Happy Friday, Maharanis! Can you believe how fast this week went by? It is unbelievable how time flies when you are having so much fun! Today, we wanted to give you a good dose of inspiration so you can make it through the weekend and get back on Monday with your batteries recharged! So get ready to enjoy Tulsi & Bunty's big wedding festivities as they are like no other you've seen in quite a while. For starters, this was a cross-country wedding starting in Clearwater, FL, and having its grand finale in Sacramento, CA. How amazing is that! For this installment, we'll be taking a look at a bright and extravagant Sangeet night held at the Kapok Special Events, and right from the start, we can say that this pre-wedding ceremony was off the charts! Tulsi herself took the lead in the planning of this spectacular event to ensure that her dreams would come true, and she nailed it! The elegance, the traditional flair, and the exquisite decor put together by Maharani Designs created the perfect setting for this festive occasion. Our lovely Maharani looked ravishing thanks to Michele Renee The Studio, who took care of her beauty needs making her look like a princess. The whole night was a huge success, and right before the end of it, Tulsi & Bunty surprised everyone sharing their 8-story wedding cake baked by Tru-Cakes, with all the guests! A sweet ending for the evening! Check more of this Sangeet night by taking a look at the shots captured by Noor K Photography, in today's gallery.
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How did you meet your Groom and when did you know he was "the one"?
In the days of modern love, Tulsi and Bunty swiped right and matched with each other on Dil Mil back in January 2016. How could she resist a man dressed as Mario, with some adorable kids? Bunty hit Tulsi with a great one liner, "If you're a princess, will you be my princess peach?", and it all started from there. Numerous messages were sent back and forth for a few weeks before they decided it was time to meet and see if this connection would stand strong face to face. However, there was only one problem, Tulsi was on the east coast and Bunty on the west. They decided they would have to use Facetime to at least "meet" each other. January 17, 2016, they sat on a 4 hour Facetime call that changed their lives forever. Neither of them believed in love at first sight before this moment but from there onwards they knew this was for ever. They knew this was it and they had found their perfect match! On January 19, 2016 they decided it was time to tell their friends and most importantly their families about their crazy love. They spent the next few months building a strong foundation for their love and it was not long before they were best friends and knew each other better than they knew themselves. They finally decided in March, 2016 it was time to put their relationship to the test in person. Bunty, who had never left his home of California, flew across the US to meet his love in Pennsylvania. The moment they finally saw each other, they knew without a doubt that everything they had been feeling was beyond real and that this love was meant to be.
Share the scoop on your Proposal Story!
One of the best surprise proposals ever set up! Tulsi came to California KNOWING she was going to get proposed to this trip or at least that is what she thought and told her friends and coworkers. I set up the most romantic day in Napa and she was convinced the big question was coming. It was our first day in Napa at the same spot we first went on vacation. The lighting was perfect, she looked across the table and I looked back and all I could think was “who are the kings going to sign in the off season? “ because today was not the day I was proposing. After that night, she thought she KNEW I wasn’t proposing this trip. With the help of a coworker months before our romantic Napa trip, we set up a fake invitation for a fake birthday party at a very real very romantic restaurant with a very real proposal. Heading to the “birthday party” I had to stall while family and friends set up the scene for me. Eventually getting to the restaurant where we arrived early to “help set up” for a birthday party. We walk in to a beautifully set room. At this point pictures were on the projector, candles and roses took the form of a heart on the floor. She is crying and I'm about to start my speech to her but the only words that I could sputter out are “ will you marry me?” After the shock wore off and between snotty tears, she said yes! What I wish I could have said to her in that moment is “ Tulsi Patel, you are my soulmate, my best friend, and the person I am supposed to spend the rest of my life with. Since you have come into my life there has been nothing but good. You are the person I wake up thinking about and fall asleep dreaming about. You are the woman I want to start a family with and want to grow old with. I have never met a person with a heart as big as yours and it shows everyday with how you treat me and treat my family. If I can treat you half a good as you treat me then I can say I have accomplished something. Will you be my wife?” After she said yes, our song (Tonight by John Legend) came on and we got a quick dance in. Eventually all the people that made this night possible started coming from behind the scenes: my family and my friends as well as some of her family that has flown in from the East coast. I wasn't done with the surprises yet and I still wanted my well deserved coconut, so at 5 am we woke up my soon to be bridezilla to take her back to my parent's house. When we arrived her parents, who had also flown in from the East coast opened the door, and you bet the water works started again. It was such a sweet and thoughtful weekend! Tulsi was so surprised by the whole proposal, which she never thought was going to be possible because she is a big romantic and had thought of every possible proposal scenario in her head!
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.
We planned our wedding in 10 months including the shopping in India! It was a crazy hectic 10 months trying to plan a cross country wedding. Before the proposal even happened, Tulsi’s parents along with Bunty and Tulsi went to see Kapok Special Events and Bunty loved it just as much as we all did (we had been to weddings there before), so we actually booked the venue and date 2 weeks before the proposal was to take place! We wanted our wedding to be magical and everyone to feel like they had been transported to another place and Kapok truly made that happen with its antique statues and romantic, very elegant feel. Tulsi wanted our whole wedding to be what she called the “Floral Fantasy”. All our outfits, all the decor, our humongous wedding cake, and even Tulsi’s wedding ring were all inspired by florals to play into the Floral Fantasy. Tulsi being named after a holy plant has always felt tied to plants and florals and what they all represent. We chose florals as our theme to represent our love that is awe striking, forever blooming, and that expels love that radiates and captivates those around. Tulsi’s hair styles also contained lots of fresh flowers to keep the theme alive in all her looks! Tulsi had known from her previous friend’s weddings who she was going to use for hair and makeup for all the Tampa events, Michele Rene was the obvious choice! All other vendors were selected after searching maharani wedding’s vendor guide and after recommendations from friends and the bridal expo. The California vendors were much more difficult! Tulsi found all the vendors off of Instagram and Bunty was communicating with those vendors and making sure everything was in order. Bunty never met most of the wedding vendors until the actual wedding and Tulsi never met any of the reception vendors including actually visiting the reception venue until the actual reception, which was very unique and a little nerve wracking. Many of the small details of the wedding were purchased from small businesses found on Instagram like Tulsi’s jewelry for the grah shanti, which came from @ixorabyshikha and some items were purchased from Etsy to help keep the ideas unique and portray our personality as a couple.
