Happy Friday, my fabulous friends! Today is 2015's final Filmy Friday — can you believe it?! Another year of wondrous weddings has whizzed right by! Don't worry though, we filled this week full of amazing wedding highlights during our first ever Filmy Festival on the Platinum Guide, so if you're feeling a bit blue about saying goodbye to the year's best collection of movies, you can get your fill of more by heading there! Kicking off our last group of cinematic gems is this incredible Indian wedding wonder filmed and edited by the extraordinary team at Robles Video Productions! Planning Elegance put on a show of pure perfection when they planned and designed Sonal and Hiren's dream day, and in collaboration with floral and decor expert, Shawna Yamamoto Event Design, this exquisite event went off without a hitch in true Maharani style! The adorable Indian bride wore an ivory, red and green lengha with a long sleeved blouse to her I dos, and LuLu Nguyen of Dolled Up By Lulu worked her expert hair and makeup marvels on her to complete her sublime look. We loved the uber fun-tastic baraat coverage of the groom, surrounded by excited guests dancing the procession away, at the Hyatt Regency Garden Grove — where he put a ring on it when he arrived! There are plenty of first look and ceremony highlights that will take your breath away, and we can only imagine how amazing the portraits and images captured by Global Photography must have turned out! The post-ceremony party with Special Occasions DJ & Lighting was surely one to remember, and we hope to see some moments from that reception soon too!
Maharani Sonal, on Raja Hiren's surprise wedding proposal:
"It all started off with what I thought was just going to be another trip to Disneyland with my sister, Shital, and my cousin, Sonica. Originally this "Disneyland trip" was for my best friend's 25th birthday, but last minute she couldn't make it. So I turned it into a family trip since the tickets were already bought. Sonica and I headed to Disneyland early while Shital was going to meet us there after her training for work ended. We got to Disneyland, walked around a bit and looked for some good food options because Sonica wanted to eat. Because she was very anxious and didn't want to wait in a long line for food we ended up going to souvenir shops to look around. As we were looking around Sonica sporadically found a caricature stand and wanted to get a caricature done, which I agreed to. We had a fun time getting the caricature done laughing, singing, talking, and of course smiling for the drawing. There was such a large audience looking at our picture as it was getting drawn. Once it was done, the artist drawing the caricature asked me to come look at it before he finished up the final touches of the picture. I got up and looked at it and was in such shock and excitement all in one. It was a picture of Hiren on one knee saying "will you marry me?". The next thing I know, I turn around and see Hiren on one knee proposing to me with all of my closest friends and family surrounding the area. The rest is history..."
On shopping for her dream wedding lengha(s):
"All my outfits were chosen in India from Mumbai and Surat. Prior to going to India, my mom and sisters helped me look for different wedding styles that would look elegant and unique. Pinterest was our friend for all wedding ideas. My goal was always to find unique and elegant outfits. I wanted them to stand out but not be too flashy or heavy. Once I got to India, my parents and I spent about a week in Mumbai to do some wedding shopping. Literally, we woke up early every morning and got to the stores right when they opened and got back to the hotel late at night when we were extremely exhausted. After days of shopping and looking around I finally found the perfect wedding and reception outfit. They both fit my criteria of being elegant and unique, without being too heavy."
On her most memorable wedding day moment:
"The most magical moment was when I got to watch Hiren and his jaan arrive to the wedding venue. I sat in a room at the Hyatt which overlooked the whole event. It's a memory that'll forever be engraved in me. I stood on the terrace as they danced the whole way down to the perfect music. I watched my bridesmaids go in with the jaan and dance while Hiren's groomsmen were yelling "Hiren, Hiren, Hiren" and my bridesmaids were yelling "Sonal, Sonal, Sonal". Everyone had smiles on their faces. I spotted Hiren on his horse and it made my heart drop. At that moment, I realized this was it. I was finally going to marry my best friend and the man of my dreams."
On her and Raja Hiren's first dance song:
"Our first dance was Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran. When this song first came out last year, I felt it was the perfect song to describe our love. We fell in love in a very mysterious yet amazing way and I knew I wanted to love him for life. We spent hours and hours talking on the phone, face timing, and texting throughout the day, due to distance and those were the best times ever. I shared this song with Hiren and he ended up loving this song as much as I did."
We're just getting started my dears! Don't forget, today is also the final day of our first ever Filmy Festival on the Platinum Guide, so there's plenty more wedding film fabulousness going on over there too!
