Weddingbee

Previously in this series:
A Jasmine Wedding Story: Cocktail Hour
A Jasmine Wedding Story: We Do
A Jasmine Wedding Story: Beauty and the Bride
A Jasmine Wedding Story: The Mehndi
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Mr. J and I lined up outside the ballroom doors for our grand entrance. My heart beating wildly, I was still feeling a little overwhelmed from our rushed cocktail hour. I took slow, deep breaths as Mr. J’s parents, my parents, and then our brothers were announced to the joyful applause of our guests.

Finally, it was our turn. As our DJ spun a pumped-up remix of U2’s Beautiful Day, Mr. J and I burst through the ballroom doors to thunderous applause and ecstatic yells from family and friends.

It was an outpouring of love, support, and excitement from our favorite people in the world. The feeling was incredibly humbling and exhilarating, all at the same time.

And when I walked into the ballroom, I was speechless. Everything was so much more stunning than I could have ever imagined. Over the course of a year and a half, I meticulously plotted out florals, linens, lighting, etc. But despite my overzealous planning, I could never be completely sure how it was all going to come together. In that moment, I saw a ballroom more beautiful than anything I could have dreamed for myself.

white night designs uplit the ballroom in warm, romantic amber and rose

our beautiful gobo, based on the monogram Saima Says Design created for us. our gobo was created by so cal-based goboman for a great price

the incredible cream and gold chiffon canopy created by white night designs. a sparkling curtain of crystals dazzled behind the sweetheart table. commerce flowers created the lush sweetheart table arrangement. the gilded sofa and side chairs were rented from flowers by manjit

our richly beautiful centerpieces from commerce flowers, made up of roses, hydrangea, dahlias, and orchids. if these look familiar, it’s because the centerpieces did double duty: they were first used to line the ceremony aisle!

the darling menus created by our coordinator, angel swanson. angel printed these up on gold paper I purchased online. the gold paper perfectly matched our wedding invitations and featured the same intricate m&h monogram. she accented the menu with floral stamps from paper-source.

my mom handmade each of these favor boxes from fuschia india-inspired decorative paper. chocolate truffles were nestled inside each box along with a note thanking our guests. she embellished the top with a ribbon and crystal. a how-to will follow in the next few weeks

Mr. J and I sat on the gold sofa in front of our sweetheart table as the speeches began.**

My dad gave a welcoming speech, which was followed by hilarious and surprisingly touching speeches by Mr. J’s brother and my brother. Finally, we closed with warm childhood anecdotes from Mr. J’s cousin and my cousin. It was a lot of speeches, but I think they were well-received for two important reasons: they were all fairly short and each speaker had a unique perspective on our relationship.

There were laughs.

And there were tears.

During the speeches, waiters served our four course dinner: a deconstructed salad, mango sorbet intermezzo, a duo plate of chilean sea bass and tandoori chicken, and individual banana cream pie desserts.**

the delicious main course: chicken breast rubbed with tandoori spices, with a caribbean spiced sea bass topped with a pineapple-cucumber relish, accompanied by Malaysian Rice and a carrot coulis.

delicious mango sorbet intermezzo!

I picked at my plate, still feeling too keyed up to really enjoy anything. But I gazed around the room and saw guests devouring the meal, laughing and talking with stomachs full and smiles upon their faces. This, I thought, is what a wedding should be.

After dinner was served, our DJ started spinning lively bhanga music to get the festivities started. Mr. J and I hadn’t planned a first dance, but we ended up having one anyway. We were the first to hit the dance floor and we danced to an upbeat bhanga beat as everyone stood around us, cheering loudly.

I thought I would be horrified at having to dance in front of an audience, but the sheer joy and happiness I felt at that moment overcame any of my fears.

Then, the crowd parted and my brother and his fraternity brothers took their places near the DJ booth. Before I knew what was happening, the DJ started playing a pumped-up bhanga beat and my brother and his friends launched into an incredible choreographed routine.

It was a complete surprise to me and our guests, who reacted to the spontaneous dance performance with excitement and delight. They were a huge hit and the dance floor remained packed for the rest of the night.

But the evening wasn’t over yet…there was cake-cutting, an incident of stolen shoes, and a bittersweet farewell. More to come in Part Two!

all photos courtesy of the stylish marisa holmes, with the exception of starred photos which were taken by family and friends.

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