Today we are featuring the beautiful wedding of Iffat and Andrew, photographed by Austin wedding photographer Studio Uma.

Iffat and Andrew created a weekend of fusion wedding celebrations, that was a reflection of their Pakistani and Midwest cultures. The wedding festivities began with a fun Mehendi ceremony, with dholki, and performances by family members. The bright yellows, and greens, adds to the festive mood of the Mehendi celebrations. Iffat is adorned by beautiful floral jewelry, and henna on her hands. 

The wedding day included not one but two official wedding ceremonies, including the Nikkah, which is the traditional Muslim marriage ceremony. Iffat looks gorgeous in a royal blue “Laacha” style lehenga, and Andrew makes for a very handsome groom in a sherwani complete with a turban. I love the vibrant blues, maroons, and gold colors used in the decor for the Nikkah.
The bride and groom kicked off the reception with their grand entrance, dancing to Gangnam Style. The reception features stunning views of the downtown Austin, which are the courtesy of the top floor ballroom at the Hyatt Regency Austin. I adore the reception decor, which features orchids, roses, candles, and beautiful willow branches. 
My favorite photos of the wedding are from the Joota Chupai. At the wedding reception, there was an entertaining and intense negotiation between the bride’s sisters, cousins, and Andrew. The best man stepped up to negotiate on behalf of the outnumbered groom. The wedding celebrations concluded with a bouquet toss, and vidaii. 

Vendor Credits

Photography: Studio Uma
Wedding coordinator: Barbara’s Brides 
Flowers: Bouquets of Austin
Videography: Crescent Video
Ceremony and Reception Music: Stafford Jones
Officiant: Judge Jon Wisser
Linens: Yara with Unique Designs
Venue: Hyatt Regency Austin
Mehndi/Henna: Nipa Desai
Makeup: Skin by Diana
Sofa rental: Furbish Vintage Rentals
Hair stylist: Valerie Frazee 

Did you check out that stunning Tacori-setting engagement ring?! Welove Gurjit’s style – her gorgeous purple sheath dress is perfectly paired with sparkly heels. On photographing the lovely couple, Alexandra says, “Gurjit and Arif are two of the funniest and happiest people I have ever had the pleasure of photographing. The couple is head over heels about each other – and it shows!”

Credits:

Alexandra Hunt Photography via Two Bright Lights

Bursting with personality, infusing Indian + American cultures, and combining contemporary with vintage, the wedding of Shalou and Eric is an ample dose of fun and flair. When Suzi of Q Weddings shared the pictures from this unique Indian wedding, I was ecstatic and could not help admiring the careful attention to detail, and the modern aesthetic of this wedding. I love how the couple’s personalities shine through in every element of this wedding. We are so excited to feature and share this beautiful wedding, and the story of Shalou and Eric, as they were counting down to their to their special day.

{ Scroll down to read about the wedding decor }

Eric is an architect and founder/co-owner of an architectural firm, which focuses on modern and environmentally-responsible design. Shalou is a business consultant and entrepreneur, and has held various marketing and business development roles at big corporations, startups, as well as a green architectural design firm. Their personalities and what they do professionally shaped various aspects of their wedding.

{ Scroll down for the couple’s “How we met” and “Proposal” stories }

Hindu weddings can be very formal and ornate. Shalou and Eric wanted to make sure that they respected that, while making sure that all their guests felt included and comfortable to participate in every way. Typically an Indian wedding can have several hundred guests. Hence, it was a top priority for them to limit the guest list to ensure that they would be celebrating this special day with only their family and closest friends.  Furthermore, the personal touches were abundant in order to share a more intimate side. Both Shalou and Eric are fun-loving and appreciate their unique cultures. They wanted to ensure that their personality and culture – in particular food, drinks and music, were well-represented at their special day. Shalou and Eric’s double-ceremony entailed a beautiful Hindu Ceremony in the morning at the Four Seasons on Town Lake in Austin and an evening American Ceremony and reception at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

{ Scroll down to read about the challenges that the couple faced, and how they overcame the challenges }

Hindu Ceremony

Shalou and Eric’s Hindu Ceremony was full of colors and culture. To honor Shalou’s heritage, Eric rode to the wedding venue on a white horse, decked out in Indian finery and accompanied by dhol drummers, who wore Vans sneakers. The Groom’s Baraat procession was accompanied by his family and friends, as well as a marching band and Indian Dhol Players. The event started at the Four Season’s lush back lawns, and the ceremony proceeded in the Ballroom. Following the morning ceremony, the guests enjoyed fusion Indian brunch with live sitar and tabla music.