How did you select your bridal lengha or wedding dress? Did you have a favorite color in mind?
I knew that our wedding being in summertime I wanted the stick with brighter colors and the traditional red! Sabyasachi was my biggest inspiration and it took 7 days of constant searching to find the perfect lengha. We actually even drove 5 hours away to Surat, near where Bunty’s family is from, all the way from Ahmedabad, where Tulsi’s family is from and where we initially searching. It was actually kind of sentimental that i bought my lengha from where Bunty's family is from, after meeting his grandma for the first time. Tulsi went to probably about 25 different Boutiques, Designer Flagships, and Indian fashion stores before choosing the perfect red lengha with a pink accented dupatta and pink and white florals and green vines. It was everything I was hoping for and truly captured my style and essence. I looked at hundreds of lenghas before I said yes to the lengha!
What was the most enjoyable part of the planning process, and why?
Our favorite part was the cake! Tulsi loved getting to help design her dream extravagant wedding cake and Bunty loved trying all the flavors and our unique at home cake tasting! We got to chose 7 different flavors for each tier, so Bunty got a tier, Tulsi got a tier, all 4 parents got a tier and we picked one we thought would be a guest favorite! The flavors were, 2 layers of red velvet white-chocolate cheesecake, cookies and cream, cookie dough, carrot cake, Tiramisu, and Rose Water. The whole process was pleasant and so stress free because we loved our vendor and how much they communicated with us and we completely trusted them to make our vision better than we could imagine!
What did your guests particularly love about your Wedding?
Our guests loved our unique venue and decor choices! We tried to be modern and rustic and still incorporate traditional looks into our decor and the guests loved the uniqueness of all our events! There were lots of selfies with the wedding cake and everyone enjoyed the food very much! Many of our guests said our wedding was so unique and fun and they really enjoyed all the effort we put in to make it one of a kind.
Was there a really special moment in your wedding that constantly replays in your mind?
Walking into the wedding to the song Gudiya Rani, which was the lullaby Tulsi’s mom sang her every night. Also seeing each other for the first time at the mandap was such a special moment for us since we tried to be traditional and opted out of a first look.
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.
Our Mendhi night was done at Tulsi's house which was decorated by herself and her family and friends. The decor was the perfect mix of florals and tradition. We chose to do something different and fun and so we had a live pizza station in our backyard which was done by Catering Specialties by Steve. All the guests loved the idea!
Our Sagai or engagement ceremony was done at the Hindu Temple of Florida and was decorated by Maharani Designs with elegant white draping to contracts our mint blue outfits! We also had Catering Specialties by Steve set up a taco bar which was fun for all the guests.
Our Sangeet was at Kapok Special events and we chose to do a rustic romantic floral theme! We had a rustic rope swing with florals for us to sit on which was parallel to a life size Radha Krishna statue that was also sitting on a swing. It was elegant and we were so awestruck by the Cake and decor! Tulsi did a 12 minute dance as a surprise for all her guests and especially Bunty, and Bunty also made a special appearance to steal a dance with Tulsi during her performance. Tulsi's bridesmaids and friends put on a lovely dance performance with Tulsi making a special appearance to the songs Lamborghini and Crazy in Love (which was one of our hashtags #Gandhiinlove). Tulsi's cousins put on a really creative performance which had dancing, singing, and even a self written poem that brought laughs and tears to us both! Tulsi's parents also sang a beautiful song that had Tulsi crying like a little baby. It was such a beautiful night and we felt so loved and special.
The reception in sacramento california at The Grand Pavilion was amazing. The decor done by A & S Decor took our breath away with trees, florals, and lots of candles! Our entrance also encompassed our relationship, as Bunty entered without Tulsi on a scooter and rode into and around the hall before climbing up a beautiful staircase to get Tulsi and entering together as husband and wife. The guests were so shocked and loved the entrance. Tulsi's cousin who owns Nothing Bundt Cake in Dublin, CA was also so kind to make a cake for Bunty and Tulsi to cut and also Bundtini's for all the guests which was also kind of sentimental because Tulsi calls Bunty "buntcake" as a pet name. We also had an indian dessert bar and mango soft serve for all our guests.
Do you have any words of wisdom for Brides-To-Be?
Don't be afraid to be different and maybe a little unconventional when it comes to your wedding. Try not to stress over the little things because at the end of the day nothing will matter except for your love for one another, and that itself will make your wedding perfect. Brainstorm ideas but don't plan your wedding to a T beforehand because it most likely wont be exactly what you think up in your head. Most importantly, remember to enjoy your wedding and not worry about the small details on the day of because it flies by and in the blink of an eye you'll be wishing you were back in that moment.
There is still plenty much more coming your way! So make sure to stick around if you don't want to miss it.
