Marigold Events – Indian Wedding Inspirations

Last week, we focused on Sikh Wedding Ceremony and Functions, and featured the engagement shots of the lovely couple: Arsheen and Gurpreet. Today we are featuring their beautiful Wedding Ceremony.

Arsheen and Gurpreet’s wedding can be summed up in three words: Family, Love and Joy. I am in awe of all the happiness that is evident in all the pictures, and the colors are gorgeous. Thanks to Simran Jagdev for the amazing photos!

Arsheen looks gorgeous in her pink zardozi lehenga, and Gurpreet looks handsome in his ivory sherwani. And yes, I am absolutely in love with the marigold decor!

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High school sweethearts, Jasmine and Gautam, met (and were eventually engaged!) on a tennis court. Their beautiful wedding took place at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington DC.

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In the last post we featured Sabrina and Ranvijay’s  Moghul Mujra themed Sangeet. In this post we will talk about the details of their decor and entertainment.

The venue was converted into a luxurious lounge with low, pillow-style Moghul seating.

The decor was lush floral and the ambience, very romantic. Beautiful candelabras and candle walls added dramatic light to the opulent Ballroom.

For the Sangeet, the State and Grand Ballroom at the Palmer House had a very palatial, antique, and Moghul feel to it.

The live entertainment lineup at Sabrina and Ranvijay’s Sangeet was phenomenal! They had the Bellytwins come  in from California to perform mujras to Bollywood classics dressed in eleborate and colorful costumes.

Ambika Raazdan’s dance group were performing mujras on the balcony as guests were entering into the ballroom. Munni Begam, an acclaimed qawwali artist, performed with her group to international hits such as “Jhoom Barabar Jhoom“.

The event was planned by Sabrina Hans herself, and Nisar Naimi of Sabrina Hans Events.

Image Credit: Jai Girard Photography

The Sangeet Night is one of the very vibrant and enjoyable evenings, where both the families come together to celebrate the couple.

Today we are featuring the Sangeet celebration of Sabrina and Ranvijay. Thanks to the lovely Jai Girard for sharing the pictures!

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While Somya and Sanam’s wedding has all the elements of being royal, I can tell that the couple is really in love. In this post we are featuring their Reception which had a Pakeeza Theme.

Somya and Sanam’s Reception would take you back to the Mughal era. Imagine Kathak Dance Performances, Live Ghazal and Qawali singers, and lounge style seating.

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The wedding of Somya and Sanam was a royal affair. I would imagine that this is how the wedding of Indian Royalty would look back in the day. In the last post we featured Somya and Sanam’s Teeka, Godh Bharai, and Sangeet Ceremony.

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Continuing with our post on Agarwal Wedding Tradtions, today we will feature an Agarwal Wedding Celebration. The details of this wedding are spectacular, and the bridalwear and jewelry are absolutely stunning.

The wedding of Somya and Sanam was a royal affair. I would imagine that this is how the wedding of Indian Royalty would look back in the day.

All auspicious events begin with worshipping God. Similarly, the wedding celebrations of Sanam and Somya began with a Bhajan Sandhya, where close friends and family came together for a puja and a musical bhajan evening.

On the following day, the Teeka, Godh Bharai, and Sangeet ceremonies were held at an outdoor venue. I love the red and black/ Asian fusion theme.

Both, Somya and Sanam’s outfits were designed by JJ Valaya.

Somya looked gorgeous in her polki necklace and earrings. All her wedding jewelry is a combination of designer and heirloom pieces.

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A few months back we had featured the Cherry Blossom engagement session of Aman and Gurdeep. We are so excited to feature their wedding and reception pictures. Thank You Photographick Studios for sharing beautiful photos of the couple with us!

Aman and Gurdeep’s wedding was an intimate affair with close family and friends.

Getting Ready

I absolutely love Aman’s outfit and jewelry. Her kaleeras are my favorite – they perfectly match her outfit.

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The following video highlights are from the wedding of Sarah and Sanjoy, been shot by { First Kiss Films }. Enjoy this vintage video!

Sarah and Sanjoy were married along the banks of the Ottawa River. The bride elegantly embraced the groom’s Bengali Hindu background and was stunning in the traditional red and gold sari she wore for their ceremony. And just wait until you see the glittering lehenga she wore to the reception in the Grand Hall of the Canadian Museum of Civilization.

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The following pictures is the concluding post in the series telling the story of Arun and Kreso. The pictures in this post are from their wedding ceremony and reception. The pictures have been taken by Shuva Rahim of Accent Photographics.

Arun and Kreso had a small wedding in Danforth Chapel on the University of Iowa campus. Their families flew long distances, from India and Croatia, for the wedding. Their ceremony began with the beautiful guitar music of Dana Starkell as the proud papa walked his daughter down the aisle.

