I know women often say that they’ve been planning their wedding since childhood. I can honestly say that I am a testament to that. I used to watch Bollywood movies and dream of having my very own Bollywood wedding. I even travelled to India to help realize this dream; to make it a day my husband and I would remember for the rest of our lives. It actually was a day to remember. How ironic that in the sunshine state of Florida, we would experience one of the coldest days in Miami history. Regardless, that did not affect the outcome of the day; in a word –

MEMORABLE! Our wedding was also featured in a new a television series called “Four Weddings,” a new reality show on TLC where four women face off to win a dream honeymoon. What made my wedding special was that it was a union between two individuals from different backgrounds. My husband is Muslim by birth and I am Hindu by birth. Because he is a very special and a loving person, he allowed me to have my wedding day completely Hindu because of my father’s preferences. This set the stage for what became our own personal Bollywood “Jodha Akbar,” story. My Planning: My loving family as well as my in-laws and husband gave me the support I needed to make my wedding day a dream come true. I was and am the luckiest bride ever! With their love and support I decided to travel to India to make the necessary preparations for the wedding. I travelled from Mumbai to Delhi with my loving parents and elder brother for wedding cards, decorations and bridal outfits for my husband and myself. It was truly an adventure for all of us. After gathering everything we came back to Florida to start the planning process. We were a bit overwhelmed with the finances, however we managed to make it work. My advice to most brides and grooms, always stick within your budget. My husband and I can honestly say that we kept to what we had and did not go over budget and still enjoyed our wedding immensely. It was everything we dreamed of; a traditional Indian wedding with lots of glamour.

Wedding Planner:
I was blessed to have two wedding planners. I booked the Alexander Hotel in Miami Beach for my entire wedding day. With the help of both the onsite coordinator Shanti Jetwani and my wedding planner Shama LeFevre from Miami Creations, they worked tirelessly on my wedding day and before it. The end result was a wedding that was planned and executed flawlessly!

Wedding Dress:
My wedding outfits were designer outfits bought in Mumbai. I had some say in the design and look of it. I never wanted to be a disco ball bride, meaning that all people saw was an outfit. I wanted people to see me the bride and not covered in beads, sequins and Swarovski crystals as every Indian bride is today. I also wanted to go back to traditional look for my husband and myself. We chose burgundy and white instead of the more contemporary pinks and blues.

Wedding Cards:
This was a mission! When I got to Delhi I visited Chandi Chowk, the Mecca of wedding cards. I was overwhelmed with options. Thank god for my elder brother who helped me sort through the gibberish and decide amongst all of them. There were literally thousands of vendors selling wedding cards. As we were leaving the “wedding card village” my brother found that one card. It was card that looked like a picture frame; it was wooden mahogany that had a pearl in the middle and the card opened up like a usual wedding card. The card shop owner said the card we chose was a mogul style wedding card used centuries ago. I knew this was the card that was meant for my “Jodha Akbhar” wedding. I knew that this invitation would surely set the mood to the type of wedding I was planning. When we sent out the invitations, everyone called to say it was the most spectacular wedding card they had ever received. This was exactly what I wanted to share with all my family and friends; something unique and something they could share.

Food
When selecting my food I knew exactly who I was going to contact for my wedding day. My good friend Gopaul from Bombay Grill made great suggestions to suit the tastes of my guests. Everyone loved the cocktail selection and food choices immensely. He worked within our budget and helped us make our day very tasty indeed.

Decorations
There are no words to describe how thankful we are to our decorator Rakesh Anand. His motto is “we want your dreams to come true and that’s all that matters.” Because of financial issues I took it upon myself to create my own wedding décor, however 2 weeks before my big day we knew that hiring someone would be financially worth it because it was costing us more than expected. We contacted many vendors who were not willing to work within our budget. However, Anand was very compassionate. Anand made our wedding look and feel like a platinum wedding on an aluminum budget. We will forever be grateful to him and his staff and will always recommended him because of his ability to make dreams come true.

DJ:
I was fortunate to have DJ Bhuwan Satyaketu from DJ Booze for entertainment and lighting for my wedding. He was just an amazing DJ, everyone truly enjoyed his selections. Without my DJ, the wedding would not have been as entertaining, there was never a moment when the dance floor was empty. Aside from the music, DJ Booze’s partner Laura did a fantastic job as the Master of Ceremonies.

Photography:
My photographer for my wedding day was Alvaro Salazar from Please check out his link to see some samples of our wedding and his amazing artistry. My prewedding photographer was Harry Cyriaque from H. Q. Photo Makeup and Hair: My Makeup artist Aradia and hair stylist Kie from the “Art of Beauty by Aradia,” in Miami Beach made me look like a true superstar. http://www.bridalmakeovers.com/ I have to say that my makeup artist made me look like a true Indian bride. She did not mask my face with white powder and instead enhanced my natural beauty. I was very scared that I would not find that makeup artist who would listen to what I wanted as my wedding look. Everyone kept complimented me on how naturally beautiful I looked and how my hairstyles complimented my traditional Indian outfits perfectly.

