Happy Friday, Maharanis! Today we have a heartwarming wedding film beautifully captured by Aventography Photo & Video Studios. Karishma & Zulfie's wedding journey started with colorful pre-wedding celebrations where our bride had stunning bridal mehndi designs drawn on her hands and feet. The day arrived for a one of a kind Nikkah ceremony and our bride donned a romantic mint green lengha and Zulfie was shinning in a golden attire next to the love of his life. Our lovebirds bonded their lives in a lovely and intimate ceremony filled with rich traditions and fun games for the couple to bond and celebrate their love. Chateau Crystale welcomed their guests into a romantically lighted ballroom created by Deco Art Event Planners. The reception night was such a wonderful celebration of love where their families shared moving speeches and expressed their best wishes for the newly wedded couple, maharani Karishma emerged as a true persian princess, just like she says, in a stunning plum lengha with golden embrodeiry details she designed herself and a flawless makeup by Fashion Face. Guests dined delicious food and watched the couple play fun games to close the night they will always remember. Hit play and don't forget to check out all the deets directly from Karishma down below! 

How did you meet your Groom and when did you know he was "the one"?
He is my best friend's brother. I met him shortly after we were celebrating another girlfriend's wedding festivities. He made his way into my Mom's heart by taking care of our puppies while we took a family trip to India! & then one day said to me, I'd like to marry you, I let him know he has to go through DADDY first, he instantly scheduled a sit down with my dad. He knew how important my family is to me, he knew I would only marry if I found someone who would love me just 1% of what my dad loves my mom. He just did EVERYTHING with me first in mind. I have never found anyone who would sacrifice for me as much as I would for him. 
 
Share the scoop on your Proposal Story!
He proposed to me at Houston Zoo lights - Dec 17, 2017.
Our first date EVER was at Houston Zoo lights, it was beautiful, he popped the question in front of my sister and our friends. He planned it all and enlisted my sister to help execute the rest. We were under the lighted tunnel take pictures, I asked him to hurry as others were in line, I had turned around to walk away, he tugged my arm for "one last picture" and i turned around to his nervous self, his hands shaking while he pulled out the ring and went down on his knee. It truly was the best place for him and the perfect moment for us. 
 
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.
Our families confirmed the dates July 2017, & I started planning instantly! I am very organized, very picky and very particular. I am one of those who say, if you need it done right, you have to do it yourself. So I started with the vision I had in mind, incorporated a little help from Pinterest, Etsy and several trips at Michael's. I had an excel spreadsheet with all the venues I liked, asked the fiancé which ones he likes, put it together and scheduled appts to see them. When I went to the venues I had a notepad ready with questions, prices/packages/what is with/ what is without & most importantly, if they have availability 3/30/2018 - it was Good Friday. Chateau Crystale was an amazing choice, the staff was excellent, they accommodated several things and had millions of freebies. These freebies meant I would be able to let our décor team know what's provided so that we can encompass another item instead or save on costs where we can. They also did not charge for outside catering, which was AMAZING! We headed next to the photographer, Aventography - I do not have ENOUGH words to describe how PERFECT they are & that is huge! I never use the work perfect! From the minute we walked in the office, they made us a part of the team, involved in everything, every vision, every step of the way and more - there were NO surprise charges, never said "no we can't" just PERFECT! they made us a package deal with Deco Art - TRULY MIND BLOWING! I could not believe my eyes with the stuff they offered, & their prices - the other guys are literally just RIPPING US OFF! - for the SAME EXACT décor +MORE! Chose to go with an ALL white/ivory theme. I did not want to get lost in the décor, I had a canopy on stage I had everything in whites and ivories, with flowers all over. I accented linens and curtains with a hint of rose gold as my obsession with rose gold recently. I had wedding party table place cards custom made in PURPLE to tie the plum in my dress to the décor. Everything was custom made and personalized with my husband’s name and mine.  I had our guest book carved out with our names, our cake topper custom made, to our wax seal stamps which were placed on our wedding invites. We move on to the food - Nirvana restaurant! My family does not eat desi food outside, so we did not have much knowledge of this, recommended by the in-laws we went in for our food tasting! the food was MOUTHWATERING! every wedding guest always talks about the food - mainly 80% of them always talk bad - NONE of our guests said they did not like our food! We had food for all ages! And dessert spread a mile long (the restaurant's wedding gift to us was the dessert table) We had every desi dessert you can think of, from Zarda to milk cakes to ROSE MALAI KULFI - specially made for our reception - they do not make or serve it anymore. We even had cheesecake bites, macaroons, and even FRESH MADE ON THE SITE Mango shakes! My outfits were custom designed by me. My 6 day trip to India was solely for wedding shopping, for my family, immediate and extended, for my in-laws, for myself (I did all my own shopping) and my fiance. 
My makeup was done by none other than FASHION FACE. Berkha is simply amazing. I have known her for YEARS, we just never had a chance to work together (I modeled when I was younger and seemed to always be unavailable when our paths would tend to meet). I knew the minute I saw her work, that I would love for her to do my makeup. I am a very simple everyday very minimal makeup kind of girl – my eyeliner has been my best friend since 10th grade. That is all you will see me wearing ever! So when she told me do not stop me from GLAM dolling you up today, I was PETRIFIED and nervous beyond anything. When she was done and I looked at myself, I was just BLOWN AWAY! My bridesmaid was with me getting dolled up herself, she was BLOWN AWAY! & her staff still till this day talks about how amazing it looked. When I went to the venue, I had other guests from another wedding held there to take pictures with me, I mean I am SO HAPPY with every single vendor at the wedding & so so so blessed that it was all just perfect! I looked & felt like a Persian Princess that day and my amazing fiancé (now husband) had a horse-drawn carriage waiting for us outside as we left. I truly am the luckiest girl in this UNIVERSE!
 
