Happy Wednesday, Maharanis! If you were seeking inspiration to start planning your ultimate dream wedding, you've come to the right place! Misha & Dipen's big wedding festivities overflows with so much beauty, traditional flair, and amazingness that you don't want to miss! If you are ready to dive into this fascinating love story, lets jump right into it! For this installment, we'll be taking a look at the awe-inspiring shots captured by Strokes Photography during an outdoor photoshoot that got us speechless! The multi-colored doorway of the Modern Architecture Museum In Kansas became the perfect canvas to portray the most romantic and mesmerizing scenes of these two lovebirds right before heading down to their beautiful wedding ceremony fully designed and decored by K.I. Weddings and Occasions by Shangri-la, respectively. And, oh boy, this photoshoot is one for the books! So much beauty, so many colors and, mainly, lots of love present in every single image! And talking about beauty, let's take a moment to appreciate the look of our gorgeous Maharani! She trusted her beauty needs to Glam By Richa and her Mehndi design to Samira's Henna Designs and ended up looking like a goddess! Check more of this enchanting photoshoot in today's full gallery and also in today's Video Blog thanks to the cinematographic delight by Michael J. Scott Productions!
How did you meet your Groom and when did you know he was "the one"?
I met Dipen while we were both volunteering at a religious summer camp for kids. We met totally by chance when he came to show me how to use some A/V equipment. We didn't pay each other much mind but at the end of the camp, we connected on Instagram. After a couple of weeks of silently following each other, we exchanged numbers and we started texting/ talking. Within a few months, we found out we had a vast amount of common interests, values, and understanding. It was difficult to hold a long-distance relationship while we were both so busy with school and work but there was something about each other that we just couldn't let the relationship go. It was especially scary introducing our families to each other because we felt like though we had been "together" for a while we had only met in person a handful of times (due to the distance). Once Dipen moved to NYC for an 8 month internship we were actually able to meet more often, falling in love while we discovered the art and architecture of Manhattan.
Share the scoop on your Proposal Story!
We had been talking about it for a few months and he actually was able to completely surprise me. We had gone ring shopping in NYC a few times and I basically asked him to design the perfect ring for me because I couldn't make up my mind. Being an architect he had access to CAD software where he could design the ring exactly as he imagined. He made up a story about how his internship was ending early and he really wanted engagement pictures in NYC but the ring wouldn't be ready because it was too hard to use the software or the jeweler wasn't negotiating the price for him. We found a photographer and set up a date for our "not" engagement pictures- the weather wasn't cooperating so we actually postponed it to the next morning (little did I know what a headache that was for him!) That night we spent hours going over outfits and looks and matching our clothes over and over again. Groggy eyed we made it to our early morning photoshoot at the Brooklyn Bridge Park where our photographer, Konrad Brattke, met us. We casually took some pictures around the streets and famous carousel. Eventually, we walked up to the beach where there was a trail of rose petals leading to a heart. Dipen grabbed my hand and led me to the center where I immediately started crying as he got down on one knee and presented me the ring. After the proposal, he showed me the details he put in the ring that made it uniquely mine and a video he prepared of all of my family and friends wishing me congratulations! It was so thoughtful and such a surprise to see all of the planning and detail he put in to make it a perfect proposal
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 started wedding planning in earnest in September of 2017 by looking at venues in both of our home cities and by creating a preliminary guest list... the guest list did half of the work for us because we knew that the venue needed to accommodate a huge party. We also needed a place which allowed outside licensed caterers because of our religions strict dietary restrictions. We narrowed it down to 2 great venues in each city (Minneapolis, MN and Kansas City, MO) and ultimately the dates for his home city worked the best so we began working with the Overland Park Convention center for our wedding weekend. OPCC was very accommodating with all of our traditions and requests. We held our Mehndi night and Manglik Prasango Vidhis at the BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir in Shawnee, KS for a more intimate environment and our Sangeet night, Wedding Ceremony and Reception at OPCC.
All decor was provided by Remmal at Occasions by Shangri-La. Dipen was pretty deadset on using this decor company in particular since he had seen first hand their work when OBS outfitted another wedding at OPCC. We did not have to work too hard to explain our vision to Remmal: we shareed some inspiriation images with him and important style elements we wanted and he pulled together beautiful and encompassing decor themes throughout the weekend along with his team. We had one in person meeting to quell our nerves but we were so happy and satisfied with the level of service at OBS.