Cake:
This was a bit of a challenge. Since I am vegetarian and my wedding was catered to vegetarians, finding a cake caterer to make eggless wedding cakes was very difficult. I managed to stumble upon Gallery of Cakes located in Aventura, FL. She took my ideas and suggestions and made me the cake of my dreams. Not only was it absolutely breathtaking but it was delicious as well.

My Television experience:
Two of my vendors submitted me for a reality show on TLC called “Four Weddings,” and I got selected because of the uniqueness of Indian Weddings. We all know how glamorous and colorful Indian weddings can be compared to traditional western/American weddings. My dream of a true Bollywood wedding was coming true because it would be televised for the world to see it. When we finally saw the show, I was happy to see that viewers got the essence of an Indian wedding. From the live drumming and singing to the amazing Bhangra dancers, it was quite a spectacular event. Although we did not win, many people who saw the show, including those in production thought our wedding was one of the best weddings they ever attended. This alone gave me enough satisfaction. I did win. I get to spend the rest of my life with the man of my dreams!

Conclusion:
My husband and I would never forget our wedding because of the amazing people who helped us make it a true Bollwood story. We can honestly say that it was one of the greatest days ever and if we could do it all over again there is nothing that we will change about our wedding day!

Decoration: Anand Photo & Video 754-581-0074 / www.anandphotoandvideo.com

Love, hope, excitement and a new beginning are words that come to mind when you think of newlyweds. In our previous Wedding Resources Guide, the wedding story of Annvi, a recent bride, was featured. Due to overwhelming response, we are including several personal stories in this special edition. It is our pleasure to present the personal experience of Christina Dalsania, Vidya Maharaj, Sonia Chopra, Shivon Patel and Pareeta Mehta. We love exploring how couples and their families are personalizing their weddings. From choosing an elephant for the wedding procession to a destination wedding at a winery, each wedding demonstrates something unique. No couple wants their wedding to be an exact replica of that of their sister, brother, or a best friend. Each couple sets out to put their unique signature on their special event. Each couple wants their guests to leave saying, “that was wonderful” or “that was beautiful and different.”
One thing these brides, grooms and their families have in common is that they all spent an enormous amount of time in planning their wedding. They paid a lot of attention to minor details, and they rely on their vendors to guide them through every steps of the process. Why? Because they are the experts. It is our pleasure to showcase vendors who are the best of the best throughout this issue and very specifically at the end of each story. If you are planning a wedding or an event, please check out these vendors. It is with your continued support for us and for our customers that we bring you this magazine month after month.

Wedding Stories

Yes, we are talking about the marriage of Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai, both celebrities in their own rights. On one hand, we have Abhishek, a star and a heartthrob for million of Indians and the darling son of the first couple of Bollywood (Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan). On the other, we have Aishwarya, a former Miss World and a leading heroine in Indian and Hollywood films. The union could be no less than a merger fantasy and now it is reality.

However, the road to this point was not rosy as it would have been. Scores of newsprint has been spent describing the astrological problems that Aishwarya had by virtue of being a “Manglik” and the manner in which she (along with the Bachchans) visited temples all over the country to perform ‘yagnas’ and ‘pujas’ to negate the ill-effect. It has even been reported that Aishwarya had to undergo a symbolic marriage with a tree just for this sake.

As time drew near the date of marriage, April 20, the media frenzy hit an all time high. All over, expectations began to rise and there was a lot of speculation about the process of marriage, modalities, invitees, and even the wedding dress. Certainly, if the marriage is between the most eligible bachelor of Bollywood and the blue-eyed beauty queen, there has to be a lot of interest. But, the way this marriage generated coverage is probably unprecedented in the national context.

A few days before the actual event, news channels set up their camps near the venue, which happened to be Amitabh’s two bungalows, Jalsa and Prateeksha. The latter was the site of wedding, where the actual marriage ceremony took place. This was done as Aishwarya resides in an apartment La Mere, which might not be the most suitable venue to accommodate the VVIP list of guests. But, that did not deter media to hound the apartment as well. Such was the importance of this event to the media that they tried to interview almost every person coming out of the three different places, Jalsa, Prateeksha and La Mere.

The families of Bachchans and Rai exercised extreme caution regarding access to the event by the press and other unauthorized persons. The Bachchans ensured that by no means could the media get a peek at the marriage venues, its decoration, and other preparations.

The mega-marriage finally began on the April 18 with the “Sangeet” ceremony at Jalsa. The invitee list included a who’s who list of popular Indians. It included Ram Gopal Verma, Suniel Shetty, Ajay Devgan and Kajol, Sanjay Dutt, Karan Johar, Rishi Kapoor, Aman Ali and Ayan Ali Bangash, Udhbhab Thakre, and Preeti Zinta. Family friends included Amar Singh, Anil Ambani, Anupam Kher, Goldie Behl, and Sonali Bendre. It was reported that the nightlong program of dance and music was choreographed by Karan Johar and all the participants were made to dance. The bride and the groom delivered an encore of their famous “Kajra Re” number, and mother, Jaya Bachchan, ignited the show by dancing to the tunes of sensuous “Biri jalai le”. Aishwarya and other guests left Jalsa at around 4am all the while keeping weary-eyed media people again at bay.

