The photo maters at Uncorked Studios bring to light a Indian wedding event taking place at Philadelphia Pennsylvania. What better way to start things of then with a grand at our bride getting all gussied up by the hair and makeup artist from Heena Das Beauty?! Maharani Neha looks superb with makeup. She unveils herself to her groom during an first look photo shoot. Jithin looks like a true Maharaja in his green and gold sherwani which is the perfect compliment to his bride's lengha—costume made by Ritu Wadhwa of Second Skin. These two look like a classic Bollywood couple! Check out the gallery to see their ceremony.
From the bride, on how they met:
"Our story begins back during my last semester in college where once upon a time a dear mutual friend saw a possibility and thought to act upon it. One of my closest friends from high school, Khushboo, had become friends with Jithin while they were in college at Penn State. One fine day she introduced us since she had the inkling that we would hit it off. So from there we began to get to know one another through friendly chit-chat on AIM and Gchat and of course through many posts to each other on Facebook. So let’s fast forward a couple of years to when I began work at PwC. As fate would have it, I was sent to McLean, Virginia for my new hire training. So of course I got in touch with Jithin (who was living in the area at the time) to meet up. We met a couple of times during that trip and even afterwards Jithin continued to pursue me for some time but I felt our timing was off so eventually we drifted apart. Then a few years more years, our same mutual friend unintentionally brought us together once more at her party where we picked up where we had left off as no time had passed. At this point Jithin was over continuing any sort of relationship with me, so I actually ended up pursuing him by resuming our Gchat conversations the week following the party. From there things really took off and within a matter of a few months (and MANY weekend trips with bus rides between DC and NYC) our relationship developed into something serious and completely unexpected for both of us. Before we both knew it the parents had met and we realized that we wanted to be together forever. Our love story took a few tries, but I think it gave us the chance to grow into adult-selves to be sure of who we are and what we were looking for in a life partner to make the right choice when we fell back into each other's lives again. I knew he was the one when I realized how in-sync we were when it came to our goals/ambitions, lifestyle choices, family values and plus our insatiable passion for travel and being such big foodies!"
On the fashion:
"I worked with my cousin (Ritu Wadhwa of Second Skin) in Mumbai, India to custom design my outfits for all of my wedding events all the way from mehendi night to reception. She has a great eye and sense of creativity plus she knows my style from designing outfits for me over the years so for me she was the best person I could possibly be working with for my wedding ensembles. Initially I did my own research of Indian designer looks through Pinterest and the internet to show her my thoughts and she sent me additional ideas of designs and styles to consider. From there we spent countless hours over the phone, FaceTime, What's App, and e-mail to tailor each of the looks from fabrics, colors, type of embroidery/work, etc. to fit my specific personal tastes. We went ethnic and fairly traditional for the mehendi look with a festive combination of bright colors (red, orange, and yellow) for a practical and comfortable dhoti kurta with gotta patti work. For the next day's Sangeet, we mixed it up and went with a flowing Bollywood glam gown in shades of pinks accented by blue, gold, and silver with "blinged out" crystal work. Then for the ceremony look, I opted for an ethnic style with a twist. The work and embroidery was traditional in terms of design but incorporated a combination of threadwork as well as stones. And as opposed to a traditional red or pink saree or lengha, I wanted a more unique color combination consisting of a wine/burgundy/plum shade with green and dull gold, which matched my husband-to-be's sherwani to the "T." Lastly, for the reception, we designed a sleeveless modern black net ball gown with lots of flare, ruching, crystal work forming an elegant flower and vine like design going along the length of the dress. Each outfit was different from the next in every aspect and I loved being the lucky girl who got to wear all of them!"
On planning:
"It's hard for me to nail down one single thing that I enjoyed most about the planning process, because as it turned out I was a rare aberration of a bride where I LOVED every aspect of planning my wedding. So much so that I have since start a wedding and event planning business (NJR Events)! But if I had to pick, my favorite time/part of the planning process was the week leading up to the wedding where I was home with my family who had come in from all over the world and we just had so much fun putting together all of the last minute details for the events, practicing dances together, partying, and so much more! It definitely added to the excitement being built up for the actual wedding festivities and I'll never forget those few days that I shared with my mom, masi, mama, cousins, and extended family!"
On a special moment:
"I would definitely have to say the moment when I was walking down the aisle with all of my "brothers" (actual brother, male cousins, and husbands of my best friends) escorting me to the mandap. When the song for my entrance began playing, the lyrics of "Tujhme Rab Dikhta Hai" (female version) hit me right then and there: I was wowed that my wedding was actually happening, that I was taking the steps towards the love of my life, and that we were about to begin the rest of our lives together."
On family and friends helping:
"My cousin and sister-in-law completely surprised us with performing an amazing Bollywood dance medley (loosely portraying our love story) at our Sangeet that will forever stand out in my mind. It was unforgettable that with even being a world apart (one in Pennsylvania, while the other was in Mumbai, India) that they planned and made this 10 minute dance come alive for everyone to experience and enjoy. Truly phenomenal and I'm just so grateful to have family like them along with others as well as our friends that really went above and beyond to help and contribute to making each our wedding events successful and memorable and personable."
Special details:
"One of the details that I truly treasured from my wedding day was being able to wear the diamond necklace and bangles that my late (maternal) grandmother (Nani) passed down to me in her will. We were very close and it was just so touching for me that I could remember her and feel her presence there on my wedding day in some way. I knew she was looking down from above sending both me and my husband-to-be (Jithin) her blessings and good wishes. In addition, I chose to honor and remember my late (maternal) grandparents by attaching small photos of them to my bridal bouquet because they truly meant the world to me and I wanted them both there in some way to celebrate and be a part of this special day and occasion in my life."
The reception portraits and celebration are straight ahead!
No comments yet.
Please, sign in to leave a comment.