A Destination wedding in Arizona for childhood sweethearts: Rupali & Nirav
BY The WMG Bride | 04 May, 2014 | 2072 views | 4 min read
Meet Nirav & Rupali
Rupali claims she had a crush on him when they were little kids and everyone, including her parents would tease them (they are family friends) . "We then grew up and ended up going to the same University and have been dating since then. We dated for about 8 years before we got married. I married my best friend and that's what makes us click" recounts Rupali.
Vidhi & Mehendi
Remember Rupali's Mehendi Lehenga fiasco we documented earlier? Read it here
The Spanish Theme Sangeet
Haha - love that photo!
Looove the styling with the red flowers, bun and the long earrings!
Wedding
A mandap made of grass. Never seen that before! Also love the lanterns.
Cute idea! Family Photos strung together on strings
Releasing Lanterns into the Night Sky! LOVE that .
Reception
Super good looking couple right there-Channeling Hollywood glam.
That cake!
Rupali, you decided to get married in Arizona - not a very usual destination!! Tell us about your events!
"The hotel we decided to get married in is a very famous hotel in the Marriott family as its there first hotel ever. It has a very Native American meets cowboy vibe. For each event I kept the decor very minimal to shine what was around it. For my sangeet Nirav and I decided to do a Spanish theme because Nirav had been living there for 2 years and we both fell in love with the culture.
We did a red and black theme for everyone to dress in and the decor was very Spanish. We had an amazing Red Chandelier that we brought to the venue, huge candelabras and red roses everywhere. It was very sexy. Being a Chef the hotel let me personalize the menu as well for all 3 days, which was very exciting, so I created 2 dishes every night and those were served to the guests.
The wedding was in the garden so did very colorful flower arrangements and created the mandap out of grass (amazing :)) remembering to keep things minimal to showcase the large cacti that were all around us (Arizona is known for its cactus).
My reception I kept very neutral colored, we brought in a lot of rustic elements like branches and trees to showcase the woods in the ballroom along with the vibrant colored carpet. I wanted it to feel like a romantic candlelight dinner so there were candles EVERYWHERE! :)"
Destination weddings are never easy to plan though. Any words of advice?
GET YOURSELF A PLANNER!! I don't know what I would have done without Kathy Baggett, my planner. She was absolutely amazing from start to finish. Kathy had everything taken from the beginning to the end. She made sure we all showed up on time, would assist in moving all of my family from location to location for pictures and most of all she did everything with a big smile on her face! Pooja was my makeup artist and I also thought she did an excellent job... She listened to exactly what I wanted which was minimal makeup but different look everyday and she exactly that. The day of the wedding she saw how tired I was and she managed to squeeze in a facial for me as well which I thought was so thoughtful and relaxing.
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