Good morning, Maharanis! We can't think of a better way to get to the weekend than sharing Bhavika & Jay's nuptial celebration with you. So get yourself ready to dive into this fantastic journey filled with inspiring ideas. For this first installment, we will be taking a look at the beautiful shots captured by Lightyear Studio in an outdoor photoshoot combining tall modern buildings with a traditional Indian style. And we love the final result of this photoshoot! Whether if Bhavika & Jay pose in front of contemporary architecture, or walking through a peaceful garden filled with tall and leafy trees, it is their presence that steals all the looks! They have a fantastic connection that got immortalized in every single shot, but what we love the most is the love and happiness that these two irradiate. If you take a closer look at the photos, you will notice that there is a sparkle in their eyes, that's only present in couples that are truly in love. So, we cannot stop but to think of how lucky these two are that they get to marry their soulmate. And this photoshoot brings us a little closer to the most intimate and romantic moments of Bhavika & Jay just a few heartbeats away from uniting their lives in marriage. If you want to take a closer look at this incredible photoshoot, head into our gallery for more. You are going to have a blast!
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How did you meet your Groom and when did you know he was "the one"?
We actually met on a south Asian dating app called dil mil. It's funny that he knew he was going to marry me after our first date which I learned after the fact. I knew he was the one after a few months when we had watched an emotional Bollywood movie, Neerja. I had asked myself if I could ever imagine my life without him and the answer was no. That night I asked him to "define" whatever we had and I told him how I felt about him and said "I love you" first.
Share the scoop on your Proposal Story!
I was actually in Los Angeles for American Academy of Neurology conference for poster presentation. We both love to travel and he proposed the idea that he would come down and hang out with me for few days while I'm there attending the conference. He supposedly "planned" fancy dinner in Malibu and gets me all dressed. When he are driving down route one with this beautiful scenery, he tells me we are little early. It was sunset time, and gets me to go on the matador beach. I was little scared on the hill and was refusing to go down but he insisted and said "I would carry you down because it's beautiful there." As I'm walking down and come closer I hear my favorite song being played on the violin, "kabhi kabhi" and he started singing it. And the rest was history.
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 pretty much did planning ourselves. We knew we didn't want everything to be super traditional. We had attending weddings at our venue before and I had visioned my wedding there from the beginning. We looked around other venues but something that made me feel part of the natural and beautiful outdoor scenery I could not find better than this venue. I actually booked my hair and makeup person about 2 months prior to the wedding. It was a struggle between keeping it good and cost-effective. And luckily I found the perfect people who did an amazing job. Decoration wise, we both knew we wanted a floral theme and had a particular color scheme in mind. But my biggest thing was westeria for the mandap. And it turned out great. Ad to other details, it was more of my project as Jay was busy taking care of bigger projects. Ranging from finding last-minute cost effective parasol umbrellas to fruit snack and program fans was something that took time but made it happen in last 2 and half weeks. Luckily it all worked out. And my husband wanted those ice pops after hot sweaty baraat so we made that happen.
How did you select your bridal lengha or wedding dress? Did you have a favorite color in mind?
I love red. But I wanted some non-traditional. I knew I was not going to do red. I went back to surat, Gujarat, India where I was born. The first day and first shop, the third dress I said this is it. It was one of their designer dress that I could actually wear in a routine as well. It was so elegant simple yet gave a glamorous look. When I put it on, we all knew that was the dress. I went in thinking i was going to wear pistachio color and ended wearing beige.
What was the most enjoyable part of the planning process, and why?
I think the best part was choosing the details because that's where I could let my creativity and vision become alive.
What did your guests particularly love about your Wedding?
Everyone loved every detailed about the wedding whether it's ranging from their welcome bags to welcomes to our epic nontraditional helicopter vidai. But the best part they loved was food, music, and our heartfelt welcome. We really could be more joyful if not for their presence and blessings.
Was there a really special moment in your wedding that constantly replays in your mind?
When I first walked down during our wedding ceremony and set down and that feeling of joy that I got expressed with overwhelming tears that I could not control is something I could never forget.
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.
We had our Garba one week prior for which we had left the decoration last minute. We luckily found the decorators who made it happen in less than 2 weeks notice and the indo yet western-style we wanted. Ranging from swing to traditional umbrella to photo booth with a bicycle. My husband is a great dancer and for reception, we both had surprise dances planned for each other. Him and his groomsmen did an amazing dance. I had done solor and couple group dances but surprised him with my family flashmob which included my siblings, parents, uncles and aunts and cousins a s friends. For the reception, we wanted more nontraditional decoration style for the backdrop and with floral theme and it worked out great.
Do you have any words of wisdom for Brides-To-Be?
Enjoy the process. It takes a long time to plan and coordinate everything but it is absolutely amazing in the end and it is worth every bit.
Anything else you want to tell us? We'd love to hear all about your other details! (jewelry, mehndi, venue, cake, bouquets, etc.)
I absolutely love mt.mehndi. it told a story. I had NY/Brooklyn skyline on one hand and surat skyline on the other which said where both of us were from. I also had a logo of Dil mil app without an initial date. And not he other side I had stethoscope and calculator representing our careers. And on each palm had bride and groom. I also had our hashtag and wedding date. His name, which he still cant find. I absolutely loved our venue backdrop. It was an outdoor wedding with a mountain backdrop and it was amazing. I decided to keep simple but elegant jewelry and it was perfectly matching to the border of my dress and Jay's clothes. I did not want to do bouquet as I had made a wooden headpiece for my brothers to hold during my entrance that was decorated with flowers. Couldn't have been more thankful to my brother for staying up late 2 days before the wedding to make it possible.
We are just starting this journey, so stay close if you don't want to miss all the details of it!
