Punjabi Mela Meets Country Fair Wedding in Texas!
BY The WMG Bride | 21 Feb, 2016 | 5254 views | 5 min read
What does this wedding and the WMG Team have in common? Well, we both have a crazy love for Nando's and we love how Pooja and Shanjeet's vibrant wedding incorporated the sauce bottles as favors ! From a busy punjabi mela setting with parandis and mithai to the sweet classic vibes at the wedding pheras under the trees , from the mithai station they had at the sangeet to the light touches of shimmer at the wedding - this Texan affair is a visual treat. And oh, let's not forget this beautiful lip dub video that has us at hello. All of these classic and colourful ideas are captured on the lens by the effervescent Studio Uma Photography.
Meet Pooja & Shanjeet
"For the love of bhangra! If you need a little background, I'm a Punjabi gal from Houston, TX and my fiance is a Half-White/Half-Indian but pure Jatt Punjabi from California :)" says Pooja who tells us that this union has all to do with destiny!
The Mehendi
The Sangeet
The Wedding
Pooja & Shanjeet's Lip Dub Video [A&A] from A&A Video Productions on Vimeo.
From The Bride:
"Our vision for each wedding event was unique and our main goal was to make sure everyone had a great time. For the Mehndi Da Mela we really wanted to bring India to Texas. The property we chose has a large house which family of the bride's side stayed in over the weekend, and then acres of land outdoors with this huge barn, hilltop views, firepits, and even a few cows! Couple that with the amazing talent of Prashe Decor and we had this awesome punjabi mela meets county fair feel. I'm talkin' food trucks, a chooriwala station with bangles and earrings and parandis for guests, colorful tents, mehendi stations, a Limca and Thumbs Up station, chaat stations, mithai, and we topped it off with the amazing Texas staple, Amy's Ice Cream," explains Pooja.
"For the Sham-E-Sangeet, the venue, Barr Mansion, just spoke volumes and needed very little dressing. Gold hues, baby's breath florals, a stellar dessert table, old photographs and twinkling lights embodied that sophisticated evening feel.
The Wedding Ceremony - our Band Baaja Baaraat - was set against a stunning terraced ceremony site canopied by a grove of wondrously illuminated ancient oak trees. Again, the venue was so naturally gorgeous all we did was add an element of florals with light pink peonies, ivory hydrangeas, and peach roses. My husband Shanjeet is Sikh Punjabi and I am Hindu Punjabi and although we had a more traditional Hindu ceremony, we had elements of both throughout the wedding.
As far as the outfits are concerned, I looked everywhere from Chandni Chowk to Emporio and everywhere in between in Delhi, from Bandra to Kala Ghoda in Mumbai, and even a quick pitstop to Kolkata. For my Bridal Mehendi, I wanted something comfortable and easy to get my mehndi done in. I saw this bright and fun yellow dhoti suit by Ayinat on Pernia's Pop Up Shop and I was sold! For the Sangeet event I was set on my favorite young designer, Tisha Saksena. She customized this beautiful pink and navy blue lehenga for me to match my groom and twirl the night away!
And now we come to the Wedding. THE event. I am a lover of all Indian designers, but I wanted something really unique that represented me. I'm less about bling and more about threadwork and when I saw this lehenga at the Anju Modi store I just fell in this deep deep love and couldn't get my mind off of it. After some mixing and matching, we came up with this beautiful dusty rose pink and ivory combination and I decided to adorn a dual dupatta. On to the groom's outfit...Shanjeet has always admired the regalia of the Sikh Gurus and in this instance specifically the tenth Guru, Guru Gobind Singhji. We sought the help of the designers at JJ Sai Couture from Toronto who were able to replicate the royal garb of that time period in hues of rose pink and champagne to complement my outfit. As he drew his talwar, he looked like a king!
The rest of the evening, I knew I would be dancing until my feet couldn't handle it anymore so I wanted something elegant yet comfortable. I saw this gorgeous ivory JJ Valaya anrakali in a PPUS campaign a few years ago and once I met with the JJ Valaya team in Delhi, I was set on this beauty. The delicate emerald beading and antique gold threadwork complemented my old Hollywood glam look for the final evening topping off a wonderful weekend! Of course, I didn't forget the accessories! A sprinkle of Needledust and a shimmer of Amrapali make any gal swoon" added Pooja.
Venue: Bridal Mehendi Location: Bride's Home; Mehendi |Mehndi Artist - Original Henna Company |Mehendi Outfit: Ayinat by Tanya O'Connor |Mehendi Venue: Rockin' Y Ranch |Catering: The Peached Tortilla, East Side King,Amy's Ice Creams (and an army of awesome auntys making chaat!) |Decorator: Prashe Decor |Bride's Outfit: Anupamaa Dayal |Shoes: Needledust | Jewelry: Amrapali Jewels |Grooms Outfit: Seven (GK-II, Delhi)
Sangeet Venue: Barr Mansion |Catering: Barr Mansion |Decorator: Prashe Decor |Bride's Outfit: Tisha by Tisha Saksena |Jewelry: Jewels by Preeti Mohan (Shahpur Jat) |Groom's Outfit: Rohit Gandhi + Rahul Khanna
Wedding & Reception Venue: Camp Lucy |Florals/Decor: Whim Hospitality |Bride's Outfit:Anju Modi Anju Modi |Jewelry: Ramesh Kumar Jewellers (Karol Bagh, Delhi) |Groom's Outfit: JJ Sai Couture (Toronto)| Jewelry: Hazoorilal (SouthEx)| Groom's Outfit: Hugo Boss |Photographer: Studio Uma Photography |DJ: Klasikhz |Makeup Artist: PaperDolls Makeup |Invitations: Po Tweet