Happy Tuesday, Maharanis! It feels great to be back with Shaina & Yash's love story. Set against the breathtaking Hilton Daytona Beach Oceanfront Resort backdrop, their celebration was a harmonious blend of tradition, elegance, and eternal love. The spacious ballroom, adorned with exquisite chandeliers and tasteful decor, provided the perfect backdrop for the couple's vows and the ensuing celebration. The attentive staff ensured every detail was flawlessly executed, and their guests had unforgettable memories of a magical day. NJP Events & Design transformed the space into a haven of ethereal beauty with cascading floral arrangements and exquisite decor. The talented team at Big Guava Events meticulously curated every celebration aspect, from intricate planning to outstanding design. With their keen eye for detail and unparalleled creativity, they transformed the couple's vision into a reality that exceeded all expectations. Beauty Marked- Crystal Joseph enhanced Shaina's natural beauty with her exquisite hair and makeup artistry, accentuating her features perfectly and complementing her Sabyasachi wedding lengha. Henna Allure added elegance and cultural significance to her bridal look. As the rhythmic beats filled the air, Rahul Patel set the stage for an unforgettable night of celebration. Amidst the festivities, the 360 Photobooth provided by Sky Events became a hub of laughter and joy. Noor K. Photography skillfully immortalized every precious moment, weaving together a tapestry of emotions through their lens. We invite you to immerse yourselves in the gallery, to witness firsthand the magic that unfolded on that momentous day.
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How did you meet your Groom, and when did you know he was "the one"?
We met in college during our Freshman year at the University of Florida. We were part of the same friend group but never really spoke to each other until our Sophomore year of college. We really started becoming close friends towards the end of our sophomore year. I don’t think that there was one particular moment that led to an epiphany that made me realize that he was the one. It was more a culmination of little things. The way he paid attention to the little things, like how I liked extra Oreos in McFlurry or when he would eat turkey burgers at Relish with me every day even if he was sick of it, or the way that he would try and make me feel better if something was wrong.
Share the scoop on your Proposal Story!
In August 2014, Yash asked me to be his girlfriend by setting up a scavenger hunt around my apartment. Each clue was something personal to us or my favorite thing. The scavenger hunt ended on a small bridge in Gainesville that is shaped like DNA. It’s called the DNA bridge, and it lights up at night. Fast forward to 7 years later, Yash is graduating from Physical Therapy school, so we are in Gainesville. After graduation, we decided to walk around the University of Florida, our old undergraduate campus, with his mom. After walking around for a little bit, Yash decides that I should wait by the library while he goes to get the car from the parking garage. His mom vanishes somewhere while she's on the phone. I am waiting by the library by myself, and all of a sudden, my younger sister, who isn’t supposed to be there, walks out and hands me a clue. Long story short, there were 7 different clues, each leading to an important landmark or site in Gainesville that meant something to me and Yash. And at each site, there was a group of friends and family that flew in to be part of the proposal. The last and 7th clue was Yash waiting at the same DNA bridge that he asked me to be his girlfriend at 7 years ago, except this time he was asking me to marry him.
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.
I started planning my wedding pretty early. I originally wanted to get married in India in Rajasthan, but because of covid, everything was so up in the air that we ended up opting out of that option. I started planning September 2021 for my February 2023, and I think that is the best thing that I did. I started by making spreadsheets of all the big things ( Venue, planner, catering, decor, hair/makeup, photo/video, and DJ), and in each spreadsheet, I put the contact information/ email of the vendors. I started reaching out to each of them and eventually went with the vendor that worked best in my budget. After I locked in the big vendors and paid the deposits, and because I did it so early, there was a lot of time where there wasn’t much conversation, but as the time got closer, the Zoom meetings with the planners, as well as other vendors, became more frequent. Working with vendors was pretty easy; there are naturally going to be some hiccups, but I think at the end of the day, all the vendors that I had were professional and great to work with.
For the wedding, I had very specific looks of what I wanted my immediate family and bridal party to be wearing. Because Yash and I were going to be in cream and pink, a color opposite of pink, the color was a pistachio-type green, which would complement us the best. I knew I wanted the bridesmaids in something comfortable and something they could possibly wear in the future. After going through multiple Instagrams and Pinterest, I was able to pull from different ideas and create a palazzo pant and blouse look for the bridesmaids in a pistachio green color.
Working with Neil from NJP events for decor was super easy. I feel like I would just give him a description of what I wanted, and he would come up with something incredible. For Garba, I didn’t want something traditional with multiple colors. I remember telling Neil that I wanted something like Radha Krishna in the forest. I just wanted everything to look woodsy and natural, and he came up with something so awesome, greater than anything I could have imagined! For the reception, he went above and beyond. He created a giant acrylic seating chart, and I didn’t want the tables to be numbered, I wanted them to have names of something significant to me and Yash, so Neil worked really hard to make that happen on the seating chart. Also, at each table, I wanted a small description of why that table was named that, and he made that happen as well!
How did you select your bridal lengha or wedding dress? Did you have a favorite color in mind?
Since high school, Sabyasachi has been my dream designer. I always joke that I had an idea for my dress before I had any idea who my groom would be. I also always felt like red was not my color, so I knew early on that I did not want to have a traditional red. When I saw Anushka Sharma in a pastel pink Sabyasachi wedding gown instantly, I was in love with the color pink. After trying on different pink wedding lenghas, I knew pastel pink was my color.
What was the most enjoyable part of the planning process, and why?
I think the most enjoyable part of the planning process was creating small little things that were specific to me and Yash. For example, having little popcorn boxes at each seat for the wedding because Yash loves popcorn or having table names instead of numbers or having his and hers baraat, or having pancake balls as our mid-ceremony snack with coffee because Yash and I used to make that every Sunday morning in college. I think just coming up with little things that could make our guests be part of our love story from the beginning was the most fun part.
What did your guests particularly love about your Wedding?
I think the guests really loved how smoothly everything went. I heard over and over again that it was probably the most organized and on-time wedding they had ever been to. I think they also really enjoyed the food and the fun and relaxed atmosphere.
Do you have any words of wisdom for Brides-To-Be?
Start early! I think that was the best thing I could have done. There’s no such thing as starting too early. Prices for vendors go up every year, and because I started in 2021, I was able to lock in a lot of vendor prices for 2021 versus 2023. So not only did I get the vendors that I really wanted, but I was also able to save money! Also, as someone who is super type A and needs things to go a certain way, I was afraid I would just be too stressed out to actually enjoy my wedding, but I will say it was probably the most fun and amazing weekend of my life. I wasn’t worried about what was running on time or what decorations looked like, or if things were where they were supposed to be. I was just going with the flow, so I would say consciously make an effort to just be present if you can.
I hope you enjoyed reading about our Maharanis. Don't miss another big wedding tomorrow!