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The following pictures is the continuation of a series telling the story of Arun and Kreso. The pictures in this post are from the wedding day. The pictures have been taken by Shuva Rahim of Accent Photographics.

If the dictionary had to define Arun and Kreso’s wedding day, it would be as follows: a postcard of a cultural rite of passage, honoring family and tradition mixed with humor, laughter and a fun party celebrating two gorgeous people.

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The following post is by our guest blogger, Sunny Mathur of Photographick Studios. Check out the lovely pictures taken by him at The Thomas Jefferson Memorial during the Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington D.C.

It seemed like the photography gods were against us (yes, there are photography gods), every time we zigged, they zagged to catch us in our tracks, mind you we are nimble on our feet, but these guys were faster. The gods were playing with everything they could, the weather, our time lines and our allergies. I guess before I get into my 300 (greatest movie ever) speech a little background is in order.

Aman and Gurdeep are the most organized people I know. I personally think they both share a Google calendar synchronized on their PDAs, personal assistants and email. In this calendar they have the next three years of their lives planned out in fifteen minute increments (I only have the next six months planned out in ten minute increments). My case and point would be their initial consultation, we met on a Saturday morning at 8:00 AM, in the same day they were meeting with seven other wedding vendors with their last appointment at 10:00 PM! Aman walked into our meeting with what looked to be a twelve inch wedding planning binder with every detail categorized by color, design and what magazine it was found in. She had what looked to be her own rating system, with backup copies of everything. To say they were prepared was an understatement, as we talked about their wedding, laughed at their stories and got a better sense of each other, I could see Aman taking mental notes to be transferred to the binder later (I wonder how thick the binder is now).

We hit it off wonderfully, connected and were honored to become their wedding photographers. The next piece in the puzzle was to find a location that spoke to both of them and had true place in their hearts. They decided upon having an engagement shoot in Hoboken, NJ. After countless dates in and around Hoboken, Aman and Gurdeep wanted to ensure that their spectacular DC wedding included their native New Jersey roots (Who wouldn’t? I suggested the famous Rutgers Grease Trucks but my idea got shot down).

Right before their engagement session, Neeva and I were traveling from DC to Las Vegas to New Jersey and what seemed across the world. Two days before their scheduled engagement session we got a call from Gurdeep asking
what the contingency plan is if it ‘drizzles.’ What I found out later was that ‘drizzle’ was a code word for class seven thunderstorm with tornadoes, flash floods, and even a state of emergency (I may be exaggerating a
little). Unfortunately we were not able to shoot while it was ‘drizzling’ and had to reschedule, this time in Washington, DC. I am curious what Gurdeep and Aman consider a thunderstorm or for that matter a ‘problem.’

Luckily we were able to take full advantage of the cherry blossom festival, we hung out at the Tidal Basin, walked along the river, rode a carousel and ended up around the Smithsonian. I was able to learn a lot
about our couple like; Aman normally punches when getting tickled, Gurdeep doesn’t like holding purses (neither do I) and these two ALWAYS schedule in time for fun.

Aman and Gurdeep I hope you love your engagement pictures, and we can’t wait for your wedding.

Couples do meet in unique places and situations, and so is the story of our featured couple, Sneha and Rajat. Sneha and Rajat met in college during a fire drill! Once the two were ready to tie the knot, Rajat proposed Sneha on an Eastern Caribbean Cruise after asking her parents for permission. I had the pleasure to talk to Sneha about her engagement and wedding planning experience. I will share the highlights of her wedding and some of her planning tips with you.

Engagement Portraits can be a lot of fun!

When starting to plan their wedding, the first thing Rajat and Sneha did was have their engagement portraits taken. Tip #1: Engagement portraits are great for when you are designing your Save-the-Dates, Favors, Guestbook or just for display at the wedding/reception. The couple planned their engagement party at the Heritage Club in the DC Metro Area.

The Heritage Club has a Rajasthani themed decor and is perfect size for an engagement celebration.

As a part of their engagement celebration, Sneha and Rajat hired a limo to go on a tour of DC with their friends. Here is a beautiful shot of both at the Washington Memorial taken by one of their friends:

Picture Perfect!

As is the dilemma of most couples, Sneha and Rajat were faced with the same: Venue for the wedding! The couple wanted a small and intimate wedding with their close family and friends and were not having any luck finding a venue in the DC area. While Sneha and Rajat were visiting Sneha’s parents in California, they decided to take trips to the wineries nearby. They were fascinated by this one winery in particular called Hecker Pass Winery in Gilroy, California. The weather there was gorgeous and the owner of the winery was very hospitable. Sneha and Rajat were sold and decided that they wanted to have a destination wedding at the winery. Tip #2: A unique destination wedding venue could be a Winery; the weather is gorgeous and its perfect for a scenic and intimate wedding.

