Hello, Maharanis! We hope you had a fun 4th of July! We've got an amazing Texan Indian wedding today that's sure to dazzle you more than any fireworks! Planned by the legendary K.I. Weddings, this incredible shaadi had six fabulous events and featured breathtaking decorations by expert Prashe Decor! The magnificent mandap was made of a crystal chandelier surrounded by flowering branches and dangling candles (0:28)! Our fashionable Indian bride, Roshni, was always gorgeous with hair and makeup by Ishnae & Co. and perfectly styled outfits draped by Draped2Nines! We especially loved her pink, gold and turquoise bridal lengha (1:42)! We'll share Hiram Trillo Art Photography's photos of all the celebrations soon, but for now, see all the unforgettable moments Memories Films captured in their Same Day Edit video below!
Maharani Roshni on meeting her Raja and how she knew he was "the one":
"Neil and I were introduced to each other by my cousin and Neil's friend. They were in residency together in Louisville, KY, and I lived in San Antonio. I knew Neil was 'the one' before I even met him in person. We played a game of 21 questions via text and he answered all the questions honestly and correctly... that's how I knew he was going to be 'the one.'"
On the romantic proposal:
"Our proposal story was supposed to be perfect, but I kind of ruined it due to the fact I had to work. Neil had planned to propose to me at the Kentucky Derby in 2014, but I had to cancel due to having to work that weekend. Neil was very upset and had to figure out a new proposal in San Antonio (where I lived at the time) all the way from Louisville, KY (where he was living and doing residency). He ended up flying into San Antonio and had one of my friends pick him up and let him into my apartment where he had covered the apartment in flowers and was waiting for me to come home from work! I almost ruined that proposal because I wasn't expecting it so when I heard music coming from my apartment I got scared... luckily he left a letter on the door informing me it was 'safe' to come in."
On her wedding style:
"From what I learned from my wedding coordinators and wedding decorators is that I was not a 'typical bride.' By this I mean that I didn't have a Pinterest board created with every little detail picked out or really even an particular ideas. I had discussed some things with my family and all of them had their own ideas of what they wanted my wedding to be like from the colors to the themes to the outfits! I then realized I was going to have to get some things decided in order to move on with the planning process. However, I am really glad that I didn't plan out every little detail because what KI Weddings, Prashe from PRASHE Décor and I came up with ended being the perfect marriage in itself! I gave them some color ideas and a few design concepts I wanted (such as a Ram Leela themed Garba) and they helped me create the most beautiful wedding I had ever been to... and to think it was MY wedding... a wedding that I could've never dreamed up myself!"
On her favorite part of wedding planning:
"Honestly, I enjoyed working with the KI Weddings team the most! They came down to San Antonio to meet me after having a horrible experience with another company. The team and I hit it off immediately! I was dreading the entire planning process because I honestly didn't even know where to begin. I mean I was trying to plan a 1,200 people wedding that was going to be in Lubbock, TX while I was living in San Antonio, TX and marrying a guy who was from Mansfield, OH while he was living in Louisville, KY. It was absolutely overwhelming to even think about. Thankfully, Jignasa, her fabulous team of 4 and their laptops came to the rescue that day at the local Starbucks we met at for 4 hours! It was a relief to lay everything out on the table with them from my lack of experience to the fact that this was the first wedding in my family. She reassured me though everything wasn't going to be easy, it was totally doable. They were my coordinators and my therapists! I specifically remember they called me at midnight one night while working on my reception layout (and drinking wine for their sanity) just to make me laugh and make sure I wasn't going crazy living at home again with all the early arriving relatives!"
On choosing her bridal outfits:
"Unlike most brides I did not spend hours looking for outfits on the internet. I did try to see what the latest style was, but I quickly learned there was way too much to look through. Instead I decided I would just go with an open mind and when I loved an outfit it would surely work for 1 of the 6 events I had to shop for! I went shopping with my mom and my two aunts. We all had so much fun shopping and spending time together; it was a memory I will never forget. Luckily I didn't have to shop for bridesmaids or groomsmen because me and my husband decided we didn't want any. This was mostly because most of my friends were pregnant at the time and I didn't want to put them through the trouble of wearing an itchy or see through outfit which they were feeling nervous about. As for my outfits, for my mehndi ceremony I chose a black and cream long cotton dress with some light embroidery and sheer side cutouts from a boutique called DVAR in Mumbai. My Garba outfit, which which was the crowd favorite, was from a little boutique called Kimaya in Juhu, Mumbai. My ceremony outfit was blush pink complimented by a turquoise border with cream thread work (similar to a Shymal & Bhumika design). My reception outfit was a black Manish Malhotra with gold and silver adornments."
On the most magical moment of the wedding:
"The most magical part of my wedding and when I realized our wedding was like no other was when I walked into the venue before my wedding ceremony. The morning of our wedding there were some light showers so my brother drove me to the back entrance and rushed me in before I got all wet. There were very few people in the venue and when my brother and I walked in we both just stopped and gasped. The décor was absolutely breathtaking, like nothing we had every seen before. At that moment I couldn't believe this beyond stunning room was created for us and there were so many details it would take me hours to describe. Neil had a very similar experience, he hadn't seen the décor before he was walking down the aisle so when he saw it the look on his face was priceless. He told me that the same thought went through his mind: he couldn't believe this was our wedding and they had beyond exceeded what we could've ever imagined."
On how her dad helped:
"My dad was every brides dream dad! Since he had given me no budget on any aspect of my wedding, I was trying to conserve money the best I could where I could, but my dad was determined to make sure I had the wedding of my dreams. He insisted my candle bar at my mehndi ceremony be pink (because I was a girl and it was my favorite color), he insisted that there must be flowers at every ceremony, he wanted the flowers to be 100% fresh with no faux fillers and lastly when it came to my clothes he simply said, 'Get whatever you like and have always wanted.' This was definitely a shock coming from a frugal and conservative Gujrati dad who is always telling me to save my money and stretch the dollar as far as it can go! He was my rock and without him my wedding would have just like 75% of Indian weddings with the bare necessities and not everything the bride wants."
On her venue:
"So I have to tell y'all about the horrific venue for our wedding known as the Lubbock Memorial Civic Center. Because we were expecting 1,200 guests in Lubbock, TX we were very limited in the venues. The Mehndi venue was absolutely beautiful out on a ranch called the Spirit Ranch complete with a small stream, a bridge, large trees and of course peacocks! However, for the rest of our ceremonies we had to do it at the Civic Center and in the Exhibition Hall at that! They have circuses in this room and job fairs... absolutely not a place you look at and think 'dream wedding.' However, when Prashe walked into the bleacher-filled warehouse she was so excited! She said it was a perfect blank canvas that she could do anything to! Imagine the look on my face when she said this as the first time I showed my fiancé this venue I literally cried because of how hideous this room was! Seeing what Prashe and her team did was truly incredible. The 500 people that were from Lubbock who had all seen the pre-wedding were also astonished at what had become of this room. Truly remarkable."
Have a marvelous day, Maharanis! We'll be back tomorrow with another incredible wedding film!