My hair and Makeup artsist was Glam by Richa. Honestly with the amount of effort Dipen and I were putting into designing the event, a HMUA kind of fell through the cracks for me. It was february and I hadn't chosen anyone so I began desperately going to makeup trials. Frustrated that the first couple didn't work out, I saw Richa's work on a mutual friend's haldi look and I reached out. I booked her and hoped for the best since I ran out of time to go out for another trial. I'm so glad that she was there for all of my events though- it was a completely stressfree part of the wedding weekend to sit before her and just let her be creative with the look she created for each event. I am honestly not the best at doing my own makeup so I had no qualms about leaving it up to a professional but she really nailed it out of the park!
Our videographer was Michael J. Scott Productions from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. We fell in love with their cinematic style and loved the detailed shots they captured which otherwise would have been forgotten or unnoticed. They were very fun to work with and we wished we could have done an epic engagement shoot with them too!
Our Photographer was Strokes Photography from Toronto, Canada. We met through a mutual friend whose wedding Jonita was shooting. I loved the airy, crisp style of the photos and when I saw that the pricing packages were named after famous impressionist artists I was sold. We invited Jonita last minute to Utah to take engagement pictures with us (and our wild family) and we were so impressed with what she captured in the few days we were there. The landscape and her eye for details made for beautiful captured memories.
Our DJ was Jay Rana of Raaz entertainment from Hoboken, NJ. I knew of Raaz Ent. from my brother's wedding where MC Carlos killed it. We basically knew that we wanted that level of fun and entertainment at our wedding too but he was also very professional and knowledgeable. Working in the industry for so long, Jay was able to share many of his tips and tricks for planning and even executing an event.
How did you select your bridal lengha or wedding dress? Did you have a favorite color in mind?
I always knew I wanted a Magenta Pink bridal lengha because I felt like that color suits me well and I love bold and bright colors. I wanted something traditional but also very contemporary. One of the greatest Indian designers Sabyasachi inspired my whole look for the ceremony and I couldn't be happier with the timeless look
What was the most enjoyable part of the planning process, and why?
The most enjoyable part of the planning process was spending time with my (then future) husband to plan out each and every detail of everything. We were so excited to share a piece of our lives and personalities with our guests that we planned everything to a T. We would hold our own conference calls and family meetings to plan and share each other's opinions about everything. We wanted to include our own brand on everything which meant that we designed everything.
What did your guests particularly love about your Wedding?
Our hard work in planning paid off in that the guests loved that there was no confusion and great flow. Each guest was given a weekend program with times and address of when and where to arrive for each event, we designed signage to display that they were in the right spot, we created an entire website where guests could RSVP, read about the events and amenities of the city, etc. Each guest felt a taste of southern hospitality and they felt taken care of.
Guests also loved the newspaper program we designed. We all know that Hindu ceremonies are long and sometimes boring so we created an 8-page wedding program designed like a newspaper with articles and pictures on the steps of planning from cake tasting to the bridal shower to intimate family ceremonies like the Chandlo matli and kankotri writing ceremony. We even included some comics and word games. This program not only explained the wedding but also gave the guests something to do and talk about.
Was there a really special moment in your wedding that constantly replays in your mind?
The most special moment of the day took place before the ceremony at the first look- we were rushing to get to the museum before the sun fully rises and I was so nervous about Dipen seeing me in my outfit. I remember at first walking fast to tap him on the shoulder but then I slowed down as I got closer and more anxious. The photo/ video teams had me stop and wait for the perfect moment. It was both overwhelming and underwhelming to see him turn around- overwhelming because his eyes saw me as his bride and new wife but underwhelming because we knew that marriage was not going to change our feelings or actions towards each other.
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 a hand-drawn and watercolor vision for our wedding invitations which we tried to convey to a company but after a few weeks of the project going nowhere, we decided to take it into our own hands. I meticulously hand drew and painted each card face while Dipen imported the scans onto his computer where he drafted each card. We were able to comb through each aspect of the card from the coloring to the spellings in order to get everything perfect.
Do you have any words of wisdom for Brides-To-Be?
Don't get so overwhelmed with the planning that you forget to enjoy it! Honestly sometimes I miss the late nights with my husband trying to decide on a decor theme or dreaming up a menu because we got to be so creative and imaginative about what could be done. If we had both succumbed to our busy lives we may have just ended up with another traditional wedding but adding in little details like hand drawn wedding invitations or thoughtful arrival notes really created a wonderful impression in our guests' eyes. We are so happy and proud when our friends and relatives tell us how much they enjoyed our wedding weekend because we both tried our best to make it a great experience for them
Anything else you want to tell us? We'd love to hear all about your other details! (jewelry, mehndi, venue, cake, bouquets, etc.)
Mehndi was done by Samira's henna designs and it was honestly so soothing to have her create beautiful designs with the fragrant henna paste. She really took her time to draw gorgeous figures and without much guidance, she created such beautiful art. I really enjoyed the henna designs and her company.
We are just getting started over here, so make sure to stick around if you don't want to miss any detail!