The next day was the “Mehendi:” ceremony, which took place at Ash’s maternal home, La Mere. It was an entirely cozy function organized by the Rai family. The compound had a festive atmosphere with lights and music everywhere. The Bachchans went to the place with mehendi from Rajasthan, and the word is that mother-in-law Jaya Bachchan herself applied the colors to Aishwarya’s hands.

The day of the marriage was truly an event to remember. All through the night, Indians from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, Dwarka to Dispur could only see the gates of the Bachchans’ bungalows (as the media could not see anything beyond that) and were hearing running commentary of what was probably going on inside. It was indeed a unique situation, where all information procured was ‘source based’ as no one knew exactly what happened inside.

It was around 5.30 am in the morning that priests from Varanasi and Jabbalpur conducted rituals at Jalsa. Until noon, one could see a flurry of activities at both bungalows related to the organisation of the gala event. The media tried to capture every single second of the preparation to pass it to their viewers. One could see Amar Singh and Amitabh Bachchan coming in and out of the bungalow while supervising the different arrangements.

The beautiful bride appeared at Prateeksha at 1:30 pm with a convoy of seven to eight cars. Aishwarya, dressed in a red Kanjeevaram saree, entered the bungalow in a silver Mercedes car ornated with pink and white flowers, and accompanied by her mother Brinda Rai.

The guests started to pour in by the evening. The main congregation of guests was at the Bachchan residence at Jalsa. Friends included Riteish Deshmukh, Yash Chopra with family, Karan Johar with family, Rakeysh Mehra, Amar Singh, Ajitabh Bachchan, Suneil Shetty and Sanjay Dutt. The Baraatis began to move towards the place of marriage, Prateeksha, boarding five Volvo buses. Abhishek came to the bus, riding on a white horse, and he was dressed in an Abu Jani-Sandeep Khosla designed Sherwani decorated with gold threads. Visibly elated Abhishek was seen to wave towards the media and his fans who gathered in thousands in front of the house. The entourage of buses then made its trip to the Prateeksha with the groom Abhishek and of course, Amitabh.

At the gates of Prateeksha, one could see an ecstatic Abhishek jumping from the bus and dancing away to a waiting horse. In fact, the groom to be was so happy that he continued to dance while sitting on the horse as he rode inside the marriage venue. The entire activity was closely supervised by Amitabhj Bachchan, who played the role of the Father of the Groom to the core. Abhishek’s mother Jaya Bachchan and sister Sweta Nanda were also seen joining the fun and frolic that accompanied.
The marriage was finally solemnized in the late evening between 6 to 7pm. It has been heard that the marriage was conducted through a series of North Indian, South Indian and Bengali rituals, as the bride is South Indian, the groom from North India, and the Groom’s mother (Jaya) from Bengal.

After the marriage, the reception took place where among others, one could find Sachin Tendulkar, Mulayam Singh Yadav, Bal Thakre, Saharashree Subrata Ray and a host of other celebrities. The approximate number of invitees was around 250-300, and there were 800 security personnel, who tried to manage the event. However, they could hardly do a decent job as thousands of curious onlookers literally mobbed the area. Some came from as far as Mangalore and Hyderabad.
At the reception, choreographer Shiamak Davar performed a special dance program while the catering was carried out by the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel. The platter was predominantly Indian vegetarian cuisine apart from Russian, Thai and Mexican dishes. After the wedding, the next day was the “Bidaai” of Aishwarya.

However, as good things have a dark side, this marriage of the year was not devoid of controversy. The media attention it generated had really caused many raised eyebrows, and put the Bachchans invitation practices were put on display. This marriage was said to be such an event, and many pretended that they were invited, when they actually were not. Quite surprisingly, the invitee list did not include some very obvious names from the Bollywood film industry that gave Amitabh Bachchan his iconic stature.

Discontentment among several producers, directors, actors and actresses grew when they were reportedly told that the invitee list was allegedly monitored by Amitabh’s friend, politician Amar Singh, and was opportunistically made. Many close friends of the senior and junior couple were notably left out.

To make matters worse, treatment of security personnel towards the media and the on-lookers was violent at times. The treatment was so violent that later Amitabh Bachchan himself had to apologize for incidents. And then, there was the suicide attempt, where an unknown starlet named Jahnavi Kapoor made an attempt to take her life claiming to be Abhishek’s wedded wife. Though the incident could not gather much momentum, yet left a sour taste on the otherwise happy event. Later, rumors were also rife about Amitabhj having sold the media rights of the marriage to British television and hence debarred the national media from gaining any access.

After the wedding, and after taking the blessings of Lord Balaji Tirupati, the newly wed couple of Abhishek and Aishwarya Bachchan left for the French Riviera for their honeymoon. Let’s hope that the duo now enjoys a long and happily married life, while the media takes a break from their grueling work in covering this momentous event!