Saira + Karthik // Photography by Wedding Documentary & Anais Events

by BLJ Mayank Blogger - March 29, 2020

Karthik and I met shortly after he moved back home after college and I was in my senior year of undergrad in the area. We had mutual friends and ended up out one night in downtown Campbell together. There wasn’t much of a connection between us that first night, and Karthik even fell asleep at the kitchen table in my apartment later that night, leaving quite the first impression. We reconnected at a Christmas party a few months later, bonded over our love of escape rooms, and traded numbers with plans to organize a ski trip with our friends. From the day we started talking, we never stopped. Within a few months, we knew we wanted to spend our lives together.

About a year and a half after we started dating, Karthik planned a trip up to Napa for the two of us so I could get a much-needed break from medical school. At the first winery, he pretended to hunt for the best viewpoint to take a picture. As we posed, he put his phone away, got on one knee, and proposed as a few of our close friends secretly filmed the whole thing. After the proposal, he had planned a big surprise celebration with all of our friends and family back at my parent’s house for after.

As soon as we were engaged, we began the hunt for venues and vendors. We knew instantly who we wanted as a majority of our vendors and were lucky enough to secure the “Wedding A-Team”, as we called them (Amrit with Anais Events, Vijay with Wedding Documentary, Anjali with Glam Angelique, Rashmi with Jalsa, Neeta with Mehndi Designer). While venue hunting, as soon as we saw Castlewood Country Club we each knew it was the location for us. The large tree behind the ceremony space was representative of our mutual love of nature and the outdoors. The reception space with its wide windows, natural light, and rustic chandeliers went along with the simple yet elegant vibe we both wanted to embrace.

For our Sangeet, my parents were insistent upon it being at their house. We knew we wanted the event to be a lively and colorful party and Amrit embodied that perfectly. A rickshaw and colorful garlands of flowers greeted guests at the front door. Large cardboard cutouts of my family’s dogs in Indian attire lined the hallway. A grand and flowing red tent covered the tennis court transforming it into a majestic and traditional atmosphere. Colorful elephants and pillows adorned the tables and Manji’s. Vibrant food stations were scattered over the lawn, representing the Punjabi food of my side and the Tamil food of Karthik’s. A pink and orange Mehndi station overlooked it all. Through the loving performances by friends and family and dancing the night away, the event was truly the party we all dreamed of.

When it came to our wedding, we desired a classy, elegant, and sophisticated atmosphere. We wanted everything to have a touch of young romance without being disgustingly sweet. Pastel colors, lots of flowers, and of course more elephants were a must. We also requested that the mandap chairs my parents used during their wedding were put in our mandap for us to be seated on throughout the ceremony. Amrit was able to create the perfect setting for us to be married. The flowers on our mandap were pale yellows, pinks, purples, and whites surrounded by a bed of green. They complimented the creamy flowing drapery perfectly and the tree we fell in love with proved to be the perfect backdrop for the ceremony.

The reception continued with the same theme in mind- lots of golds, pinks and creams complimented the room and our outfits perfectly. As the sunset, the room was filled with a soft glow from the chandeliers and uplights. The whole aesthetic was beautiful and romantic. Our close family gave speeches that had the entire room captivated and even in tears at one point. We felt so loved and happy surrounded by our family and loved ones and overall, our wedding perfectly captured us as a couple and we couldn’t have asked for a better experience.