On a beautiful morning in Chicago, Lexie and Rahul met over brunch. They immediately clicked - they laughed at all of each other's jokes and could talk about their shared interests endlessly. The rest is history! This ambitious couple held their Hindu ceremony, Christian ceremony, AND reception all in one day! In today's posts, we'll take you through their beautiful, whirlwind celebrations. While it's hard for us to comprehend executing so many events in one day, the couple had the help of some great vendors. Timmester Photography captured stills from the festivities, while Bella Note oversaw planning and design, Toulies en Fleur provided gorgeous floral and decor concepts, and L'Ambiance provided the breathtaking mandap and Ganesha. Maharani Lexie looked gorgeous during her Hindu ceremony, dressed in a classic red and gold lehenga that she selected from India. Her incredible mehndi was done by Bhavna Naik, with hair and makeup by Behind the Veil. A huge highlight from the day was the baraat, with traffic coming to a halt on M Street in Georgetown since onlookers wanted to catch a glimpse of the dancing! Guests broke a serious sweat as they rocked out to music and beats by Planet DJ Productions. We'll be back soon to discuss the rest of Lexie and Rahul's amazing events. In the meantime, you can read more below about the behind the scenes details from Lexie, or you can check out the full gallery below!
How did you meet your Groom and when did you know he was "the one"?
Rahul and I first met at brunch in Chicago with two of our mutual friends, Siri and Shawn. He had gone to high school with them, and Siri was my roommate and one of my best friends from college. Rahul had just moved to Chicago to complete some medical school rotations. He remembers that "I laughed at all of his jokes" during brunch. After a lot of group hangouts, and lots of texting, we started spending time together one-on-one, and the rest is history! I knew he was the one when we first were spending time together because we would put on movies to watch but would end up just spending hours talking and not paying attention to the movies! I knew there had to be something special there when we could talk for hours and hours and bond over so many shared interests and experiences.
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 knew we had our work cut out for us with planning because we had decided to have a Catholic ceremony, Hindu ceremony, and reception all in one day! Luckily, we had amazing people that helped us plan and put everything together. Sara Bauleke of BellaNotte was our wedding planner, and she helped us make sure all of the details were just right. We decided on the Four Seasons right away, and Nicole Rachek and her team there were so great throughout the planning process, and especially on the day of! Their service was impeccable. I based all of our colors and overall decor themes on this one beautiful bouquet with deep reds, soft pinks, white, and gold that I found on Pinterest. Then all of our amazing vendors were able to help bring everything to life from our invitations to the flowers, the mandap, and more!
How did you select your bridal lengha or wedding dress? Did you have a favorite color in mind?
My mother-in-law, Jyoti, was able to travel to India to select fabrics and designs for my lengha, as well as for all of the bridesmaids and female family members. She would send me pictures or facetime with me and together we were able to decide on the best choices! I always had red and gold in mind because I love traditional red bridal saris and lenghas, and red and gold also seemed very appropriate for my color scheme and for the time of year. We were able to find the most beautiful fabric and I am so happy with how everything turned out!
What was the most enjoyable part of the planning process, and why?
I think Rahul and I both really enjoyed planning the music for our wedding. We had decided to have a band (Bachelor Boys Band) and a DJ (Planet DJ Productions), so that we could incorporate Indian music into the evening. We loved meeting with the DJ and went to several showcases put on the band to decide how many musicians we wanted and what songs we wanted to have played! It was fun to listen to songs together and we were able to start to visualize our reception in the process. I think we both also really enjoyed our food tasting, because we were lucky to have two different tastings! Like the music, we wanted to incorporate all of our favorite foods into the evening, including lots of delicious Indian food! We were very happy to include items like Maryland crab cakes and our favorite french fries from Bourbon Steak along with an amazing shahi paneer and daal makhani dish.
What did your guests particularly love about your Wedding?
I think that our guests loved that we were able to blend our two cultures and traditions into one fun-filled day and, for many guests, it was either the first Catholic ceremony or first Hindu ceremony they had ever been to! The Baraat is definitely something that everyone still talks about - despite the cold weather, everyone was dancing up a sweat and traffic on M Street in Georgetown even came to a halt! Our dance floor was jam packed throughout the reception as well, so we definitely know that everyone loved our band and DJ and the fluid transition from one to the other throughout the night.
Was there a really special moment in your wedding that constantly replays in your mind?
Sharing our first dance as husband and wife was really special and is something that we will both remember forever. It was a moment that I think we had both imagined a lot during the wedding planning and when we were finally dancing together in front of all of our family and friends, it was so exciting and surreal. Rahul really dipped me at the end too!
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 Sangeet and Mendhi Party took place on the Thursday before the wedding, and the decor of the evening was colorful and Bollywood-themed! Rahul's mom worked with Priti Verma from L'Ambiance and they created a night that felt like we stepped onto a Bollywood film set! I had previously had my mehndi done at their house before the beginning of the sangeet, but all of our family and friends really enjoyed being able to have mehndi done at the party, especially those who had experienced it before!
Do you have any words of wisdom for Brides-To-Be?
Don't stress too much and try to enjoy the planning process because - I think it's very easy to get caught up in the details, but everything will turn out exactly as it should be. Our wedding day was the best day of our lives because we surrounded by all of our favorite people. Also really try to stay in the moment and be present on the day of the wedding, because it will fly by! And make sure you have an amazing photographer so you have pictures to look at for years to come!
Anything else you want to tell us? We'd love to hear all about your other details! (jewelry, mehndi, venue, cake, bouquets, etc.)
I was really excited about our cake! I asked for the design to have a bit of an Indian/paisley design so that it almost looked like the cake had mehndi on it, and it came out beautifully. The design was very subtle and the perfect touch.
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