Happy Wednesday, Maharanis! Today, I'm excited to share with you the romantic highlight film revealing Afsha & Salman's Indian wedding planned and designed by E&P Events! Their wedding weekend started with unique and fun pre-wedding celebrations including a fabulous mehndi party where our bride Afsha recruited Beauty You Deserve to create some stunning designs in her hands and feet! The day arrived for their lovely ceremony and our lovebirds had a beautiful first look recorded by Wildcolors by Abi before tying the knot. How romantic! After a lovely ceremony, it was time to party and The Stave Room was the perfect place to gather their nearest and dearest. Maharani Afsha flaunted a gorgeous golden gown with delicate embroidery work and I'm sure Raja Salman was in awe every time he saw her dancing to the beats of DJ Jaz - GTB Productions, their guests joined them and danced until the wee hours of the night after enjoying a delicious meal which Cafe Bombay Restaurant and Catering's staff served them. Hit play and enjoy Afsha & Salman's wedding highlight!
How did you meet your Groom and when did you know he was "the one"?
I guess we can say their friends had a lot to do with this one!
What started out as a night out in Atlanta on Halloween where he was too nervous to speak to me, transitioned into a great friendship where we realized we bring out the best in one another.
We can both say that had it not been for our friends pushing us along the way, especially his friends who would text me in his place, we wouldn't have gotten to where we are now.
Things became especially clear when he finally took me to Cafe Intermezzo for our first date. After that, small conversations became long ones, and the rest is history.
He caught my attention after our first meeting on that Halloween so I'm glad his friends supported him and gave him the confidence he needed to talk to me. I know its hard to admit this, but I always knew he was the one - that initial attraction did it for me. That initial attraction is what I had built on for so many years to come later, all up until the best day of my life!
Share the scoop on your Proposal Story!
Being that we met in October, how perfect is it that I had a conference in Las Vegas in October, close to the time when we met 5 years prior? Salman took this opportunity to put together the perfect proposal.
He told me to keep a night free for a date night but didn't reveal any details. This was the furthest thing from my mind.
Our first stop - the Venetian - where he took me on a gondola ride that he promised to take me on one day, years ago. During the ride, I was completely distracted by how the gondola worked to notice Sam was trying to set the mood by reflecting on the past 5 years of our relationship. He finally got down on one knee towards the end of the ride and left me completely speechless. The only words I could utter - "Absolutely!"
The surprise didn't end there. The dinner to celebrate ended up being a table set for 10. Sam had managed to convince our closest friends to come to Vegas to surprise me and celebrate the engagement!
It was the perfect weekend!
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.
The first step we took was putting our guest list together. We both have huge families so this was an important step to take in order to figure out which venues would accommodate us. I always envisioned my wedding being a rustic, barn-style wedding. The hotel ballroom scene was too traditional for our taste. Novare Events had multiple venues that upheld this theme within Atlanta. When I went to the Stave Room (which was actually the last stop of the day when venue shopping), I immediately fell in love. It had the little details I was looking for. The distillery feel with barrels and rustic interior was exactly what I had in mind. Novare Events had a team of people that were extremely professional and easy to work with. They guided us every step of the way and even helped us meet our florist and event design specialist. It helped that these vendors had experience with this venue and knew exactly the look I was going for. All I did was tell them what colors to avoid and shared a few pictures on Pinterest and Julie Coffin (Unique Floral Expressions) along with Tracy and Wendy from Crush Event Design, took over the rest. The Stave Room even had a chalkboard which was designed by Kate Turner who created the perfect drawing to bring out our love for the Atlanta Falcons.
Hair and make up was one of the first things I booked. My sister worked with Anh Bui (Beauty by Anh) several years ago for her wedding and she was amazing to work with so this was a no brainer. One of the first vendors I booked - she made me absolutely glow and focused on every detail I had in mind. She even stayed back to help me get my sari on and headpiece which was super helpful.
How did you select your bridal lengha or wedding dress? Did you have a favorite color in mind?
I knew I wanted to customize my own reception outfit. My sister in law worked with Image Boutique Shop in Atlanta (Tanika and Surinder Beti) when she got married so she immediately sent me there. Tanika took 3 hours with myself, my mom and mother in law and helped us get every detail of the outfit together. I knew gold was the color that would fit best in my venue and she even helped me match the details of my outfit to look appropriate in the venue. The turn around time was exactly as expected and IBS kept me updated throughout the entire process. It really helped put my mind at ease and the dress fit like a glove so it was the perfect decision.
What was the most enjoyable part of the planning process, and why?
The best part of the entire planning process was meeting up with our friends and family and having dance practice. We have so many blooper videos of late nights of dance practice - it was so much fun seeing everyone come together to provide such amazing entertainment for our special weekend. I was also planning the wedding from Cleveland, OH where I was living and working at the time so coming home on random weekends and shopping with my mom and his mom and doing food and cake tastings was an absolute blast!
What did your guests particularly love about your Wedding?
Some of the feedback we received was that the guests loved how different our venues were from day to day. Our Sangeet was at Atlanta Events Hall and very traditional but our reception was very unique and had a much different, rustic theme. Our guests also enjoyed the large variety of entertainment and dances that our friends and family had pieced together. We also had raving reviews about the wedding cake!
Was there a really special moment in your wedding that constantly replays in your mind?
I remember when I first walked into the reception hall, I was blown away. I got the first look before guests entered the hall and it far exceeded my expectations. It was genuinely breath-taking.
I will also never forget the look on Sam's face when he first saw me on our reception and nikah day. These moments together are forever engraved in my mind.
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.
Décor/Florist- Unique Floral Expressions - Julie Coffin
Event rentals - Crush Event Design - Tracy Smith and Wendy Allen
Cake - Southern Sweets Bakery - Ashley Nelson
DJ - DJ Jaz - Jasmeet Singh
Day of Coordination - E&P Events - Peter Samuel
Hair & Make up - Beauty by Anh - Anh Bui
Mendhi - Beauty you Deserve - Nikki Karimi
Outfit - Image Boutique Shop - Tanika and Surinder Beti
Photographer - Ben & Colleen
Videographer - Wildcolors by Abi
Catering - Café Bombay, food by Rumi's
Chalkboard - Kate Turner Studio - Kate Turner
Do you have any words of wisdom for Brides-To-Be?
The best advice I got along the way and during the honeymoon is to remember how you felt about one another the day you first met. There will be a lot of tension and struggles along the way when it comes to planning such a big event but remember how much you love one another and why you are doing this to begin with.
When it comes to the actual wedding day, turn everything off! Your family and friends are going to take over for you and your wonderful vendors. Just enjoy - SMILE all the time - this is the moment you waited for. The stress and tension should not carry into your big day.
Join me tomorrow for another wonderful wedding video!