How did you select your bridal lengha or wedding dress? Did you have a favorite color in mind?
So I went to India for 6 short days – against my dad’s advice of the 2 weeks I would need. 
I was certain I would find a dress in the boutique. With Manish Malhotra in mind, I set my journey at the 1st place who sells MM – Seasons in Mumbai! My family in Mumbai was given a heads up of my short trip – Keep in mind I am THE fastest shopper in my family. I once picked out 18 outfits in 20 minutes to my first trip to India after 10+ years & I was DONE! I love to shop online to beat the rush here as well. (Like I mentioned before – I am not your typical girl, my husband takes longer to shop! Haha) 5 days into my trip to India I was completely done shopping for kitchen stuff for our new place, gifts for everyone including my family, inlaws, friends even my puppies, but there was NO LUCK for a wedding outfit. I knew I wanted it to be in the color PLUM – I knew I wanted a lengha, I knew I wanted it with a trail. So I sat down at this boutique in Mumbai who only custom makes wedding outfits unless one on their shelf fits you instantly and they are ready to part ways with their floor piece. I drew out what I needed, how I needed it and what colors I needed it in. The owner advised me of how plum isn’t in, how velour is not all the rage at the moment, how I should choose a royal/navy blue color which is in season. I told him, I wouldn’t want to go with the trend, I would like what I drew out and nothing else. He agreed. We put a deposit down and he told me it would be a 50-day process. My aunt who lives there took responsibility and got it all done! It was BREATHTAKING! (as you can see by the pictures) I am happy & sad, now I can’t see when I would get to wear it another time. I am planning on taking it with me and getting it made into something I can re-wear.
For the actual ceremony – Nikkah, I wore a MINT green half-half saree, in chiffon and lace. I wanted to replicate the mint saree my mom wore on her wedding day! 
 
What was the most enjoyable part of the planning process, and why?
I loved doing all the projects, everything was a DIY during this wedding. From the bridesmaid proposal to the bridal shower, from the pithi, the mehndi, our nikkah, and even the reception. My husband and I from the get-go had said we would split everything down the middle when it came to cost, so I made sure he was present in all the projects we did (when he wasn’t traveling – his job requires a lot of traveling). I loved how we all would come home from work, have dinner and just sit down creating everything I had envisioned. My parents, my sister, my puppies, my fiancé and even my cousin who flew out here all the way from India to be there for my wedding. The dance practices, the projects, it just brought everyone closer and it definitely has given me amazing memories to last a lifetime! 
 
What did your guests particularly love about your Wedding?
My guests were amazed at the wedding invites, none of them wanted to open it. They were given in a small 5x7 gift bag, when they pulled out the envelope from inside, the wax seal with our names on it sealed the envelope. Those who opened it would see the laser cut out white card holder with a teardrop gem held out invites. I had assigned seating for the reception, so they got their RSVP card, along with the reception card. We chose to not make one for our nikkah, as it was held at my parents home only for immediate family. When the guests walked into the reception hall, they were blown away by how, as they put it “ROYAL” it looked. From the curtains to the flowers to the stage, the photobooth, the monograms of our names. It was just very royal for them and that was my reaction when I first saw it too! The guests were in awe of the dessert spread and there was NO CAKE left – it was THAT good! Rod at Perfect-Petit Fours did an AMAZING job with it. When they came out to see us off, the horse-drawn carriage was the talk of the town! 
 
Was there a really special moment in your wedding that constantly replays in your mind?
When I walked in for the first time all dolled up, my groom was glowing looking at me, the photographer was in awe. Shortly after I had the families come in earlier for the photo session, my dad walked in and he was in tears looking at me! My bridesmaid who all were hanging out with me in the bridal suite cheering me on and just all so happy, my husband was glowing the whole night, his smile is stuck in my head! 
I also keep replaying the nights which lead up to my nikkah at my parents home, all my family from Canada was sitting talking about everything and anything until the wee hours of the morning. Those memories will always be in my heart! 
 
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.
The décor was kept very simple in pastel colors. I had a monogram designed with K & Z for both events.
My mehndi décor (also held at my parents) was in pastel yellows and pinks, with a hint of green. 
 
The nikkah décor (at my parents) was in colors of white and gold. I had mint rose petals placed all over to tie it with the mint saree I wore. 
We had a tent put in our backyard to serve all the brunch food (my nikkah was from 10:00am-12: 30 pm)
 
Do you have any words of wisdom for Brides-To-Be?
Just breathe, nothing can go wrong the day off, if anything does.. you can't control it and thinking about it you will miss out on the most important day. Little things that weren't going as my décor guy planned, he called me and said we have an issue! my reply: there are NO ISSUES today, only solutions, let me know what's going on?... I could not control it, it just wasn't worth it. When I got there, def did not think about it, or even noticed it, besides.. who else would know except for me? so why worry? 
 
Anything else you want to tell us? We'd love to hear all about your other details! (jewelry, mehndi, venue, cake, bouquets, etc.)
Just enjoy the process and stress as little as possible, don't forget to breathe, all the other details are listed above :) 
 
MY VENDORS WERE TRULY AMAZING! the universe worked in my favor, it was definitely fate which made me meet these guys and execute everything!

 

Enjoy your weekend, loves!

STYLE
GUIDE style
Traditional
Romantic
Cinematography
 season
Winter
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Photography: Aventography Photo & Video Studios | Photography: Aventography Photo & Video Studios | Photography: Aventography Photo & Video Studios | Photography: Aventography Photo & Video Studios | Reception Venue: Chateau Crystale | Floral & Decor: Deco Art Event planners | Hair & Makeup: Fashion Face | Catering: Nirvana Restaurant | Cake & Treats: Perfect-Petit Fours
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