American Ceremony

For the American Ceremony, Shalou wore a beautiful white bridal gown embellished with crystals and accessorized with fun shoes. The bridesmaids are dressed in lovely turquoise dresses, and the groom and groomsmen wore ties in shades of blue and funky argyle/striped socks.

The evening ceremony was at the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center, which is known for its outstanding contemporary architecture and is based on vernacular farm structures, plush gardens to wander through. A contemporary string quartet played a mix of classical favorites and modern hits throughout the ceremony and during the cocktail hour. Eric surprised his bride and witnesses by performing a song he wrote while exchanging vows, and then carried her out after their big kiss. The couple chose the song “Don’t Stop Believing” by Journey for their recessional/exit. 

{ Scroll down for wedding planning advice, especially for multi-ethnic/ intercultural weddings, from the bride herself }

Reception

A blend of cultures, Shalou and Eric’s wedding reception was full of fun, and personal touches. Shalou and Eric changed outfits for the third time that day for the reception. The evening offered a menu with both their favorite Indian and California/Continental style dishes. They had his and hers specialty drinks, The Diamond Ring (French 75) and The Good Karma (Pimm’s Cup), which greeted guests as they exited the ceremony towards the cocktail hour in the Butterfly Garden.

Since Shalou and Eric are notorious for stirring up the dance floor at friends’ weddings (they swear it’s why they get invited to some weddings), it was critical that the perfect blend of Bollywood beats with American 80s and 90s hits kept the party alive until the end – and indeed, it did. They also performed a surprise Bollywood dance with their bridal party. The guests danced the night away until the couple was chauffeured away in a Classic Rolls Royce, decorated with Indian-inspired floral garlands.

Attention to Detail: Colors, Decor and More

• Shalou and Eric honored traditional red and gold colors for their Hindu Ceremony. In the evening the couple emphasized the turquoise blue, that they love, with touches of red.
• The aisle decor for the evening ceremony included beautiful florals in blue vintage mason jars.
• There were unique floating floral arrangements with butterflies in water ponds during the cocktail hour.
• The dinner was set up in the outdoors area, which was decorated with beautiful string lights.
• Eric designed the entire wedding paper suite for both morning and evening, including the letterpress invitations. He’s an architect and incorporated a modern aesthetic, yet with hints of Shalou’s heritage, in the programs, menus, and table cards. The table cards were named after the exotic places that the couple had traveled to together and included a few phrases that captured their special moments during each trip.
• The wedding favors were one of a myriad of unusual gourmet dark chocolate bars – perfect for post-dinner nibble!
• The centerpieces at the reception included beautiful florals and signs created by Eric, describing important travel destinations during Shalou and Eric’s relationship.
• One of the highlights at the reception was the dessert bar with decadent offerings such as mint leaves pressed in chocolate, strawberry parfaits and cake balls.
• One of the couple’s friend created gorgeous ribbon streamers in red, gold and blue for the grand exit to a classic red Rolls Royce.

Reflecting Back: Favorite Moments from the Wedding

Both families felt very strongly about dancing!  (I can’t tell you how many conversations I had about the DJ and the music).  And both families got along really well.  In general, it was all about family and that’s what made it so special.

My mom and I traveled to India to buy a lot of the Indian clothing and jewelry. Our relatives who live there were overly gracious hosts, they took us everywhere and never tired or complained. We shopped pretty much every day we were there for almost 2 weeks straight. I felt very lucky to spend time with them and despite all of the trekking I think they really enjoyed being involved in the process.

Eric’s family is much smaller than Shalou’s (40+ family members in attendance).  It was remarkable how well everyone sincerely enjoyed each other’s company and felt important to each other – both sides continue to ask about each other even a year later!

Our friends and family from both sides really came together on the dance floor. That was probably the best part…to see everyone out there, regardless of whether they were familiar with the songs or not.

