Happy Friday, Maharanis! Another week has gone by, and we are thankful for your company throughout it, that is why we have prepared something special for you to get ready for the weekend. So, sit back, relax, and get ready to enjoy today's fabulous wedding featuring all the beauty surrounding Neeli & Krishna's festivities! For this first installment, we'll be taking a look at a bright and harmonious Sangeet Ceremony held inside the halls of The Westin Charlotte Hotel. The interiors of this venue transformed into a cornucopia of flair, bold colors, and traditional fabrics thanks to the fantastic decor crafted by Utopian Events. And we want to make a big shoutout to Ask Neha Now for the perfect planning and execution of this event, as nothing would have been the same without their outstanding job! We also want to take a moment to admire the beauty of our gorgeous Maharani who burst into the room dressed in a gorgeous dual-tone lengha from PUNARVI and showcasing a ravishing look designed by Hair by Anna Pham and Makeup By Jenny Le. And we cannot forget the artistic Mehndi outlined by Reena Chaplot with Charlotte Henna Mehndi. Simply amazing! If you want to check more of this Sangeet, don't miss the visual masterpieces by TNK Photo in our gallery! Also, don't miss the film by Sculpting With Time Productions already featured in our Video Blog!
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How did you meet your Groom and when did you know he was "the one"?
Krishna and I actually met online on the app Coffee Meets Bagel. I was quite intrigued by his profile so once we matched, we started to speak to one another over the app. Approximately 2-3 weeks later we met in person. I almost decided to cancel our first date in August but then I said to myself to take a chance and see where it takes us. We met in person for the first time on August 7th, 2016 at one of Krishna's favorite restaurants. Our conversation during our first date was memorable because our conversation felt like we knew each other for years. And what I thought would be a 2 hour date became more like a 7 hour date! As the conversation deepened, we found out more about one another including the fact that we were from the same region in India let alone the same town! That's when I realized it was the cherry on top of the sundae! After talking for several weeks while I was out of the country, I realized that I knew he was the one. And when we both met again in which we claimed as our "second" first date, well the rest was history.
Share the scoop on your Proposal Story!
WOW. To be honest, I have to give a lot of credit to Krishna. He planned our proposal from beginning to end without any glitches. I was at work one evening when he told me that he needed help shooting for a wedding- yes he is a cinematographer. He told me that it was for a VIP couple and the theme was a yacht party. So we had to dress up. Now, at the same time, our parents were coming up for the weekend to meet Krishna's parents. So I was like "how can I leave them for the day? You need to ask their permission." He said, "no problem, i'll take care of it." Well while I was thinking about what I needed to wear, he said wear something "blue" since it was a yacht based theme party. And to top that, he said George Clooney would be there! So the day before our proposal, we picked up my family and I was asking them what to wear as I needed to look professional but also wear something where I knew I could also help him through the wedding shoot. My sister was amazing because as I was trying on clothing, she was actually playing behind the scenes and sent all of my outfits to Krishna - and they coordinated on which blue dress would match Krishna's blue suit. At the end of the night, Krishna told me that I had to keep a secret and be there on time because "Hilary" would be there and there would be gates closing the park. And I said "which Hillary? Hillary Duff or Hillary Clinton?" And that's when he was like "the Hillary". So of course, I got excited.
So on the morning of June 3rd, 2017, I made sure I reached the park on time. He started walking over to me explaining how stressed out he was because there were some glitches to the wedding shoot. I told him to not worry. When we arrived closer to the pond, he asked me to look out for a few photographers. That is when he re-directed himself to a specific corner where he knew he would propose at. Everyone was ready. He then told me to come to that corner as he "found the photographers" and that is when he proposed to me! I was in shock and of course said "YES!" But it wasn't over. Krish's family and my family were actually meeting at Bethesda fountain where they met for the first time. Krishna then continued to surprise me through the day with meet ups with many of our close friends and family! It was beautiful night with a beautiful beginning to the rest of our lives!
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.
Since Krishna worked in the wedding industry, he had all of the ins and outs to planning our wedding. My parents primarily helped with the venue, food and the priest and took that off of our hands. Everything else was mostly completed by us with the help of a few key people!
Wedding Planner: Neha Joshi: Our wedding planner, Neha was fantastic! She helped Krishna and I organize everything, who to contact and who to keep her in contact with- that way I didn't have to over stress myself. She was great with creating a timeline for our events and the day of the wedding made sure we were all running on time and that there were no hiccups. Neha also knew when I needed a hand to hold and a shoulder to cry on. She was always supportive not just as a planner but also as a friend.
Venue: Westin Hotel, Charlotte, NC: Our venue was perfect. It had tall ceilings and a lot of space to work with. Our coordinators Betsy and Eric were extremely responsive to all of our emails and were also accommodating in making sure the weekend events all went smoothly.
