GAHH. Here we are at part 5 – THE BIG FAT INDIAN WEDDING.

The night before the wedding we had a little party to continue the celebrations with our family and friends.

I checked out of the party early to get some beauty rest and get set up for the next day.

We were staying in the gorgeous Jewel, but for the wedding day we had rented a bridal suite in the lodge and that is where I stayed the night before the wedding.

The wedding day was not the shit show I thought it was going to be (INDIAN WEDDING, HELLO). My makeup and hair artists had set a schedule for us all to get ready and we actually stuck to that schedule!

I am so sad because my makeup artist, Aashna, with Touch of Glam Boston said I was her LAST BRIDE EVER!

This is a total loss for future brides because she killed it! V talented makeup artist.

Tip, with Hair with Tip was a total rock star and did 6 people’s hair in just a few hours. I highly recommend her for your next event.

The mood on the wedding day was pretty chill if I do say so myself.

We had breakfast brought to the room – in true Komal style, smoked salmon, everything bagels, avo, bacon, hard boiled eggs- THE WORKS, for an ultimate bagel bar & of course, mimosas. lots of mimosas. OH and green tea. I NEED green tea in the morning.

I didn’t want to do robes while we were getting dressed so I got us customized onesies from Etsy! They had our names on it and designation. You know, like “BRIDE.” LOL.

When they arrived the crotch area was looking a little too long and a little big. SO. I decided to get us another pair of  flannel onesies from amazon. The flannel onesies fit  me much better, but I think the BM’s liked the etsy ones more. 

Mountain Top Inn took care of the decorations with their in house team, Meadows Edge Design and TaranaOm Creations took care of the supplemental Indian décor such as Indian furniture, risers and garlands + Aneesha, the owner of the company, helped with on day coordination.

It was super important for us to have an Indian coordinator so that we would have someone who really understood the timing of everything and what everything meant in the ceremony to make sure everything FLOWED.

Our photographers, Pervez and Nicole, a tag team married couple who own PTaufique Photography were simply fantastic. They hung out with us all weekend, got a long with our family and friends, and even helped dress us on the day of the wedding. I’ve never seen vendors like them who fully immerse themselves in every moment like it was their own. They made our wedding day (and all our other events) extra special + they love a good detail and have great eyes for that.

For my wedding outfit I was feeling ALL the Sabyasachi, Rajasthani vibes. I have known, pretty much forever, that I wanted a winter wedding in a velvet red and gold outfit. The Rajasthani era is so royal and stunning, so I knew that I wanted a very traditional, old school bridal look from head to toe. The outfit definitely reflected that and my jewelry was handpicked by mom and dad in India.

The lengha was heavy, but not too heavy and the hand embroidered blouse and motifs on the lengha were INSANE.

SO MUCH CRAFTSMANSHIP.

My ENTIRE outfit was made by hand.

My designer, Ruchita Dagli, made my visions come to life! We met several times over the course of a year – I bugged the shit out of her with all my questions and freak outs with fabrics and colors but it all came together.

I was literally up her ass for a year about this detail and that detail. I really just wanted my outfit to be PERFECT.

That being said, I can honestly say I wore my dream wedding dress.

The bridesmaid’s dresses and Justin’s wedding outfit were done by WestXEast. Like I had mentioned in my previous post HERE, their process was amazing.

We met several times over the course of the year in FaceTime sessions. I put together a mood board of clothes I was envisioning my outfits to be. We talked about how we wanted the outfits to look and researched Pantone colors.

The bridesmaid color palates with different hues of gold/champagne/blush with white. The gold offset the gold in both me and Justin’s outfit and my MOH had a red dupatta to match the groomsman’s red outfits which were also made by WestXEast.

They put together a book for me complete with fabric choices and digital sketches. We went through every detail meticulously.

Justin did an amazing job designing his Sherwani without ever seeing my outfit. Of course, I helped him along the way, but he really took initiative in researching and finding out what he liked.

In most Indian weddings the wedding starts off with the groom – (click HERE for the full breakdown of a Gujarati wedding).

Before the groom can step on the mandap (what we get married in) he has to take off his shoes – it is the bride’s side job to steal the shoes. In exchange they receive money. Back in the day dowries were given and this was one of the ways that the grooms side could give back to the bride’s side…anyways, the night before my brother had organized a little pow wow to get a strategy together to GET THE SHOES.

Not to leave you in suspense or anything, but… WE GOT THEM.

As I was pacing back and forth in the bridal suite, alone, getting nervous, I looked out of the window and I saw my bridesmaids running out of the barn to the bridal suite with the shoes in hand!

I legit LOST.IT. when is saw them. The last 5 weddings we had been too the bride’s side was not able to get the shoes, so this was BIG WIN.

I was super anxious to see how the mandap was set up and had seen a few pics via IG and Snapchat, but the pics just did not do it justice.

Most Indian weddings are kind of over the top with color everywhere.

Colorful outfits, colorful mandap, colorful lighting. It all get a little too much and I feel like it takes away from the beauty of it all.

Justin and I decided on a boho chic Indian vibe, which was perfect with the barn setting at MTI.

The mandap was decorated with beautiful orange and yellow flowers with green ferns and branches. It also was covered with orange drapes and the aisles were lined with soft burning candles. Meadows Edge Floral and Design did SUCH an amazing job!

& yes, the candles were real and lit….and everyone knocked them over. LMFAO.

Our wedding programs and signage were done by Natasha with Bright and Blue Designs.

She took pictures of the barn and our description of the mandap and illustrated it on the ceremony guide.

No detail was spared! Everything matched from the décor to the signs to the programs. It was beautiful.

She even made the pictures in the program look like us and matched out outfits! People were super happy to have the pictures too…helped them keep on track with where we were at in the wedding.

We had wanted a silent wedding…it was kind of silent…but it is an Indian wedding after all! So, I’ll say it was partially quiet LOL.

The ceremony itself was beautiful.

When the antarp (curtain) came down and Justin and I locked eyes for the first time, I had the BIGGEST smile on my face. In that moment we were all that mattered…UNTIL….I grabbed Justin’s hand and it was a DISGUSTING, SWEATY, MESS.

I let go immediately. EW.

We kept our vows traditional to a Gujarati ceremony (different parts of India have different Indian wedding ceremonies) and circled the fire 4 times (pheras) and took 7 steps to (sapta padi) recite our vows.

I have heard of Indian couples writing their own vows before, but since they are already so beautiful we didn’t want to change them.

Step 1 – We will provide sustenance for each other

Step 2 – We will provide strength and energy to each other

Step 3 – We will support each other so each will be successful and prosperous

Step 4 – We will travel the journey of life with love, trust and harmony

Step 5 – We will keep our family happy, healthy and virtuous

Step 6 – We will share equally in each other’s joy and sorrows

Step 7 – We will share eternal love and friendship

In our culture we don’t kiss at the end of the wedding ceremony, so our Pandit (priest) had us exchange Hershey’s Kisses at the end. It was SO cute.

I can’t wait to see more pics of the actual ceremony!!

The wedding ended with Justin and I being whisked away in a horse and carriage ride….it sounds utterly glamorous. 

I had pictured a white snowy backdrop and us riding off into it.

Me in my white fur coat, snow falling, M A G I C.

BUT – there was no snow. The snow began to fall as we took our ride and the wind really picked up. It was FREEZING. 

I got the girls these beautiful scarves that had their initials etched on it from etsy to help keep them warm. 

We did our best to pretend like we weren’t cold. LMFAO.

After that we headed for pictures, and, of course, the BAR, where my brother had ice cold shots of tequila waiting for us.

So that’s it for our Big Fat Indian Wedding! Next week we are getting into the RECEPTION!

That’s like the most fun part of any wedding, especially an Indian Wedding.

Love you guys!

Xx

K

Sweet and Masala

~ Special Thanks to my Vendors ~

Mountain Top Inn and Resort, West X EAST,  P Taufiq Photography, Bright and Blue Designs

Ruchita Dagli Designs, Meadows Edge Floral and Design , Hair With Tip, Touch of Glam Boston, TaranaOm Creations