If I had to pick just one moment, it would probably be at the rehearsal dinner (Friday night). My entire extended family (40+ members), Eric’s family and our bridal party were invited. It was at a great venue – the private upstairs room of the Parkside in downtown Austin. I had so many details to coordinate and plan for the weekend, including the Mehendi Ceremony (Friday), the dual-ceremony Wedding (all day Saturday), and Sunday brunch, that I had not really put much thought or energy into planning the rehearsal dinner.  I figured we would just let the venue and the good food and company guide the night. After dinner, one of my aunts and one of my uncles got up and started MC-ing a Punjabi style dance party. They created their own music with clapping, stomping, singing and call-outs and effortlessly got every person in the room dancing Punjabi style and having a blast.  That was a true highlight and required zero planning!

How we met for the first time…

In 1997, Shalou and Eric were two strangers that met by chance in a high-rise dormitory at The University of Texas.  A handshake and some pleasantries were exchanged.  While overall the meeting was not memorable, Shalou is hard name to forget.

Take Two.

In 2005, these two strangers traveled from different parts of the country with the hopes of witnessing a Texas victory over Michigan at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. An introduction, an “I think we’ve met before?”, a New Year’s Eve party and a Texas victory later, the two were strangers no more.  After a few months of corresponding (Shalou in San Francisco, Eric in Austin), Eric decided to leave Austin and move west, and so their love story began.

Proposal

In September 2010, during a weekend trip to San Francisco, that Shalou thought she had planned, Eric surprised her by popping the question while picnicking in one of their favorite spots, Dolores Park. Eric looked long and hard to find a rare and beautiful diamond ring, a 100 year-old antique from a boutique store in Manhattan.  Only Shalou’s father knew of the proposal; Eric picked the ring out and planned every detail of the proposal entirely on his own, at the same time hoping that the surprise would not be foiled by Airport Security.

Advice for brides planning intercultural or multi-ethnic wedding

Expectations are key. It’s important that the bride & groom recognize that the celebration is as much about them as it is their families. Go in with an open mind and be curious throughout the process. Take this as an opportunity to learn more about each other’s families and cultures.

Weddings are often complex but intercultural/multi-ethnic weddings are especially complicated. Regarding the day-of, make sure you have at a minimum a “day-of” coordinator. This day should hopefully only happen once and you want to remember it so this person will ideally take a lot of the micro-management, vendor coordination, guest management, etc. off of your plate so you can enjoy the day. Try to slow things down, take it all in and have meaningful interactions with your (now) husband and your guests.

Challenges and Overcoming the Challenges
Challenges:

• Coming to the realization that the wedding was equally about our families as it was us
• Being sensitive to unique and sometimes conflicting cultural nuances and/or wishes
• Executing a wedding that made everyone/family happy by incorporating everyone’s wishes while still keeping true to our personalities and vision
• Managing multiple vendors, lots of complexities and details

Overcame by:

• Constantly communicated to help educate our families and friends in order to avoid unwanted surprises
• Took a few calculated risks – some things we just knew could not be negotiated without experiencing first-hand so we took a chance on a few things …fortunately we were right
• Got comfortable with the fact that we wouldn’t be able to make everyone happy, but as long as we made a generous effort to do so we accepted that that’s all that we could do
• Found out what our family’s/parents’ top 3 must-have’s were; communicated what ours were and set expectations early; made sure that each got all of their must-have’s satisfied
• Learned how to better at being accommodating, understanding and patient
• Delegated tasks – family and friends wanted to help and felt included this way

Vendor Credits

Photographer:  Q Weddings | Invitation Designer: Ajalon Printing & Design | Officiant: Angeli Carriages
Musicians: Arundel Ensemble, Sangeet Millenium | Cake Designer: Austin Cake Ball | Shoes: Badgely Mischka | Dress Designer: Carrafina | Caterer: Clay Pit, Word of Mouth Catering | Cinema and Video: Elite Video Productions | Venue: Four Seasons Hotel Austin, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center | DJ: Groovelabs | Lighting: ILIOS | Henna: Mehndi Time | Floral Designer: Pollen Floral Art | Hair Stylist: Rae Cosmetics | Equipment Rentals: Saffron Affairs | Event Planner: The Simplifiers | Submitted via Two Bright Lights

Today we are featuring a charming bridal photo shoot of Aisha and her bridesmaids. Aisha Khan, the gorgeous bride and creator of Ama Photography, got together for a super fun day with her three beautiful bridesmaids. She asked her most trusted second photographer from Revi Photography to capture the delightful day. The result, super stylish and lively photos of the bride and her girls.

