Multicultural Farm Wedding With Spiced Up Tradition In Virginia

Melissa Hammam
February 25, 2022
Categories: Cultural Beauty, Real Weddings, Romantic, Seasonal Wedding Trend, Summer, The Blog

Ever feel like you can’t decide between a colorful and vibrant wedding or a chic and neutral one? Well, Hailey and Rishil got to have both! The couple had three events at the same venue, but each one felt unique and fresh. Jessica Ashley Events pulled the celebrations and blending of cultures together perfectly, from the fine-art-inspired American affair to the citrus-themed Indian reception. Floral design by Sarah Khan Event Styling brought the pair’s love story to life throughout the entirety of the festivities. You’ll love every special detail beautifully documented in the imagery by Michael And Carina Photography, visit the full gallery to get inspired.

From the bride, Hailey… Our wedding vision changed many times due to postponing from COVID. We had to pick a new wedding venue and photographer and took that as an opportunity to transition from a boho vibe to something more European and fine art inspired. Our new venue had a home that reminded me of something in the English countryside, so I wanted to lean on that for a timeless style that we’d look back on in 10 years and be happy with our choices! I had only been to one Indian wedding prior to planning my own, which was a fun opportunity to learn more about the culture and the traditions. Thankfully my mother-in-law is incredible and very modern and was up for doing things a little differently than what’s traditional. Given we had three events at the same venue, we wanted them to feel distinctly different through our choice of style and location. The Hawaiian-inspired rehearsal dinner was on the wisteria-draped patio and had tropical elements like Monstera fronds, plates made from palm trees, and everyone wore Hawaiian-themed outfits. My husband’s favorite part of his wardrobe is his extensive collection of Hawaiian shirts, so this was our way of incorporating that into our wedding weekend.

For the American wedding, we wanted to keep everything very classic and neutral to contrast with the Indian wedding. Florals were a combination of cream, mauve, and dusty blue-toned greenery, my bridesmaids wore champagne slip dresses, and Rishil wore a tan linen suit. We had the wedding at the top of the hill so we could use the silo up there for cocktail hour- the acoustics inside of it were amazing, and we did a champagne fountain in there right after the ceremony! We draped the stunning barn in ivory and the tables had woven rattan placemats and bud vases filled with the same florals as our bouquets. The ghost chairs added a modern look and broke up all of the wood in the barn. For the Indian wedding, our wedding planner, Jessica Ashley Events, suggested a citrus theme which was so fun to design! The florals were vibrant fuchsias, oranges, and yellows, a deviation from the typical red of an Indian wedding. We used the ghost chairs for the ceremony that looked stunning against the sunlit mountains, and the ceremony set up from the Maharaj was truly incredible. For the reception, the tables were lined with fresh-cut citrus and the barn was lit up with pinks and oranges. Rishil and I love making craft cocktails, so we decided to hand-make our drinks for both weddings and have them on tap in a vintage mobile bar! I love mezcal, so I made a passionfruit, mint, and mezcal cocktail with fresh flowers as a garnish. Rishil loves bourbon so he made a maple Old Fashioned named after our Goldendoodle puppy, Maple. For the Indian wedding, I crafted a mango gin and tonic and he mixed up a chai spiced simple syrup that went into a Moscow mule. Our guests raved about the cocktails, which made all of the muddling, steeping, and taste testing well worth it! We are also big espresso martini people, so our fantastic caterer Smokin Willy BBQ served the drink late night with an edible print of our puppy floating on top! Another labor of love was our escort display. My maid of honor and I DIYed it based on drawings from Jessica. The American wedding side was titled “Bon Appetit, Please Find Your Seat” and held recipe cards, our favors, with a treasured recipe from Rishil and me. His recipe was a watermelon cocktail and mine was a honeycrisp apple cake, and the cards were designed to match the liners from our invitation suite. The Indian wedding side of the massive board was titled “You’re My Main Squeeze” and held lemon and orange-shaped cards with guest’s table numbers on them.

During our American reception, we had Mehndi (henna) artists in the lower level of the bar so guests could take a break from dancing and get a design done. Everyone was so excited by this, and we were shocked by how many of the guys got a design done too! My parents own a classic and exotic car dealership, so we were lucky enough to be able to borrow a 1940 Ford Cabriolet to use during the wedding weekend. My Dad drove me up to the ceremony in it, he and my mom drove Rishil and me down to the reception in it, and guests got to use it for photos. For the Indian wedding, Rishil rode in it for his Baraat. We tried to incorporate a number of details into the Indian ceremony to make it special. Given it was August it was very hot out, so we served Mango and pistachio kulfi pops (a delicious Indian ice cream) as guests took their seats. As part of an Indian wedding ceremony is to take 7 steps together, each representing a part of an ideal marriage. With each step you have a couple you respect throw flowers on you to bless you, so we chose seven couples whose marriages we admire to partake in this sacred ritual. My favorite moment was the speeches. Our bridal party gave them at the rehearsal dinner, our MOH and best man gave them at the American wedding, and Rishil’s brother gave one at the Indian wedding. His was filled with some of the sweetest most authentic words we could ever ask for, and we’ll treasure that recording forever. We also loved doing the Hora dance at the beginning of the open dancing as it got the energy up and everyone on the dance floor! My favorite crafted detail was the Indian dance my bridesmaids and I performed during the Indian reception. None of us were professionals by any means, but we had the best time practicing together and it meant so much to me that they were willing and excited to do this together! My dress was a difficult decision for me and I’m thankful that my MOH and Mom were willing to go to at least 10 different boutiques to quell my fear of finding a better option (FOBO as my MOH fondly refers to it as)! After trying on dozens of gowns I found the fitted strapless style looked best on my body, and I wanted to stay away from anything with sparkle. I kept going back to this Pronovias with chantilly lace, a dramatic sheer train, and the perfect neckline. I felt like it fit the venue and my style perfectly! Our cake was a simple ivory-toned cake with fresh florals, and it truly was one of the best things I’ve ever tasted. We went with a chocolate cake and a salted-caramel buttercream; I can’t wait to eat it again on our anniversary! Our American wedding favors were the recipe cards and our Indian wedding ones were bags of our favorite Indian snacks (chevdo, chakri, etc.) for our guests to eat on the bus ride back to the hotel! If I had to offer one piece of advice to brides-to-be, it would be not to stress about making it perfect, instead, make it personal. The wedding will be incredible as long as it reflects the unique things about you and your partner. Also, hire an amazing planner, it’s worth every penny and will allow you to enjoy the event.

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