What better on this beautiful Thursday, than a sophisticated engagement session with an urban backdrop? Not much! This bride-to-be is absolutely drop dead gorgeous in her strapless coral gown. The pleated sweetheart neckline adds a nice touch of girl-next-door to this refined look. KSD Weddings was behind the lens to capture all of these amazing shots of our Maharani and her man, and they really delivered such a stunning set of portraits for this lovely couple. I love the shot of these two lovebirds after their outfit change, under the umbrella. It reminds me of one of my favorite Broadway songs "I'll Cover You", from the musical Rent. A symbolic image if you ask me! Visit the gallery to see much, much more from this amazing engagement session.
The bride-to-be on her fiance:
"Vijay and I have been good friends since high school. After years of being friends, we realized in college that we were meant to be!"
On the proposal:
"As a belated birthday present, I had purchased tickets to Jay Z and Justin Timberlake's Legends of the Summer tour for Vijay. It was supposed to be a surprise, but since I was so excited I couldn't keep it a secret and told him about it, two months in advance! Being the smart man that he is, Vijay knew the only way to catch me off guard for a proposal would be to plan it on a weekend where I would least expect it. So he began plotting for July 20th, 2013 to be the most incredible day of my life.
The day before the proposal, my mom had asked I take off from work because she had planned a "girls day" so she could spend time with my sister and I. We were going to spend the day shopping and going to a spa to get our nails done- all before I headed into the city that evening to meet with Vijay. I didn't know this then, but planning this fun day was a scheme to trick me into getting a manicure, because my mom and sister both know a girl's nails need to be in top shape when being proposed to! As usual, the shopping portion of the day took much longer (thanks to me) which meant we had to cancel our nail appointment. I was bummed that I wasn't able to get my nails done and so decided it would be ok if I made Vijay wait just a little, while I quickly got them done in the city! Meanwhile, Vijay had taken the day off from work and headed into the city much earlier to pick up my ring and finalize arrangements for the proposal.
That evening we had a great time with friends but decided to call it an early night since the scorching heat was really taking a toll on us. The next morning I awoke to Vijay scrambling because he left groceries in the car overnight and was worried they would have spoiled in the heat. I figured that makes sense, Sejal (his sister) was coming back from vacation the next day so he wanted to make sure she had some food at her apartment when she returned (you'll see why this detail is important later). While he headed out to the car, I decided to head back to the nail salon to get a pedicure, since I was rushed the night before and was only able to get a manicure! At that point Vijay was convinced I knew what he was up to. Why else would any sane person get a manicure one day and then go back the very next day for a pedicure?
After returning to the apartment, Vijay let me know that Sejal had called to tell him she had bought us a giftcard for brunch at the Gramercy Park Hotel’s Rooftop Terrace. Knowing that Sejal loves to spoil us I thought, wow that's so nice of her and believed the story because he even showed me the "giftcard", turns out this was just a spare room key from the hotel! Vijay went on to tell me he had called the hotel while I was out and even though they were booked, the manager, Rob would try to squeeze us in.
When we arrived at the hotel, I walked in and thought WOW, this hotel is so nice. We asked to speak to Rob and were informed that they could give us a table around 1:00. At this point it was noon, so Rob suggested we grab a drink or check out the hotel’s private park. Vijay wanted to check out the park so I went along and thought to myself "he's out of his mind, its 100 degrees outside..."
As some of you may know Gramercy Park Hotel has a private park, which only guests of the hotel can access. It turns out Vijay had met with director the day before and requested we be given access to the park. As we began walking around I started to get very annoyed with Vijay, the heat was unbearable and I couldn’t understand why he wanted to be outdoors so badly! Starangly, he kept insisting that we take a picture, but of course no one was around to take one of us. So, Vijay suggested we set the camera on self-time mode and try taking a picture by placing it on a park bench. We took the picture and Vijay asked me take a quick look at the camera to make sure I liked how the picture turned out. As, I began walking over to the bench Vijay called out my name... I turned around to see what had happened and to my surprise found him on one knee!!! I was shocked, I hadn't expected him to propose yet, so I was speechless! Also, since Vijay was so calm and collected all day, my initial thoughts were is this real? Why would he bring one of his mom's old jewelry boxes and play such a mean prank on me? Even after he opened the box and I could see the ring, I could not believe what was happening. It took me a few minutes of standing in disbelief to fully process that Vijay Shah was finally proposing!! Eventually, I ecstatically responded YES!
The surprises didn't end here... we then headed back to the hotel where I discovered what Vijay had really been up to the day before. There was indeed a brunch planned with beautiful red roses and a delicious meal. Vijay had been working with the staff of the hotel to plan every detail, from our arrival, to the fake scheme of no tables being available, to taking a walk in the park. He also met with the chef to request a special four-course meal. The food was absolutely amazing; unfortunately, I was too excited to eat much of it!
After brunch we headed back to the apartment. I walked in, still shocked and excited, to more roses laid out everywhere (this would be the groceries he claimed he left in the car), champagne and a very sweet card from Vijay! While we were at brunch, Vijay's cousin, Minal had decorated the apartment for us!
Vijay did an exceptional job planning the proposal! One of the best moments of the day was learning that Vijay had contacted my dad who was traveling abroad to ask for his blessing. It seems both of our families had known about the proposal for weeks, but everyone managed to keep it a surprise for me!"
On her wedding stye:
"Vijay and I weren't too keen on using lots of flowers for decor, but I knew I wanted to incorporate a lot of candles to add a bit of drama for the reception. So, we worked with Ravi Verma from Mandap Designs to create the perfect look, every detail was great- down to the red LED lighting we used to bring a flame like glow to the room. The decor for each event was flawless!"
On planning her dream wedding:
"Planning a wedding can be stressful. For us, the week leading up to the wedding was incredibly so, we dealt with one hurdle after another. However, regardless of what obstacle Vijay and I faced we came together like never before and tackled everything head on. We had decided that nothing would get in the way of our big day! Planning a wedding and dealing with all it's stress actually brought us closer together and yet again made me realize how amazing Vijay is and together we could overcome anything life throws our way!"
On choosing her lengha:
"I went to Bombay and purchased my wedding lengha. It was the first lengha I had tried on and I instantly knew it was the one for me!"
On hair & makeup:
"Even before Vijay proposed I knew that I wanted to hire Cinderlla Bridez for my hair and makeup. My friend had hired Bhargavi and her team for her own wedding and I absolutely loved their work.
I gave Bhargavi a general idea of what I liked for each look and then let her use her skill to do what she thought would look best. In the end, I loved each of my looks and wouldn't have changed a thing! Bhargavi is truly talented and not to mention incredibly sweet!"
On family and friends:
"Our family and friends are by far the best support system any couple could ask for. They helped us in ways we cannot even begin to thank them for!"
Okay, ladies! Hope you enjoyed this gorgeous photo shoot and all these great stories and insight from our bride. Check back later for more!
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