When I asked Aisha about the photo shoot, she exclaimed, “These girls really are my best friends! In addition to sticking with me through thick and thin, as most families do, they are responsible, funny, creative, strong, smart, caring, outgoing, and empowering women. I wanted the shots to reflect our personality as a group. Needless to say, we had lots of fun!”

Aisha wanted the dresses to be elegant and simple. She designed the dresses herself, and got them custom made with her mother-in-law’s help in Pakistan. I love the stylish sage green outfits, and how zardozi embroidery has been used sparingly, albeit tastefully. The very classic kundan jewelry are perfect accessories for this photo shoot. The Heights Villa makes for a wonderful venue and the props look super fun too!

My jaw dropped when I first looked at the stunning pictures of Pooja and Nils’ wedding by photographer, Roberto Falck . Held in the breathtaking backdrop of The Plaza, this cross cultural wedding extravaganza was designed by none other than the celebrity wedding planner, David Tutera.

Pooja looked gorgeous in her hand stitched emerald, red, and fuchsia lehenga during the ceremony, and beautiful in the white bridal gown that she changed into for the reception. Nils looked very handsome in a navy tux. Like everything in this wedding, the jewels fabulous! I can’t get my eyes off the royal polki diamond necklace and earrings that Pooja paired with both her ceremony and wedding outfits.  

The Plaza, which is a national historic landmark and is widely referenced in pop culture, is a dream-come-true wedding venue. Every detail of this wedding is lush, luxurious, and iconic:  the ceremony mandap embellished with countless roses, opulent floral crystal candelabra centerpieces, a spectacular chandelier made completely with gorgeous blooms, and a majestic topiary elephant at the helm of the reception.

Pooja and Nils wedding affair was one-of-a-kind, stylish, and beyond breathtaking festive affair. Most importantly, they look very happy celebrating every minute of it. Here is wishing them a happily ever after!

A big thank you to Roberto Falck Photography for sharing the gorgeous images from Pooja and Nils wedding.

Vendor Credits

Photography – New York Wedding Photographer, Roberto Falck 

Venue & Event Director for Wedding – The Plaza with Emily Reifel

Wedding designer – David Tutera

Live music ceremony, cocktails & reception – The Michael Hart Band of Hank Lane Music

Light & sound – Bentley Meeker

Videography – Funico Studios

Wedding Cake – Sylvia Weinstock

Music & dancers Baraat – DJ Magic Mike

Sangeet Event Director on Long Island – Jharna Jaisinghani, Artistic Affairs

We are so excited to feature the engagement shoot of Sabah and Amir, photographed by Aisha Khan of Ama Photography & Cinema. Sabah and Amir are college sweethearts, and met while volunteering at a Muslim Interscholastic tournament. When Amir asked Sabah, “Sabah, will you marry me?”, she jokingly replied by saying, “Hmmm, I’ll think about it and let you know!”

Both Sabah and Amir come from a rich cultural background, which is a great mix of East and West. They both have been in Houston since their early years, and chose the Public Park and Stage Theater in the city for their photo shoot. I love how they decided to go for day and night pictures, and decided to go with two completely different looks.

Thank you Aisha for sharing this beautiful engagement shoot with our readers!

Credits

Ama Photography & Cinema via Two Bright Lights

The pink, purple, and turquoise decor by Designs North Florist, and the outdoors lounge seating set up by Happy Rentz would make for a perfect engagement party, mehendi, sangeet or an intimate wedding reception. The wedding cake by Tania’s Mixing Bowl Bakery stands out with its lovely details and bright colors. One of my favorite photos of this styled shoot are those of the stunning stationary by Bridal Flavors. I can’t stop admiring the escort cards, menus, and table numbers, and how the designer has added oomph to the wedding stationary by using crystals (each of which have to be applied by hand!).

Absolutely love how this talented team of vendors put together this beautiful photo shoot. A big thank you to Aura Marzouk Photography for sharing with us!

Credits:

Photographer:  Aura Marzouk Photography, Hair Stylist:  Avanti Salon And Spa, Event Planner:  Infinite Bliss Events, Floral Designer:  Designs North Florist, Invitation Designer:  Bridal Flavors, Cake Designer:  Tania’s Mixing Bowl Bakery, Equipment Rentals:  Happy Rentz, Makeup Artist:  Beauty By Bryn Makeup Artistry, Henna:  Monique Delatour Henna Design

Spanning three continents, this international love story has all the makings of a Yash Chopra movie. When they first saw each other, Vidya took Harshal’s breath away. Harshal says, “She stopped my world. When I saw her, I almost forgot to breathe.” He was sure that she was the one for him. While Vidya was weary of the distance at first, Harshal swept her off her feet. Vidya gushes, “He did everything any girl ever dreams of…He truly was my Prince Aladdin.” And there began the journey of their Happily every after.

