Sonya and Matt's Multicultural Wedding part 1

Sonya and Matt starting the planning process for their Multicultural wedding well in advance. Sonya hired us for Full Planning to help and assist in all stages of the planning process from finding the perfect venue to executing her vision of the “Rage in the Forest”. Our bride had a very specific look she wanted and wanted her wedding to be very different from most Indian Weddings. She wanted a very romantic garden/enchanted forest feel for her spring wedding. It all started with finding the perfect venue and we knew once we saw the Omni Orlando Resort at Champions Gate that it would be the perfect backdrop for their celebration.

An Indian wedding is more than just a union of two people – it’s a union of families, cultures and communities. The first day started with their Mehndi celebration. Since our groom was American this is something the couple did jointly with close family and friends at the bride’s family home in St. Pete. This rituals mark the beginning of a wedding in the family. Everything connected to the wedding is worshipped, like clothes, jewelry and food. During the Mehndi Henna is applied primarily to the hands and feet of the bride prior to the wedding, the darker the henna the longer the marriage. These intricate designs symbolize joy, beauty, spiritual awakening, offering and a deep bond between the husband and wife. We love the detail and depth of the Henna of our lovely bride Sonya. Special performances were dedicated to couple by their friends and family and great fun and food was shared throughout the evening.

Every ritual hold some cultural or religious significance for the bride and groom.The traditional Chura; a set of bangles worn by the bride that are usually red and white and yellow the vibrant Haldi; is the one in which a paste of turmeric is applied on the bride and the groom’s body and face before their wedding. Both ceremonies were held the day before the wedding, after the Mehndi ritual. Again the bride and groom customarily do this separately but in this case did it together with family and friends.

Indian weddings are quite a unique experience – never before have you seen such a wide array of colors, food, and music blended together in a large, family celebration. It’s amazing how elegance and class shines through all the chaos of extended family, religious rituals, and sugary sweets. The Sangeet; a celebration of coming together of the two families, which generally includes singing, music and dancing. Sonya decided to use hues of Aqua, Blush, Gold, white and Yellow instead of the traditional bright colors normally used for the sangeet.

Paper flowers adorned the stage as the backdrop, the centerpieces were small white elephants and gold lanterns. This night we had a special performance for the groom by the bride herself. In high school Sonya was very active in the arts and comes from a very musical family. In fact Sonya’s father also sang a special song for the couple this night. The cuisine was typical mix of american and indian street fare items such as Indian Tandoori, curries and a cook to order Italian pasta station. Bangle favors were gifted to all the females and a henna artist created intricate mehndi designs for their guests.

Stay tuned for part two tomorrow on our blog!