Happy Thursday, ladies! It's been a while since the last time we shared an Indian Fusion Wedding with you. So when Jithu & Tyler's wedding celebration came into our editorial desks, we immediately knew that this was an event that we wanted to share with you. So, let's check it out together! This lucky pair didn't have just one ceremony; they had two! And what beautiful ceremonies they were! This time, we are going to take you on the first of the two wedding ceremonies, so get yourself ready! When Jithu & Tyler decided they wanted to join their lives in marriage, they knew precisely what they wanted. They wanted this first ceremony to be traditional, elegant, and extraordinary! That is why they decided to bring A. Griffin Events on board, as the expertise they have in making dreamy wedding celebrations come true, is out of the question. And what a fantastic decision it was! It is no surprise that every guest was blown away with the details surrounding this ceremony held at the Top of the Town. To set the mood for this life-changing event, Imperial Decor put together a minimalist, yet fantastic decor that created a soothing environment that we loved so much! Both our lovebirds attended this reception elegantly and fashionably, completely overtaking the scene! Jithu wore a traditional Sari from RMKV Silks that made her look like Royalty! The blouse was custom embroidered with Swarovski crystals with a bell design. What a lucky gal! To contrast, Tyler wore a custom-made Sherwani Suit, in royal blue with gold details from Saahil Exclusive that made his inner Raja come out! And thanks to the outstanding work of Paperbird Photography we get to immerse ourselves into this beautiful ceremony just as if we were there. We know curiosity has you now, so don't miss today's gallery if you want to take a closer look at this beautiful ceremony!
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How did you meet your Groom and when did you know he was "the one"?
We met on OKCupid and after a few messages decided to meet up. He knew I loved beer and suggested we meet at a local dive bar but had no idea that he suggested one of my favorite beer bars!
We saw each other two more times that same week. By the end of the week, we both knew that we weren't interested in seeing other people.
Share the scoop on your Proposal Story!
After almost a year and a half together, Tyler made sure to buy the ring on an auspicious day (generously provided by my mother).
Tyler picked up my parents from Dulles Airport after they returned from a trip to India, and asked my very sleepy parents for their blessing. My parents agreed and promptly fell asleep.
That night, also an auspicious day, Tyler took me to dinner at a fancy French restaurant, where we had a bit too much wine. Eventually, Tyler popped the question while I immediately broke into sobs. After crying through most of his proposal, I said yes!
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.
Venue:
As our guests came from all over the country and from around the world (India, Dubai!). We wanted to give them a very DC experience. We chose Top of the Town for both ceremonies because of the sweeping views of Washington DC. We wanted our day to show great views of DC during the day and have a great rooftop area for the cocktail ceremony and reception.
Hair & Makeup:
I found my HMU team on Instagram and booked them immediately! They worked with me to create a modern Tamil bridal look for the morning complete with a fishtail braid covered in red roses and baby’s breath instead of the traditional jasmine flowers. The look for the Christian ceremony was delicate with nude lips and eyes and was transformed to bright eyes and bright pink lips for the reception.
Design:
We focused on simple overall designs that favored bright colors and atmosphere over more complex scenery. For this reason, we choose a relatively simple mandap (stage) and oonjal (swing) for the Hindu ceremony, and a simple, but classic, greenery backdrop for the Christian ceremony.
Flowers:
Our decor team came through with a wonderful selection of flowers. One of our favorite design elements was the way in which our decorator worked the colorful flowers of the Hindu ceremony into the greenery backdrop of the Christian ceremony and reused them for our centerpieces. It provided great continuity between the ceremonies, and helped brighten up the Christian ceremony with just the right amount of color.
How did you select your bridal lengha or wedding dress? Did you have a favorite color in mind?
We wanted to wear traditional attire for the Hindu and Christian ceremonies and wanted outfits that reflected us for the reception. We traveled up and down the entire US eastern seaboard and coordinated with family in India for our three outfits.
For the Hindu ceremony, I wanted to wear a traditional red Kanjeepuram silk saree. With the help of my aunts and grandmother in India, the red saree was purchased from RMKV silks in Chennai over a 5 am WhatsApp call. Additionally, the saree blouse was custom designed and embroidered with Swarovski crystals in a temple bell design.
For the Christian ceremony, I chose a white wedding dress from Amazon after searching through traditional bridal stores and unable to make a final decision. I was drawn to a with lots of tulle and delicate lace details.
For the reception, I wanted a bright colored lehenga and selected a yellow lehenga with hot pink details from Ladlee in Atlanta, GA. Not to be outdone, Tyler got a custom made navy blue three piece Jodhpuri suit from Om Fashion Boutique in Edison, NJ. We received so many compliments on our reception outfits and cannot wait to wear them again.
What was the most enjoyable part of the planning process, and why?
Honestly, being done with wedding planning was the best part!
What did your guests particularly love about your Wedding?
Our guests loved the baraat and enjoyed kicking off our wedding with dancing!
Additionally, we planned two surprise dance performances: one with the bride and her friends and one of the bride and groom dancing to lungi dance. Our guests went nuts when they heard lungi dance come on and were up on their feet with us!
Was there a really special moment in your wedding that constantly replays in your mind?
The best part of our wedding was seeing our family and friends having a great time! My favorite story was about one of my best friends, Tyler's brothers, and one of my uncles roaming the hotel halls after getting back from a bar at 2 am and being gently scolded by my mother to go to their rooms. It was hilarious and also one of my favorite parts about weddings - bringing people together.
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 imagined our wedding to be warm, traditional but fusion wedding. Although we are a modern couple, with all the cultural clashes that come with that, it was important to us that both of our families felt comfortable and represented in our wedding.
Our rehearsal dinner followed this theme and was held at the Le Meridien Arlington’s outdoor taco shack, The Yard. We wanted a terrace space that would encourage our families to move around and interact with each other and a taco shack with picnic tables and lots of standing high tops worked perfectly!
Do you have any words of wisdom for Brides-To-Be?
A wedding planner is a must! They are the professionals and have probably seen it all --late vendors, last minute changes, the ever-changing seating chart! They are a great source of information and great listeners who can guide you through your vision.
Sometimes the details and material items can drive you crazy! Before we got into wedding planning, we wrote down three things we wanted our wedding to be: family, fun, and love. When we were stressing about small details like label placement on envelopes or the design of table toppers, we circled back to the three things we wrote down. It helped ground us and reminded us to focus on the important things.
Anything else you want to tell us? We'd love to hear all about your other details! (jewelry, mehndi, venue, cake, bouquets, etc.)
We wanted to incorporate our two families by having heirloom pieces be a part of wedding. I wore my mother's diamond earrings and my late grandmother's gold belt for the Hindu ceremony. For the Christian ceremony, I had with me the groom's late grandmother's handkerchief embroidered with our wedding date. This helped us weave our families into our day and made it that much sweeter.
We cannot wait to share the second wedding ceremony with you, so stay close if you don't want to miss it!