Incorporating vibrant colors and dramatic lighting, I love how Matt Trevino has captured the essence of the couple’s love story in a stylized Bollywood inspired engagement session. Talking fondly about the photo shoot, Matt jokes, “The only thing I wasn’t able to secure were extras for the dancing portion.”

Photos by: Matt Trevino Photography via Two Bright Lights

Elegant, Classy, and Tasteful – those words aptly describe our wedding feature for today. We are delighted to showcase this beautiful Delhi wedding by Rahul Rana Photography. The adorable couple, Chhavi and Saurabh, got married at the The Palms Town and Country Club in a traditional Hindu Punjabi wedding ceremony.

First things first. We love the gorgeous marigold decor! The mandap, decorated in hues of golds and reds, is accented by beautiful Kaliras. We adore the bride’s Sabyasachi lehenga and traditional and tasteful jewelry. With peacock embroidery and bright colors, it simply looks beautiful. The groom’s cream and maroon sherwani is super classy.

We are so happy for Chhavi and Saurabh! Love their smiles, and how radiant they look throughout the ceremony. Here’s wishing them happily ever after.

Vendor Credits

Photographer: Rahul Rana Photography

Venue: The Palms Town and Country Club

I am in love with Meg and Tripp’s unique “First Look” pictures. Shot in the backdrop of what almost looks like a barn, the photos have a very rustic and romantic feel to it. Their ear-to-ear smiles reflect the happiness that in their eyes.

Stony Manor Country Club was the perfect venue for the couple’s vision of their wedding. To make sure that the wedding reflected their unique personalities, Meg and Tripp, hired the talented Trisha Cranor of Working Brides Wedding Planner. From their stationary, to decor and cake – I absolutely love how all the details tied in together, where green flower petals were used to represent nature as a theme for the wedding.

Meg was certain that she wanted unique decor, where it was inspired by nature and the outdoors. Sachi and Sunita Sood of Partyland Flowers created a natural sky like mandap blue drapery, bright yellow “sun-like” pomanders, and with chic chandeliers.

For the reception, the mother-daughter duo of Partyland weaved in that same rustic-chic look that Meg was going for with beautiful cymbidium orchids, purple and green florals, trees, hanging crystals, and chandeliers. Frost Lighting added to the chic ambiance with beautiful purple lights.

Both Meg and Tripp wore traditional Indian to the ceremony. For the reception, Tripp wore a tux, and Meg changed into a beautiful “Parisian Looking” ensemble – A white dress, designed by Jason Wu, accented with a belt that matched her black and red Christian Louboutin’s.

Talking fondly about the wedding, Katya said, “To Meg, her wedding really meant having amazing time celebrating with family and friends, and not being the center of attention. She resisted having all the focus on her and Tripp to the point that the cake was cut in the corner. She also refused to have a first dance. During cocktail hour, Tripp actually walked up to her sister and cousins and asked them to play along with him. At the end of the speech he said that he rehearsed a special Bollywood-style dance with them, and Meg had to join in at the end. That’s how he tricked Meg into first dance!”

Some interesting tid bits about the wedding that we absolutely love, shared by StoryMotion Studios:

* Meg and Tripp’s “Save the Date” was a custom drawn map created by a calligrapher. The map depicted major landmarks and special locations that meant a lot to the couple.

* Meg’s Christian Louboutin shoes were the talk of the party.

* Tripp wanted elephants, and Meg said “No”. Tripp got himself cufflinks with elephants.

* Tripp’s sister exclaimed, “I look like a Princess!,” when she saw herself wearing a sari.

Vendor Credits:

Photography: Katya and Arthur, StoryMotion Studios

Wedding Planner and Day of Coordinator: Trisha Cranor, Working Brides Wedding Planner

Site Coordinator/Venue: Brian Childs of Stone Manor Country Club

Hair and Makeup: Makeovers on Call

Transportation: Chariots for Hire

Decor, Design, and Florals: Sachi and Sunita Sood of Partyland Flowers and Event Decor

Lighting: Frost Lighting

Cake: Clara Gold

Caterers: Raaga