Today’s wedding is a fusion inspired extravaganza!
Kirti and Sandeep had a traditional Indian wedding but with a twist. Kirti was raised in Hong Kong, China, so to share her childhood upbringing, they incorporated several Chinese elements into the wedding.
And with the help of event and wedding planner Working Brides (also a BF Red Book member), they pulled off a stunning and elegant wedding that brought the best of Indian heritage and Chinese traditions.
Plus a Maggie Austin wedding cake! The cake is an abstract damask pattern in royal purple with flowers cascading on the side.
Kirti and Sandeep share their wedding story with us.
Tell us about the wedding
We had an Indian Hindu ceremony at the Mandarin Oriental in Washington, DC. The hotel was selected because of its location – the waterfront of DC – and also because it is an Asian Luxury hotel. That was important to Kirti, as she is from Hong Kong and wanted to have a plated dinner for the reception that featured authentic (being the key word here!) Asian selection of entrees, among other reasons.
We incorporated Chinese cultural traditions – such as a Lion dance, personalized chopsticks for every guest to celebrate Kirti’s upbringing.
Kirti wore a neon parrot green lengha for the Sangeet. It was a very unique color for Indian weddings, but also her favorite outfit over the weekend!
What was the inspiration for your wedding?
Sleek, simple, modern & tasteful. Color palette for the wedding day/ reception was white, silver, royal purple and navy blue.
What was the hardest element of the wedding planning process?
The seating chart. We had a hard time deciding if we wanted to keep the family sitting together at the head tables or spread them out throughout various tables and seated scattered among our guests. We decided on the latter so that each of our guests felt welcomed and just as much part of the wedding as the bride and grooms families.
Did you do any DIY?
We made Indian wedding related coloring / activity books for all the kids under 10 years old to keep them occupied during the Reception. Thank you Pinterest!
What was the favorite part of the wedding?
Walking into the function room for the first time to see the ceremony set up & also the reception set up. We couldn’t believe that everything we had imagined for the decor/ ambiance to be actually materialized – it was truly breathtaking!
What advice do you have for brides/grooms-to-be?
Trust. Your. Planner.
We’d like to give a special thanks to our wedding planner, Trisha Cranor with Working Brides, Tara Sharma Photography, and Sachi Sood with Partyland. These three were truly the stars of putting together an amazing, memorable event that our family/ friends are still raving about (a year and a half later!).
Thank you so much for sharing your wedding with us! We wish you both the best in life!
{Wedding Suppliers}
Event Planner: Working Brides Wedding Planners
Photographer: Tara Sharma Photography
DJ: DJ Volcanik
Decor: Partyland Flowers & Decor
Catering: Bollywood Bistro
Makeup & Hair for Bride: Mala Amin
Cake: Maggie Austin Cakes
Dhol: Dhoili Mustana
