In January I began working with Nirali and Nirav to plan their 3 day long traditional Indian wedding for.....the weekend of May 29-31 of the same year. Yes, 4 quick months to plan 3 days full of events! There are so many details and so much to say about this wedding that I don't even know where to begin. Since it was the first full Indian wedding I worked on since the Indian weddings I worked on in Los Angeles and New York, I was so happy for the opportunity! Nirali was extra helpful in explaining all of the details and special meanings behind the customs. She and I also really enjoyed designing and planning all of the creative details to go along with the "East Meets West" theme using many colors, as you will see.



This post contains pictures from Sunday's ceremony and reception (the big day), but in the future I plan on posting pictures from Saturday's dancing event as well as the henna night on Friday. I will let the pictures speak for themselves. Be sure to check out their thoughtful note to me at the end of the post as well! Those notes are like gold to me because I truly put every ounce of time and energy I have into making these weddings not only beautiful, but enjoyable for my clients.

I could not have done this without my amazing team including Rachael, Janine, Liz and Maura who tirelessly helped me all weekend long.

All pictures are courtesy of my friends, Chris and Julie First at Z Media. They are so great to work with and some of the kindest and most thoughtful vendors I know. I am looking forward to working with them again in August on another very exciting Indian wedding!

When Kara and Brian first came to meet with me, I could tell they were in love. Kara described to me how Brian proposed to her on a surprise trip to Florida, and got all emotional just talking to me about it! I could also tell that they were going to be a joy to work with due to their soft spoken and easygoing nature. Both of those foresights proved to be true and on May 30, we got to see them get married on a beautiful day outside on the lake!

We developed a spring theme using mostly green and orange with few accents of yellow. The outdoor ceremony featured a decorated gazebo with orange, yellow and green pomanders all hanging from different lengths of ribbon.

The tables were accented with sage green and named after different flowers. As you can see, our escort cards were stuck in pails of sand and each guest's name was printed on a colored cardboard flower.

I learned that Brian had just officially become a doctor (knew he was in his residency but didn't know it was official yet), which is pretty awesome considering they were announced Dr. and Mrs.!

I LOVE this picture of Kara, I think she looks so beautiful.



But the most touching part of the day came as Brian stood up to give a Groom thank you speech at the reception. The day before, as we were finishing up the rehearsal, he came to me and said, "Valarie, I have a gift for Kara in my car that I'd like you to set on my chair at the reception". He secretly passed that on to me as I was leaving, without Kara knowing. Brian is a soft spoken guy. He is so nice and kind and when he talks, people listen. He gave his thank you's to his family, to Kara's family and then to his groomsmen. You could have heard a pin drop in that ballroom while he was quietly speaking into the microphone. Then he says, and to my new wife (I may not be remembering verbatim but you get the jist), I love you more than anything and from this day forward I will take care of you and will give you the world. He presented her with a beautiful hand size globe, which is pictured below. Everyone was blown away, including Kara of course, who then proceeded to tear up for probably the 30th time that day! What an awesome moment! That will go down in my memory as one of the most romantic wedding moments out of all of the weddings I see.



Pictures are courtesy of our friends at Easywind Studio. Scott and Julie organized an awesome first look out in the vineyards. It looks more like California than Ohio! The suitcases are so cool for props too, aren't they? LOVE the creativity! I had a hard time not posting 200 images from the day because all of the pictures were so beautiful!

Kara and Brian, congratulations on your marriage. You are AWESOME people who I feel lucky to have met and worked with. I know you have a very happy life ahead of you.





























Last but not least, check out these personalized M&M's with their picture!


Super sweet note from Kara received in the mail this week: