While this Bride may not have given her dream wedding day much thought before becoming an engaged lady, she sure did an amazing job creating a romantic, multicultural, seaside soiree full of some of our favorite colors. Light blues, blush, lavender and creams abound in this Vault gallery and it’s bringing us much joy this Monday morning thanks to Michelle Lange’s pics and A Garden Party’s pretty petals – see them all right this way!
From the Bride… Asad and I got engaged in January 2016. Prior to that day, I had never put much thought into what my wedding might one day look like. As a child and later an adult, I knew that I wanted to marry one day but I skipped forward to imagining what my house would look like or if I would have children. Once we began planning our wedding the only requirement I had was that it be outside. I wanted the natural environment to set the tone for a day I hoped would be full of joy and peace.
Upon selecting our venue on the Jersey shore, I began to more fully conceptualize what I wanted the day to look like. Our marriage was an interfaith, intercultural union which required multiple ceremonies and, to everyone’s liking, parties. We began to refer to this part of our celebration as our “beach wedding.” I knew that I wanted our “beach wedding” to offer a different feeling than our other Indian celebrations. I opted for a soft, romantic color palette using light pinks and greens with other pastels utilized at times. I did not want to use a color palette typically associated with the beach as I felt the ocean made enough of a statement for itself and did not need to be reflected in the décor.
The ocean, however, did play a part in our unity ceremony. Guests were asked to select a piece or pieces of sea glass from a dish prior to sitting down. The pieces of sea glass were held throughout our ceremony. My Godparents, who participated as officiant and reader, instructed guests to meditate on an intention for Asad and my marriage as they held their selected sea glass. After placing our written vows into a customized glass box, our parents first placed their pieces of sea glass in to later be followed by the rest of our guests. We walked away with our vows surrounded by the loving intentions of our friends and family.
Each moment of our ceremony and reception were special in their own rite, even the bumps along the way. One of my favorite parts of the day was to see our families come together through laughter, dance and a shared love for myself and Asad. I am so appreciative of the care and thoughtfulness that my family and bridesmaids put into celebrating Asad and I. My mother hand crafted elements that were incorporated into our unity ceremony which remain treasured items and my favorite crafted detail.
Our flower arrangements, designed by A Garden Party, captured the soft, romantic feeling that I wanted the wedding to invoke. My bouquet was a gorgeous cascading arrangement that flowed in front of my dress gracefully. The arrangement paired perfectly with the blush dress I had selected. My dress, designed by Martina Liana, was made of organza and flowed down just past my feet. The waves in the fabric of the dress reminded me of the curvature of the inside of a seashell. The flowers were also displayed on our wedding cake which was a “naked” lemon cake with a light dusting of white frosting. The “naked” cake fit into my idea of understated elegance. Our cake was topped with swirling gold letters reading “And so the adventure begins.”
Photography: Michelle Lange Photography | Floral Design: A Garden Party | Wedding Dress: Essense of Australia | Cake: Kelly Baker | Invitations: Wedding Paper Divas | Bridesmaids' Dresses: Dessy Collection By Vivian Diamond | Hair + Makeup: Shimmer By Taffeta Hair Makeup Design | Band: Silver Arrow Band | Wedding Venue: Icona Diamond Beach | Bridal Boutique: Ido Ido