Hair and Makeup: Anna Pham and Jenny Le: I will say word of mouth is a great way to meet other vendors. Many of my friends were also getting married within the same year in NC! I loved how the Jenny and Anna did their wedding looks, so I decided to use them as well as their work was flawless and their attitudes and personality were so positive! They couldn't have been a more perfect pair to work with!
Outfits were overall a piece of cake. I wasn't too picky and when I saw something I liked, I went for it. The only outfit I took some time to work on was my Sangeet outfit. A very close friend of mine and fashion designer, Punarvi Patel helped design my Sangeet outfit. It was quite unique and brought so much elegance. I already knew Punvari was an amazing fashion designer but when I saw what she put together, I couldn't stop smiling.
Decor: Utopian Events: We initially wanted to have an outdoor wedding but since it was a hot summer, we knew we had to look at other options. So with our wedding being indoors, we decided to have the theme of "Outdoor meets Indoor". Shushil and his team worked extremely hard in creating such a beautiful piece of work that represented both Krishna and myself. With Neha's help, as a team we were able to organize our thoughts and ideas and execute a truly remarkable piece. Our thought process behind the Mandap was that it should be the visual corner stone of our day but be extremely practical and cost effective. Krishna is a cinematographer by trade and has nearly a decade of experience in the wedding industry, so he had a strong foundation of ideas to go into the design. The Mandap was primary chosen to be hanging as it would be utilized for both the wedding as well as the reception, and to maximum visibility of the wedding ceremony for our guests. Krishna requested in the design to integrate close to 40 dimmable hanging light led bulbs to create a warm soft light in the inside of the dome to illuminate us during the ceremony. He then requested that all 8 of the dj's moving heads be focused on the outside of the dome with a contrasting cooler light. In the end Utopian Events delivered a piece that uniquely transformed and transcended our wedding ceremony
Food: Blue Taj: I would like to take a moment to thank my parents and Blue Taj's team for their extraordinary work! We had an amazing menu of items for each and every event! Tasting was obviously a blast and helped us narrow down to a few specific dishes! Blue Taj is mostly known for their north indian dishes but with the help of my mother, he was able to work outside of the box and bring out some delicious South Indian dishes as well! They were very easy to work with and our guests were thoroughly impressed!
Was there a really special moment in your wedding that constantly replays in your mind?
Our wedding vows. Krishna and I were very insistent about having wedding vows in our ceremony as we both primarily grew up here. We figured it would be a great way to personalize our wedding and share our love and promises to not only one another but for everyone else to hear.
Do you have any words of wisdom for Brides-To-Be?
Stay in communication with your fiance and your family. Challenges will always arise but it is the challenge that you must overcome. Also, stay patient and delegate as much as possible. You cannot do everything! This is why it is important to let others help you when you feel like the world is spinning too quickly!
Anything else you want to tell us? We'd love to hear all about your other details! (jewelry, mehndi, venue, cake, bouquets, etc.)
If you have your wedding in NC, go to Amelie's for your wedding cake! I love how I was able to customize my cake with whatever flavor I wanted per layer, its frosting, and the ganache and fruit in the middle! It was worth every penny! They also helped with breakfast sandwiches for the bridal party!
Photo: TNK Photo: Elmer and his team did such a fantastic job! His work was unique and he made sure that we were getting the photos we wanted! We also had the opportunity to build a good relationship with Elmer when he completed our engagement shoot in Jersey City! We felt at ease through the whole process and Elmer knew exactly how to make Krishna smile (with his teeth showing).
Video: Sculpting with Time: Krishna worked very closely with Alex and Whitney. They are the most genuine couple to work with. They were efficient and made sure not to miss a single detail! They were always accommodating and receptive to our feedback! The film they delivered was beyond our expectations and truly shows their capabilities not just as wedding cinematographers but artists.
Violinist: Edith Yokley: Edith was introduced to us by our DJ. She always brought a lot of style to her work! She was great and created my walk down the aisle memorable!
Reception Dance by Priti Udeshi-Gupta: If I tried to choreograph our reception dance, Krishna would have waited till the last minute to learn it. I knew he wanted to learn how to dance, so we found a dance teacher right here in Jersey City! Priti was fantastic! Given her history and what she has accomplished over the years, we knew she would be the right fit for us! Krishna learned quite a few steps that took him out of his comfort zone, and I myself was able to let go of my fears with certain moves. We learned a lot about one another through this process and it helped us understand each other's strengths and weaknesses with time and patience. Overall it was a lot of fun and everyone loved it!
DJ and Lighting: DJ BayBFace: Manish and I have known each other for many years- in fact he is family and has always been an older brother to me. He did a great job with helping out on the lighting for our wedding day and also the music (especially for the after party when he played all the old school hip hop songs!).
Get ready to continue enjoying this fantastic celebration, and don't miss the upcoming wedding ceremony.
