An Indian/ Western Wedding Weekend

This beautiful couple wanted to celebrate their wedding with a weekend full of events. Their wedding was originally scheduled for 2020 but, of course, they were forced to postpone their celebration for a year. They were finally able to celebrate over Labor Day weekend in 2021, a year later, and with a significantly smaller discount then what was originally planned for their 2020 wedding.

The festivities began Friday night, prior to the Indian wedding. The couple invited friends and family to their house in Santa Cruz where the party started with a Sangeet and Mendhi celebration. The bride’s beautiful Mindy included elephants as a nod to the groom’s Thai heritage.

They wanted to include both a traditional Indian wedding, as well as a western wedding, which they split up over multiple days during Labor Day weekend. The Hindu wedding took place on Saturday morning at the Intercontinental overlooking the ocean of Monterey. Since animals are not allowed at this location, we had to rethink what the traditional processional for the groom would look since it wouldn’t include horses or an elephant. Instead, we opted for a fun, vintage, bright yellow Thunderbird.

For the Indian wedding at the Intercontinental, the Clement Monterey, they opted for bright, yellow and white accents to complement the traditional red and gold elements of a Hindu wedding. After the ceremony they had a long lunch reception of traditional Indian and vegetarian food, as well as performances by Bollywood dancers. The day ended early to give guests time to enjoy the local attractions prior to the wedding taking place on Sunday.

On Sunday, they hosted a traditional western wedding at Bernardus Lodge in Carmel Valley. The bride wore a beautiful dress with an over-skirt that she could remove after the ceremony. Their ceremony took place in the Rose Garden at Bernardus Lodge. The ceremony was marked by a large infinity style arch, decorated with lush, red flowers. The color scheme was inspired by the winery setting, as well as incorporating deep rich colors that spoke to their heritage.

During the cocktail hour, while the couple took photos and mingled with guests on the croquet lawn, we flipped the Rose Garden from the ceremony to the reception. Guests joined in the Rose Garden for a beautiful, four course seated meal. After the dinner, guests joined the couple in the ballroom for traditional dances, and celebrated the rest of the evening.