Candid Shot at the Sangeet

The wedding was a 3 day affair, where the couple had Haldi, Mehendi, Sangeet, Wedding and Reception. The Sangeet was held at the winery, where the decor was a typical Indian seating set up of “gaddas” and cushions. Sneha stressed how this was a group effort and everyone contributed towards the Sangeet arrangements. Tip #3: Don’t be afraid to ask for help and delegate the responsibilities, group effort often has the best results!

For the Sangeet entertainment, the couple hired live singers combining Punjabi Dhol, folk, bollywood and dance in a unique live performance. They sang Bhangra, typical Sangeet songs, Bari Barsi, Kala Shah and many other numbers, which all the guests really enjoyed. They had a lovely favor basket of “chudis” and “bindis” for the ladies.

Sangeet Favors: Bindis and Bangles

Sneha chose very trendy and unique colors for her wedding: pink and chocolate brown. The colors are rarely seen in Indian wedding, and I must say that everything was put together beautifully at the wedding using that color scheme. One can tell how meticulously Sneha planned the wedding by the attention to detail. Sneha made some beautiful welcome baskets using the colors of her wedding for the guests staying at the hotel. The basket contained a wine bottle from the winery with a custom label designed by the couple, and some chocolates. Tip #4: Apply your wedding color scheme also to the details like gift bags, money envelopes, programs, welcome baskets etc.

Welcome baskets: Coordinated with the Colors and Theme

I loved the way the pink organza fabric was draped around the chivari chairs that were used in the ceremony. For the decoration along the aisle, floral balls made of roses were hung on shepherd’s hooks. Tip #5: You can add beautiful aisle decorations by using shepherd hooks. You can use floral balls, lanterns, ribbons – the choices are endless!

The beautiful details

Sneha, along with her bridemsaids, spent hours designing the concept for her wedding program. The end result was fabulous! Tip #5: Using ribbons hang your wedding programs from the ceremony chairs. This adds to your decor.

Sneha's DIY Ceremony Program

Rajat and Sneha had five bridesmaids and groomsmen. The bridesmaids wore coordinated pink saris with golden sequins border and small flower shaped motifs stitched all over it. Sneha said that she was having the hardest time finding coordinated saris for all her bridesmaids in India. She said it’s nearly impossible to get two saris with exactly same color and design ready made. So on her shopping trip to India, Sneha got the saris made from scratch! She had to buy the sari material, get it dyed pink, and finally get the border and motifs stitched to each sari. I think this is a great idea for all the brides who want the exact same sari for their bridesmaids. Tip #6: Simplest way to have the same sari for every bridesmaid – Buy white material, borders and trimmings, Dye the material with your choice of color, get the borders and trimmings stitched on to the sari.

Here comes the Bride

Sneha wanted a brown mandap for the wedding, to go with the colors chosen by her for the wedding. It was impossible to get one in the States, and so on her trip to India, she got one stitched. She got the measurements and instructions for the mandap from her decorator and got them stitched for a very reasonable cost in India. During the wedding, the mandap was draped on pillars and hooked on for extra protection. Tip #7: If you have unique wedding colors, consider getting your mandap stitched in India. Ask your decorator for the measurements. Check out the beautiful mandap:

Ever seen a chocolate brown mandap before?

Sneha mentioned that one her memorable moments from the wedding was from the “joota chupai” ceremony. She said that the groomsmen and bridesmaids were going back and forth with the shoes and negotiating the amount for the shoes. The final deal between the two sides was for all the bridesmaids to dance around Rajat to “Joote do Paise lo” and then get the money!

Paise De Do, Joote Le Lo!

Since the wedding was at the winery, that ended up being the underlying theme – from the welcome baskets, to the table numbers, which were named after different wines. Tip #8: To add a unique touch, consider having table names instead of table numbers based on your theme.

Rajat and Sneha got portrait shots for all of their major events

Another DIY project that Sneha did was putting together their favors. Sneha put together a CD of her and Rajat’s favorite songs and put them in a beautiful case that she designed herself. Sneha used cdprintexpress.com for the production of the favors.

Beautiful Cherry Blossom Design for CD favors

Here are some beautiful pictures of Sneha and Rajat’s Reception:

First Dance: "Pehli Nazar Mein" from the movie Race

Beautiful Centerpiece on a chocolate brown overlay

Reception Setup

Custom Guestbook

Hope Sneha and Rajat’s gorgeous wedding photos and planning tips will be useful and give you ideas to plan your beautiful wedding!  (Photo Credits: Sandhya Photography)

If you would like to submit your wedding, please contact us through this form or email me at neha@marigoldevents.com.