Something we all can agree on is that the pre-wedding celebrations are always good opportunities to practice your dance moves! Sonya and Anuj's guests had the chance to move their feet during the incredible Sangeet night the couple offered as opening night of their wedding festivities. All guests grabbed their dandiya sticks and performed lots of energetic Garba choreographies until late into the night! With the festivities in route, Maharani Sonya was ready to surprise her fiancée with an exquisite dark burgundy lehenga for their biggest event, the wedding ceremony, which took place at the fantastic Pueblo Convention Center. The bride made her way to the mandap in the middle of charming blossom arrangements lined through the aisle, all conceived by the talented team of Blissful Celebrations, whom also choreographed all of the couple’s wedding events! What a pro team! Rajah Anuj tied the knot in a gold sherwani and a burgundy scarf that paired perfectly with the bride’s lehenga. The priest conducted a lovely ceremony and finally, the couple were proclaimed as spouses and right after were cheered on by all their loved ones. Hooray! Every Sanskrit word and resplendent beauty of this unique ceremony was immortalized by the cameras of MnMfoto Wedding Photography. Check out the full gallery for more lovely scenes!
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How did you meet your Groom and when did you know he was "the one"?
Anuj and I met through an online dating website while I was in Atlanta, Georgia. He was doing his residency in Columbia, South Carolina. Our first date weekend was in Atlanta followed by our second date in Los Angeles, CA (Anuj's home) during the holidays in December. With each great date, I was constantly impressed by Anuj the more I got to know him. He was full of surprises and his genuine heart was apparent from the beginning! While we were dating, we had some career challenges and just witnessing Anuj's response to those challenges, I remember thinking, "I definitely want this guy in my life forever."
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.
Getting married in Colorado is beautiful but can be tricky for Indian weddings. There aren't many vendors to choose from and so I really had to do my research and look beyond Colorado for many of my vendors. Our planner & decor (Blissful Celebrations) came from Dallas, Texas and they were the first vendor we booked. Ultimately we choose to work with vendors we felt comfortable with and who listened to our wedding vision. The weekend our wedding went smoothly and I believe its because the vendors we choose worked really well together as a team with the Pueblo Convention Center.
How did you select your bridal lengha or wedding dress? Did you have a favorite color in mind?
I really love fashion and I used my wedding to express that. For my bridal lehenga, I wanted something modern and elegant. I didn't know what colors I was looking for so I kept an open mind when shopping but I knew I wanted something unique that would stand out on my wedding day. Anuj and I flew to New Jersey and found a store, Nazranna in Iselin, NJ to help us with our wedding outfits. They were great at helping us and introduced me to a Manish Malholtra inspired royal purple velvet lehenga with rose gold embroidered leaves which I thought was perfect for a November wedding in Colorado. My bridal jewelry also came from them as well, along with Anuj's dupatta and shoes. They were so great that my sister Kosha, flew in from Los Angeles for a weekend and found her reception outfit within an hour!
What was the most enjoyable part of the planning process, and why?
Other than meeting great people while searching for vendors, both Anuj and I both loved the food tasting aspect of wedding planning! I personally love dessert and had fun sampling cupcake flavors for our reception. We choose a local bakery called Bite Me in Pueblo, Colorado. They had so many flavors; it was really hard to narrow it down. The finalist flavors were Vanilla Anise (Sonya’s fav), Chocolate Coffee (Anuj’s fav), Salted Caramel and Chai.
What did your guests particularly love about your Wedding?
With 300 guests, Anuj and I wanted to have an intimate wedding, where everyone could enjoy great food and be able to have a fun time with each other! Our guests definitely complimented the food by Chowpatty and the entertainment by a live band from Los Angeles, CA (Preetysha) during our Garba & Sangeet and then for lunch the next day. For Anuj's baraat and our reception, we had M4UEvents with MC Neil Shah and DJ Rishi. They were awesome, especially at getting the crowd involved and hyped up! With many guests from out of town, it helped that we used one venue for all the events, it kept things simple and guests seem to appreciate that along timely organization of our events (kudos to our planner!).
Was there a really special moment in your wedding that constantly replays in your mind?
Our ceremony was really special! Our pandit Jagdish Trivedi, did a beautiful job at explaining the significance of the rituals during the ceremony while adding a touch of comedy. It made the whole experience really meaningful and both Anuj and I were completely absorbed in the moment!
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.
Being Gujarati, I wanted to have a somewhat traditional Garba & Raas for my wedding. Anuj's family background however is from Uttar Pradesh and they love Sangeet with music and performances so we decided to combine the two of our cultures into one night! Our decor was colorful and the room was filled with floating candles, for that romantic light. Anuj wore a simple cream & gold kurta and I choose a mustard color cut out anarkali dress filled with mirrors by a fashion designer I follow on Instagram, Pam Mehta.
Do you have any words of wisdom for Brides-To-Be?
The one piece of advice I would share with any Bride is the same advice that I heard from my friends and family during my own wedding, and that is to truly enjoy it! The day before the events begin, tell yourself not to sweat the small stuff and as long as the major things are taken care, everything else will fall into place. As an Indian bride, there is so much work that goes into multi-day weddings and its hard not to be a perfectionist. Unfortunately having the mentality to do everything yourself can hurt you from enjoying your own wedding. However, trust in the team you've hired, they want your wedding to run smoothly! If you can truly enjoy yourself when it starts, it really does show during your wedding and you'll be able to be present on one of the most important days of your life! Also your pictures will look great!
Anything else you want to tell us? We'd love to hear all about your other details! (jewelry, mehndi, venue, cake, bouquets, etc.)
My mehndi was done by Hummingbird Henna and Anita was amazing! I loved that she custom designed my henna on the spot by incorporating my favorite NFL team, the Denver Broncos on one arm and Anuj's favorite NHL team, the LA Kings on the other arm. Another idea we liked was instead of wedding guest book, we choose to have our guests sign a canvas of one our engagement photos we did in Los Angeles with Murtaza of MnM Foto. We loved the idea of having it as art piece in our home as remembrance our wedding!
If you can’t wait to see this pair wedding bash stayed tunned!
