, we invite you to watch the video film we have prepared for you today. You will not regret it!
How did you meet your Groom and when did you know he was "the one"?
IT ALL STARTED ON THE DANCE FLOOR...
It all started on the dance floor...or so we thought. Yakshu & I met very briefly for the first time many years ago during Diwali. I was in graduate school at the time and Yakshu was visiting Los Angeles with my cousin, who happens to be Yakshu's best friend, Rahul. One night, during a family Diwali dinner, I was studying when Yakshu came over and said, "Who studies during a dinner? Hah. Nerd." Safe to say our first encounter was not the best, and we definitely did NOT hit it off.
In the Spring of 2018, we met again on the dance floor at my cousin's wedding. This time, we knew and loved all the same songs, had all the same dance moves, and surprisingly got along really well. We spent that weekend becoming great friends and realized we had a lot more in common than we originally thought. At the end of the weekend, we once again went our separate ways, realizing that our chances of making things work were slim to none (as we used to say, "a 0.1% chance"). Yakshu headed back to Shanghai where he lived for work at the time, and I went back to her life in Southern California. When Yakshu left, he reminded me that the universe has a way of making things work if and when the time is right.
A year and a half later, as the universe would have it, I matched to internship for my program in the Bay Area (I also thought she had a 0.1% chance of matching there) and Yakshu moved back to the Bay for good. We spent many dates connecting over their mutual love for family and equally mutual disgust for tomatoes. I knew very quickly that Yakshu was the one (I had a very strong feeling on that dance floor that we'd have some sort of story), but watching him interact with my family like it was his own was so special and made it certain for me that he was the one.
Share the scoop on your Proposal Story!
On April 4th, 2021, three years to the week we met, Yakshu proposed to me atop the most beautiful rooftop in Los Angeles, my hometown and where it all began. He proposed in front of all of my family and closest friends (physically and virtually). I always told Yakshu I wanted to have a huge proposal with everyone I knew there and it was so special that he made them all a part of it. He also included my favorite flowers in the decor backdrop, and my favorite artist, 'Drake' playing as he got down on a knee. After Yakshu proposed we celebrated with family and friends all night, truly one of the most special nights of my life!
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.
Yakshu and I were originally supposed to get married in Thailand; we both really wanted to have a destination wedding, and it made a lot of sense for us since our families were spread out between India and California. We had to reschedule our wedding three times, before we finally decided to pivot and move the wedding to San Diego, California. We had one month to plan our entire wedding, which was a little insane, but I am SO grateful we had our families to help. We wanted to still have a resort style destination wedding, so we decided to go with San Diego and the Hilton Bayfront was right on the water, which made it the perfect destination for us. It was so nice to have all our events in the same place, because it allowed everyone to spend quality time with one another rather than having to worry about getting to a venue and back. When we initially pivoted from Thailand to San Diego, I was really worried that I wouldn't get my first choice of vendors on such short notice, but I'm so grateful they were all available and made it work. We wanted to make our wedding as relaxed as possible, and wanted to really incorporate elements of 'us' into each event, so we had signature cocktails for each event with our favorite drinks which were incredible!
How did you select your bridal lengha or wedding dress? Did you have a favorite color in mind?
When I went shopping in India for my bridal lengha, I went in with the idea that I would likely just wear red because it was the thing to do. I hadn't thought much beyond that, and certainly did not think I would end up with a color other than red. When I got to India and started looking around, I saw so many different styles and colors and the lengha I choose immediately caught my eye. I've always been one to make decisions based on my gut and intuition, so I just went with it and decided to try it on and that was the end of my search. It was such a fun process to be able to customize little details on my lengha and it was really sweet to be able to share that moment with my family in India.
What was the most enjoyable part of the planning process, and why?
Wedding shopping, hands down! I was lucky enough to go to India to shop because the situation of the pandemic was a lot better in India at that time. While it's naturally stressful and there's pressure to find "the perfect outfit," I found myself having so much fun trying different things on and sharing those moments with my family there. It's one of those moments you know doesn't come back and you just want to soak it all in while you can.
What did your guests particularly love about your Wedding?
Everyone loved how intimate the wedding was! Because every event was at a different location of the hotel, it made it easy for people to spend time in between events getting to know each other and partying obviously. We also got to spend a lot of time with everyone at the wedding events because it was smaller. After the wedding, a lot of our friends ended up keeping in touch and forming their own friendship which is always so great. People also loved the custom cocktails and our fusion tabla player Mankaran Bhasin, who made our Mehndi and Sangeet SO fun!
Was there a really special moment in your wedding that constantly replays in your mind?
It's so hard to pick one moment, because the whole thing was so incredible, but one of my absolute favorite moments was our Sangeet performances from our family and friends. Everyone put so much thought into their performances, Yakshu's family incorporated an entire narrative/skit and my family played home videos of my dances when I was a child and re-enacted them! It was truly so special, and I'll never forget the feeling of overwhelming joy in that moment.
Do you have any words of wisdom for Brides-To-Be?
Everyone says not to stress when you're a bride, but that's nearly impossible. I would say at the end of each day of planning, write down 3 things you're grateful in terms of wedding planning. It's easy to get caught up in the stress and pressure of wedding planning, but taking a step back and practicing gratitude really puts it all into perspective!
Remember, do not miss our upcoming beautiful weddings to get full of love and ideas for your event!
