Pink and orange are just fun, happy colors and coupled with the radiant Melanie and Daniel, it’s easy to see how beautiful this wedding is!
Kyle Knight at Emily Crall Photography gave us some insight into Melanie and Daniel’s big day. The wedding took place at Celebration Farm in Iowa City, Iowa, decked out with splashes of color everywhere. The ceremony was in the outdoor amphitheater at the farm.
Both Melanie and Daniel wanted to take bits and pieces of their favorite traditions from both Hindu and American wedding ceremonies. For example, in a Hindu ceremony the bride is walked down the aisle by her mother, but Melanie loved that in American weddings it’s the father who gives the bride away. The Hindu traditions they observed were: Ganesh Pooja, Kanya Azhaippu, Maalai Maathal, Agni Homum, Maangalya Dharanam, Saptha Padhi, Talambralu and Aseervatham. After the Hindu traditions, the bride and groom exchanged vows and rings as it is tradition in American Weddings.
The bride asked decor vendor Covington and Company if they could make custom floral, decorative elephants for the ceremony entrance and they came out amazingly! They also had little elephant straws for cocktail hour for an added touch.
Another special detail was that all of the wedding apparel was designed by bridesmaid Mira Bedi, who has her own Asian Indian boutique just outside of Detroit. The bride’s reception outfit was a brainstorming mission where the two looked at different styles and colors and Mira helped her find the most perfect outfit to wear that was fun and elegant at the same time. Mira also designed the entire bridal party outfits (all 18 of them!), which included a trip to India to help them find the exact colors and styles that they were looking for. She also designed Dan’s ceremony outfit, which was a fantastic cream color with red and gold embroidery throughout. Dan also had a custom-made outfit for the reception where he was able to change into an Indian style tuxedo that Mira also helped design.
The most important thing to the couple was to make the wedding and reception an extension of their personalities. Down to the decor, the ceremony details, the outfits, the food, drink and music, they had a hand in it all to make their day as personal as possible. They wanted an explosion of color wherever their guests looked which was exactly how the day turned out to be.
Since this was a fusion wedding, Melane and Daniel wanted a mix of American and Indian food, so both cuisines were offered so everyone could enjoy their favorites but also something new. The couple has a common love of dancing so they knew they wanted that to be a major part of the reception and their planner, Kirstin Basch of Lola Event Productions, gave them a great recommendation for DJ Monu Johal of Creative Sounds.
Monu found a perfect blend of songs and style of music for the night that captured the fun and outgoing side of both of their personalities. Melanie and Daniel both share an interest in traveling and some of their most fond experiences together were trips they took as a couple. They thought a guest book globe was a unique way to represent themselves and all of their family and friends who traveled to celebrate with them that day. They also thought that the globe would serve as an interesting memento they could easily display in their home to allow them to reflect back on their wedding day.
Congratulations Melanie and Daniel! Thanks for sharing your wedding with us!
Vendors:
Photographer: Emily Crall Photography // Caterer:A Touch of Class // Dress Designer:Chrysalis Fashions // Floral Designer: Covington Company Floral // DJ: Creative Sounds // Bakery: DeLuxe Cakes and Pasteries // Hair Stylist:Eden Salon // Event Planner: LOLA Event Productions // Cinema and Video: Nepo Productions // Invitation Designer:Parekh Cards // Caterer: Shree Indian Vegetarian Restaurant // Reception Venue: The Celebration Farm // Ceremony Location: The Celebration Farm
