| The Big Day |
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| June 2007 | |
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Remember Raj and Rushina? We followed them, along with another couple, for 6 months as they planned their wedding. Through their journals we learned about what was stressing them out - from linens, to invitations to renting a horse. The big day took place on March 31, 2007, and the happy couple was kind enough to do a little post-wedding analysis. Go back. Read their wedding planning journal entries. See their mini Wedding Album, complete with captions in their own words. 1. Did the wedding meet your expectations? HE SAID: Absolutely! Going into the wedding, I wanted three things. I wanted things to look stunning, I wanted good weather especially since our ceremony was outside and, finally, I wanted people to have fun. Lots of fun! All three things occurred! Ashley Manor was already a fantastic venue and everyone was commenting on how beautiful the grounds were and how nice it was decorated on the inside where the reception occurred. The weather was also phenomenal! It was sunny and 86 degrees, which is quite remarkable considering that it was in the 90s all week prior to the wedding. And finally, everyone commented on how much fun the reception was. We were able to get in two full hours of dancing just as we planned. Sure, things got a little sloppy toward the end with me and some of my friends, but I wouldn't have had it any other way! SHE SAID: Not to sound too cheesy, but the wedding was a dream come true. It far exceeded my expectations in so many ways. The venue was magical, the weather was gorgeous, we were surrounded by all of our friends and family, everyone had a great time and most importantly, I married my best friend. 2. In hindsight, what did you stress over needlessly? HE SAID: We had arranged for a bus to take our out-of-town guests to and from the hotel and Ashley Manor. I initially thought that it was going to take the bus two trips to bring everyone, and I was really worried that we wouldn't be able to start on time. Further, the whole boarding of the bus and leaving on time was basically supervised by no one so I thought there was potential for things to go wrong. Not so. It turns out that the bus only needed to make one trip to bring everybody, and not only did everything start on time, we actually stayed on schedule TO THE MINUTE the whole night. Very amazing if you ask me! SHE SAID: The single thing that was the cause of most of my stress and headaches was probably the linens. After picking the colors (chocolate and red), I doubted my choice daily. I probably drove Raj and my mother crazy with my constant obsession over the linens. The truth of the matter is that if you polled the guests about the linens, I bet 95 percent of them couldn't even tell you what they looked like. The 5 percent that could only know because they heard me worry about them nonstop for three months! 3. Knowing what you know now, what would you do differently? HE SAID: I think I would have been more organized in planning the family picture time that occurred after the wedding. The whole process was a little disorganized between having to delay taking the pictures and people not being around when they needed to be. It wasn't a terrible situation but we missed out in getting some shots that we really wanted. SHE SAID: There's not a whole lot that I would do differently, except for taking the time to live in the moment. The day went by so fast, and up until the last minute, I was worrying about every last detail instead of sitting back and taking it all in. 4. What was your favorite part of the day? HE SAID: Wow, this is a tough one! In all honesty, of all the great moments, my favorite part was the end. I took great satisfaction in knowing that Rushina and I had managed to pull off throwing a great party. Yes, the day is all about us, but more importantly, people were just having so much fun. I still get a kick out of watching the reception video and seeing all the crazy moments that unfolded as the night went on! SHE SAID: My favorite part of the reception was the dancing. Just seeing everyone let loose and have a good time made all of the planning worth it. I had a blast seeing all my non-Indian friends dance to Indian "Bhangra" music! They had so much fun and they gave the Indians a run for their money. It was great for me to have my friends embrace and experience my culture. I had so many people come up to me and say that it was the best wedding that they had ever been too. I love that! 5. Now that it is over, what advice would you give a bride/groom about wedding planning? HE SAID: Not to get all "The Secret" on everybody, but have positive thoughts going into your special day. Aside from the bus, I honestly didn't stress much at all about the day. I just kept assuming and thinking in my mind that everything was going to go well, and it did. Aside from some very minor snafus, nothing really went wrong. I really attribute this to a positive outlook and attitude. SHE SAID: I have one word of advice - compromise. You have a long life ahead of you, so you might as well start compromising now! I think most brides have specific ideas on what they want and it is hard to give those up. However, contrary to what most say, the day is not all about the bride. Well, mostly it is, but a small percentage is about the groom. Raj had his own opinions on things and we did not always agree on the same things, so we did a lot of compromising instead of a lot of arguing. |
