Welcome back, Maharanis! Wasn't it a gorgeous ceremony? To celebrate such a huge milestone, Khushboo & Preetam decided to throw a party for the books filled to the brim with everything we love about Sikh weddings! The Swan Club was the host and the couple couldn't have chosen a better venue for the event! So exclusive and romantic! The team from Glenmar Studio was there capturing it all, and as we will see, Maharani Khushboo just stole the spotlight once again. Her gorgeous white reception gown was truly a knockout! No wonder why Raja Preetam just fell head over heels for this Indian beauty! So much going on in today's gallery, ladies! Modern and sophisticated style, colorful decor and of course, love, were just some of the things that stood out high in this gala. So, ladies, looking for more inspiration for your own special day coming up? Then join us one more time and experience it for yourself!
How did you meet your Groom and when did you know he was "the one"?
A week after turning 22, I met my husband at a Lower East Side Bar called "The DL" while out with some girlfriends. My friend thought his friend was cute and while we tried to initiate the interaction between our friends, we naturally started talking. I like to believe I started up the conversation with him first ;) What started off as an interaction just to get our friends to meet turned into us becoming fast friends. He was working crazy hours and I was juggling grad school and an internship. We still managed to hang out and spend time together, no matter how busy we were. We had known each other for just about a week - but were still making every effort to see each other. When we were together, it felt natural and like we've known each other for way longer than just a few weeks. I could truly be myself with him, and while he was just a stranger at that time, it felt like he had been a part of my life forever. That's really the moment I knew that this was the guy for me! We were without doubt our own individuals and enjoyed each other for who we were.
Share the scoop on your Proposal Story!
Preetam and I love travel, food, wine, and having a good time. About 4 years ago, we visited South Beach for the first time and for years after that, we made an effort to visit once a year. We loved the vibe, food, culture, nightlife, beach, and just the chill and relaxed environment. We have made some incredible memories in Miami and it's always been our favorite city to visit.
Our proposal was perfect. On Memorial Day weekend in 2018, we visited South Beach for the long weekend. He proposed to me in South Beach, with just the two of us present! It was perfect and romantic - I always wanted a private proposal with just the two of us and he made that happen in the perfect setting. We immediately called our families first to share the big news (which they weren't surprised about at all!) and then celebrated with some delicious food and wine. We were so excited to finally be engaged and wanted to share the news with everyone but actually decided that we wanted to enjoy this special time for just a few days longer with just the two of us! We knew that the minute we told our friends, this would kickstart wedding talk and we just wanted to bask in the happiness of being engage. So we chose not to share this with any of our friends - it was really hard to keep this a secret from my close girlfriends who totally were expecting a proposal to happen on the trip!
The proposal encompassed all of our favorite things in one - Miami, the beach, food, wine, and the most beautiful ring I had ever seen.
How did you select your bridal lengha or wedding dress? Did you have a favorite color in mind?
I knew that I always wanted to wear a traditional red lehenga for my traditional Sikh ceremony. I chose to go to India with my parents for my wedding shopping - I wanted to stay true to the Punjabi and Sikh wedding traditions so I was big on getting my wedding dress from Punjab. I'm so thankful for my family in India who took all my dream outfit photos, and sought out designers in Punjabi who could craft my dream wedding outfit for me!
As much as I wanted the traditional Punjabi wedding dress for my Sikh ceremony, I wanted my reception look to embody my love for old school Hollywood vibes. I've always loved the modern yet elegant vibes of Berta bridal dresses and visited their Soho boutique to find my dream white dress. I landed on a backless, white dress with intricate lace and sequin details. It was a contrast from my morning look and I loved that!
I wanted both of my looks to stay true to my love for the Punjabi heritage and the old school Hollywood vibe. They were contrasting looks and it makes me so happy I was able to make my dream wedding looks come true!
What was the most enjoyable part of the planning process, and why?
Wedding planning is stressful and time consuming but what made it all worth it was the extra time we got to spend time with each other as a couple. I had dreamed about my wedding day for as long as I can remember and I knew I wanted to be involved in every detail of the planning. But, it was also so great how involved Preetam was and how we really became partners throughout the planning. During vendor calls, I would ask questions while he would write notes. During vendor meetings, we tag teamed and asked questions together. We finalized the menu, decor, party favors, really everything - together. Both of our careers are demanding and often take up our weekdays and sometimes our weekends. Wedding planning allowed us to spend some additional time together and it really helped us to develop an even stronger partnership. We leaned on each other for support during the stressful parts and celebrated with each other as planning decisions were finalized and our wedding date grew near.
Do you have any words of wisdom for Brides-To-Be?
Enjoy the experience!!! Wedding planning is stressful, time consuming and at most times, could feel like a full-time job. But, it is also a really special time in your life. Every girl at some point has dreamt about their wedding day and marrying their soulmate. And the time has finally come for you to see all your dreams come to fruition. Trust your judgment, go with your gut, and enjoy the experience to its fullest. Only YOU know what will make your wedding day special so trust that.
Anything else you want to tell us? We'd love to hear all about your other details! (jewelry, mehndi, venue, cake, bouquets, etc.)
The goal for our wedding was to incorporate all of our favorite things in one and share our love and happiness with our friends and family. Every detail we picked kept this goal in mind.
For my mehndi, I knew that I wanted to incorporate the NYC skyline into my design - Monita from Henna for All NY made that happen for me and made all my mehndi dreams come true.
For my mehndi/sangeet/jaago, we wanted it to be a big fun Punjabi welcome party and we are so thankful for our families for trusting that and allowing us to make it a carefree and fun summer event.
The Swan Club made all my reception dreams come true - it really is hard to find a reception space with a beautiful outdoor area and Swan Club really was that!!! I am SO happy we were able to find Swan Club and have our summer wedding there - the grounds of the space are incredible and it made our wedding reception so special.
Anyone who knows me knows I have a huge sweet tooth, and a crazy obsession with cookies. I am so thankful for my favorite cookie bakery in NYC, Chip NYC, for catering my wedding reception and giving my guests the chance to experience my favorite dessert of all time.
My makeup and hair artists were just perfect. I had a vision of what I wanted for my different looks but Preeti, Fiza, and Naina really helped me to perfect my wishes and I really trusted them to do what they do best!! They made me feel like a princess and my desire to be a Punjabi bride in the morning and an old Hollywood actress in the evening came to light because of their amazing creativity.
More amazing weddings, every day!
