The Indian bride and groom of the hour are getting hitched and holding a reception with contemporary flare to celebrate their marriage, and the Lincolnshire Marriott Resort is hosting all of their events! We previously got an exclusive look at Parul and Samit's sangeet details, and now it's time to dive into their first look, check out their shaadi style with some floral and decor details and fall all over ourselves for the beautiful bride's lenghas! John Straus, of Modern Image Studios, captured these amazing portraits of the happy couple and the stunning decorative work of Yanni Design Studio. Maharani Parul's red bridal lengha, by Rimple & Harpreet Narula, dazzles, as does her post-ceremony, hot pink silk anarkali by Ridhi Mehra! We love the romantic touches, from the bird cages to the enchanting floral design, and wish we could get a taste of the wedding cake creation by Lovin Oven Cakery! If you want to see more from this incredible Indian wedding celebration in Lincolnshire, Illinois, you can do so in the complete gallery!
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Maharani Parul, on her wedding style:
"I loved the idea of an outdoor wedding, but July in Chicago can be very hot, so we brought the summer garden inside, with our ceremony and reception decor in palates of soft pink, yellow, orange gold, and lots of green. We had wonderful trees brought in from Michigan, which were the wow pieces in our ceremony and reception tent. We had custom designed programs in a Rajasthani Bandani theme, to accompany all our materials. Our gifts were individual power banks for each guest to "Stay Connected" with us through the years."
On what she enjoyed most about planning her dream wedding:
"It was wonderful to see concepts from my dreams come to life. We wanted a fun and lively wedding, with an elegant touch, and everything we set out to do was done. The best part of planning it all was hands on work from Samit, myself, our design team and our families. Truly the most wonderful family event you can imagine."
On shopping for her wedding lenghas:
"Clothing shopping was a huge challenge. I started with shopping in Delhi where after 3 tries, I found the perfect garden appropriate deep red lengha. It was a Rimple and Harpreet Narula piece which was exactly to my taste, and fit like a glove without any alteration!
The reception outfit, based on an American style gown I had seen, was not well imagined. It turned out unlike what we had hoped, so I ended up buying my reception piece (by Riddhi Mehra) in Chicago at Sahil about 2 weeks before the wedding. This one also fit perfectly off the rack, so I suppose in the end, it was meant to be."
On her most memorable wedding moment:
"Everything was really very lovely and memorable, but the memories I love the most are from the time between the wedding and the ceremony, when Samit and I could both stop for a few minutes, clink some champagne, look at each other, and breathe in the moment.
Our reception was a close second, seeing all our family, friends, and loved ones celebrate and enjoy, was the best feeling ever!"
On her and Raja Samit's first dance song selection:
"We chose "Can't Help Falling in Love", the original Elvis Presley version because the words resonated so perfectly for us. We were fools who rushed in, and have loved every moment. Also, my brother in law Himal Agarwal sang this song live while we danced, which was truly beautiful."
On the role family and friends played:
"Family and friends were everything during this wedding, from custom signs, custom programs, hand assembled gifts, 6 food tastings, and more...it was a full team effort which everyone did graciously. We could not have had such a happy occasion without the friends and family who made it all come together!"
Additional thoughts from the bride:
"My jewelry was a mix of items from my family and Samit's family.
The best investment I made was in Unnati Shah as a sari draper. She is skilled in many things, but the sari work she did so efficiently was perfect and made everyone's saris look neat and the girls looked fabulous. I definitely recommend her.
If one is ever nervous about putting together a dream wedding in 6 months, with every detail covered off and everything going smoothly, it helps to be organized, patient (as much as possible) and have a great team. We were so blessed with the best vendors, the best designers, a wonderful venue, and the most gracious friends and family to make it happen."
We'll see you tomorrow, my dears!
