Inspiration & Themes

 Some adjectives that pop into my mind with regards to theme are:
*Romantic
*Fun and Unique
*Nostalgic (I really want to incorporate items with significance (i.e. lavender rose))
*Cultural (This wedding will involve two different Indian cultures, along with the American traditions we grew up with.)

Themes I'm Considering

I absolutely love weddings that have an underlying(not obvious) theme (or themes!) from start to finish.  I want to have one of those weddings, so I need to start thinking asap before we choose invitations, etc.!
I've been trying to think of themes symbolic of our relationship, or ones I find romantic (bc let's face it, Dhru's just excited for the party and to finally be married...he doesn't care about how we get there!)

Theme 1: Vintage

Dhru and I have been together on and off(mostly on!) for over ten years, so a "love throughout the years" theme has a lot of meaning for us. 

Aside from incorporating photos of us throughout the years, we'll incorporate various vintage-style elements.

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Some Inspiration

To see more of this great epic session posted on snippet & ink, click here.

Image from Banquet Event.

Theme 2: Enchanted Forest

I have always loved fairies...I have no idea why, just have.  Not to mention the magic of fairy tales, etc.  Therefore, I think it would be so cool to have an enchanted forest theme.

Now, I've seen some ideas out there from others who are applying this theme a bit more literally than I'm thinking.  They're talking about blowing up unicorn posters and whatnot...that's not my idea!  I think this theme would look so beautiful and romantic if just applied to the decor and lighting, and maybe to the tone of our epics.  If it's in our budget, I'll definitely consider it!
Photo from Us Weekly's Coverage of Fergie's Wedding.

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Post-Wedding Theme Update

As the planning progressed, the themes of our wedding definitely altered here and there.  Some guests were calling it a Bollywood Midsummer Night's Dream.  We definitely had a lot of wonderful vintage-style, romantic elements, from the candelabras and votives to the various lace elements to our table numbers with pictures of us over the years.

The wedding had a LOT of Indian influences, from the attire and colorful decor to the staging and performances.  I wanted the Indian, traditional part of it to look royal and majestic, like we stepped back in time and were in a royal Indian Garden.  Mission accomplished!  The florals, mandap, linens, gobo, monograms, favors, and paper items (just to name a few) all really hit on this inspiration.

Okaaay, so enchanted forest?  No so much!  The majestic garden trade was a-ok with me.

Photo by Alain Martinez

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Colors ~ Hindu Ceremony

Color Swatches from Dessy.com

Post-Wedding Pics

Photography by Alain Martinez

Colors ~ Catholic Wedding & Reception

Shades of lavender, periwinkle, and pink, with white, silver, ivory and gold for base colors. 

We ended up adding little pops of ice blue and turquoise, using lotus votive candles at the bars and sweetheart table.

Post-Wedding Pics

Photography by Alain Martinez

Colors ~ Lounge & Lighting

For our lounge area, we added colorful accents to the above softer color scheme using Indian throw pillows, tapestries, saris, and decorative boxes.

Post-Wedding Pics

We don't have many lounge photos...I think everyone was too preoccupied with the photo booth when they were out there!  But I do have a couple blurry ones taken during set-up and pictures of the pillows that were scattered throughout the white lounge furniture.  As already mentioned above we had pops of the ice blue and turquoise mixed in with the softer colors of the ballroom. Our reception attire also incorporated part of this color scheme, and the reception lighting changed throughout the night to various bold colors.  We also tied these colors into the Hindu ceremony by asking the bridesmaids to wear whatever clothing they had in this color scheme.  They looked like Skittles!  Or maybe M&Ms. :)

Photography (except top three images) by Alain Martinez

Inspiration Collages

Throughout the planning, as more details became finalized, making collages using Picasa really helped me visualize how different options still undecided would come together with things already set in stone.  Below are  some of the many collages I made throughout the planning process.

Overall

Rehearsal Dinner

Hindu Ceremony

Girls' Looks

Bridal Party Reception Looks

Cocktail Hour

Reception