How did you meet your Groom and when did you know he was "the one"?
I was told that Prithvi had his eye on me long before we finally met at a Harry Potter premiere in January 2011. I bought him a Mountain Dew slushie and I think that's when HE knew I would be his true love (fast forward to the vidaii after our ceremony where he took me, of course, to get the exact same slushie!). Since I heard Prithvi was interested in me, I decided to "play" along by submitting an application to be his assistant for an organization at UMich (a position that didn't really exist...). I conveniently left my phone number on the application for Prithvi to reference six months later when he was visiting Chicago. We met up in June 2011 and immediately clicked- talking for hours each day since then. Prithvi charmed me by his tutoring skills in Physics (which I didn't really need) and showing me card tricks (actually just one decent trick). I kept Prithvi's interest by sending him care packages and making him monthly CDs of songs we enjoyed together. I know it's very cliché but a part of me felt from the very beginning that he was "the one". After SIX years long-distance, living in FIVE different cities, celebrating FOUR graduations, nearly THREE decades waiting for true love, bringing TWO families together...we created our ONE perfect love story!
Share the scoop on your Proposal Story!
Prithvi did an amazing job planning the perfect proposal! But... he has never been the best with keeping surprises. He setup a scene for me to relive all of our "firsts"... at the place where we had our first kiss, playing the song we first slow-danced to ("Peeloon" which then became our first-dance song), serving the first drink he bought for me. He knew I wanted it to be just the two of us for the proposal, but he also had both our families and tons of our friends ready to surprise us after he proposed. After all the planning was done, he sent a group text to my siblings with all the details... and accidentally included me in the text thread! Again, not the best with surprises but it didn't make the proposal any less perfect!
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.
Honestly, my whole life I thought I would be the craziest bridezilla but when it really came down to it, I picked out only the bare bones (venues, vendors, and of course my groom). My mom, my sister, and my wedding planner made everything else come together!
How did you select your bridal lengha or wedding dress? Did you have a favorite color in mind?
When we first got to Delhi, I thought I wanted a blush colored lengha. Something non-conventional. I tried on every lengha I found in this color- from the shops at Mehrauli Road to Defence Colony to Hauz Khas Village to Shahpur Jat. Ultimately I realized I only felt "bridal" in red tones. As soon as I tried on MY bridal lengha at Dolly J Studio, I walked out of the dressing room and my mom was in tears- this was the one. Huge shout out to everyone at Dolly J for making me look and feel like a princess on my wedding day!
Other outfits:
Mehndi-- Saaj by Ankita (Shahpur Jat- Delhi, India)
Sangeet-- Dolly J (Defence Colony- Delhi, India)
Wedding-- Dolly J (Defence Colony- Delhi, India)
Reception-- Manish Malhotra (Shops at Qutub, Mehrauli Road- Delhi, India)
What was the most enjoyable part of the planning process, and why?
ALL THE FOOD TASTINGS! Our caterers were absolutely phenomenal and put together their best and most unique dishes for all of our tastings. The best part was having quality time with the whole family during the tastings. We planned these at a time when all of our siblings and both sets of parents could be in town, creating the perfect amount of chaos and critiquing to ultimately design the perfect menu for each event. Not to mention, Prithvi and I were too busy entertaining and taking photos during the wedding week that we didn’t get to eat any of the delicious food when it was actually served- a little piece of advice: enjoy your food at the tastings!
What did your guests particularly love about your Wedding?
If they had to pick one thing it would probably be the endless energy! It was a full NINE days of non-stop music and dancing, delicious food and amazing drinks, and of course the best company.
Was there a really special moment in your wedding that constantly replays in your mind?
All the emotional moments during our wedding week were of course very special... our first look, blessings from our grandparents, father-daughter dance, siblings' speeches. However, the one that replays constantly in my mind was our performances at the Sangeet. I have performed at hundreds of celebrations, competitions, and parties throughout my life but I had always danced Bollywood, Kathak, or Bhangra. At our Sangeet, however, I surprised Prithvi with a performance to his favorite romantic Tamil Song. Even though this song was outside my comfort zone, the dance felt so natural and filled with so much emotion because it wasn’t just for me, but also for Prithvi. Prithvi didn’t grow up dancing the way I did and during our six years together, I forced him to listen to Bollywood and Punjabi music, almost exclusively. At our Sangeet, he surprised me by doing a dance with my brothers to one of my favorite Bollywood songs! Definitely the highlight of our wedding week.
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.
All details included in the other responses- let me know if you want specific details about anything I mentioned or didn't yet discuss. Thanks :)
Do you have any words of wisdom for Brides-To-Be?
Don't stress about the small details, because at the end of the day the only thing that truly matters is you and your groom! My whole life I dreamt about this special day- what the cake would look like, the color of the flowers, the first dance… I focused only on the small details, as most brides do. Yes, all the small details turned out perfectly but I hardly even processed those details in the moment. The things I remember most are the way Prithvi fed me while I had mehndi on my hands… how it felt to perform at my sangeet… the butterflies in my stomach leading up to our first look… Whenever the planning starts to feel hectic or overwhelming or exhausting, just remind each other that your wedding is just ONE day in the rest of your lives. It'll be amazing no matter what because it is the start of your FOREVER.
Anything else you want to tell us? We'd love to hear all about your other details! (jewelry, mehndi, venue, cake, bouquets, etc.)
Just a couple other unique features from our wedding:
Our invitations were hand-delivered Doli displays, designed by my mom- with gold embroidery and pink velvet- meant to resemble the Doli that a bride arrives in at the ceremony. It was filled with event details on a scroll and delicious mithai, but doubles as a bangle box to be reused by guests after the wedding. Very unique and practical! (I don’t think we gave you pictures of this but it is absolutely amazing- let me know if you’d like a photo to include)
Our cake was 7-tiers and had a train of frosting flowers and real roses that was longer than the train on my wedding lengha! All of our siblings came together for the cake tasting, thus each sibling designed their favorite combination of cake + frosting + fillings to eventually create seven unique cake layers. At the reception, we had a “live” cake cutting meaning each guest could choose which layer they wanted and it would be cut and served fresh in front of them. In addition to seven types of cake, we served a unique array of dessert liquors, a full dessert buffet including more than 20 other crafted desserts, and a “lady table” of desserts- a lady whose dress was a table surrounding her on which she carried the desserts around the reception hall to serve.
Our sangeet was uniquely designed with a “mela
” theme. We had food canopies with decorative fabrics and string lights to resemble outdoor an outdoor tent at a mela
. Each food station housed a different type of “finger food” including kathi
rolls, pav bhaji, kabobs, lamb chops, a variety
of chaat options, paan, and many many more. There was a bazaar set up
to display the party favors which included purses of traditional Indian embroidery, bangles, and bindis. The mehndi stations were created with round bench seating and decorative pillows surrounding handmade trees with branches of bangles, colorful ribbons, and
floral garlands. Lastly, there was a photo booth setup complete with a real motorized, decorated rickshaw.
