Hard to believe all the planning that went into this wedding is over!  This was Golden Chic’s first Indian wedding, and it was definitely a crazy whirlwind of details.  In the middle of it all, the bride was taking her bars for law school, and I had serious language barriers trying to find a mandap!  Both Swathi and Adam were incredibly involved in planning their wedding day and did a ton of DIY projects that amazed even me – hand-embossed napkins, little candies with their monogram, and going around Chicago taking photos of their favorite haunts to act as table numbers.  And that’s just a few of the projects!

What was so amazing about this event was not only the attention to detail, but the overall branding and look that we pulled together.  Swathi was determined to have a one-of-a-kind event, and we definitely styled the luncheon at the Bartolotta tent and dinner at Renaissance Place to be more modern and not at all with the usual color scheme of Indian weddings.  The couple had a very distinct idea of what they wanted, what they liked and how they wanted things done, which is always great, because it removes all ambiguity during planning.  But even the most articulate planning can have its starts and stops.

For instance, 8 days before the wedding, our Maharaja horse, which Adam was riding in on for part of the ceremony at Pier Wisconsin, died in the field!!  Where could we find a trained horse in a few days?!  Thankfully, Golden Chic was able to work with the horse owner and find a replacement – though not as white as we had originally planned – but how many times do you call a bride and say, “Um.  The horse is dead”?  Not a usual conversation!  Swathi had gorgeous saris and ceremonial jewelry throughout the day, and the mandap set up, for all the searching of finding one, was out of this world gorgeous, thanks to Poonam Creations.

Floral was crazy gorgeous – pale pink orchids and luscious roses, manzanita branches and huddled groups of pave roses under six-foot tall centerpieces with hand-sewn vase covers from La Tulipe.  And we actually had chivari chairs with seriously comfortable pillows, thanks to the chair and linen rentals of Elegant Touch.  We lit the walls with pink lighting from ACME, and Brian Redd of ACA Entertainment played a mix of Indian songs with popular current dance hits – and the dance floor was packed immediately – all night!!  There were a lot of sweets – starting with customized favors from Indulgence Chocolatiers that were custom flavors plus imprinted with the monogram – just like the fancy chocolates at Godiva.  We got the cake from Sweetness by Alice (who did a marvelous vegan groom’s cake that also was a great hit) which got devoured just as fast as the sweets table, which had a huge line from the beginning.  Shutterbooth did a lovely photobooth that finished with a thick scrapbook of memories for Swathi and Adam, and thanks to Bartenders on the Go for amazing staff and Classic Party Rentals for all the lovely cutlery, and we had ourselves a prime platinum event.

Of course there was oodles more – from a harpist during cocktails, to the talents of JBe Photography and Park Hill Video.  Ceremony musicians were brought in from Canada, and Swathi herself was brought into the ceremony on a doli carried by four strapping men.

Through it all…I could not have done it without all of my Golden Chic girls there on hand from 7am to 1am!

Most finally – this was a wonderful wedding because it was so obvious that Swathi and Adam are going to be happy for always – they are this perfect personality blend, plus this great melding of cultures and heritage.  They were so amazing to work with and we are so grateful for this chance to pull off a glorious Indian wedding for them – it was a fabulous day from start to finish!

Ceremony:

Lunch:

Reception: