SJS Real Weddings: Karishma and Kinjal

This weekend's wedding at The Plaza was one for the books. It all started with an epic baraat on 5th avenue where around 500 NYC residents and tourist joined us for the festivities. 

After the ceremonial groom's procession the guests entered the Terrace Ballroom which was set to a romantic mood with thousands of candles everywhere with a mandap in gorgeous draped ivory fabrics and hundreds of orchids and crystal. The traditional ceremony came to an end with an emotional vidhai that even left us crying!

Soon after the guests were whisked to the Centennial Room for cocktail hour which featured a delectable selection of appetizers and food stations. 

The day all came together with the stunning reception. Guests were in awe as they entered the grand ballroom which was transformed with difference tones of pink and gold. They enjoyed an exquisite sit down dinner, followed by a grand dessert display which included a live Jalebi station and Paan ice cream, and just when guests thought the food was over the hotel staff butler passed late night snacks to partygoers that had not left the dance floor. 

We want to send a huge thank you to all the vendors that made this event possible. The amazing staff at The Plaza Hotel who always ensure that not only the client has a memorable experience but that the vendors feel at home. To DJ Manan Shah for keeping the dance floor packed the entire evening and to Bukhara Grill for leaving the guests raving about all the food. Barbie and her entire team from Cinderella Bridez for making our bride and bridesmaids look stunning the entire day and keeping her calm and to the outstanding photo and video teams from Charmi Peña and Unique Visions Studio for capturing the entire day, we cannot wait to see the results. 

Congratulations to the happy couple!

A Wedding at The Plaza

As the weather gets colder in NYC, fall weddings are in full effect. This past weekend our clients hosted a stunning wedding soiree at the iconic Plaza Hotel in NYC.

Guests were greeted by Bhangra Dancers and Dhol player as they entered the hotel, and were escorted to the Terrace Ballroom for a stunning candlelight ceremony. After the traditional Hindu Ceremony guests were escorted to the Centennial Room for a delectable cocktail hour with various stations including Indian, Seafood and Osteria.

Following cocktails guests moved into the Grand Ballroom which looked stunning thanks to the decor from The Peloton Group and amazing lighting from Bentley Meeker. Once everyone was seated guests enjoyed a delicious three course meal and ffter all the formalities, the Kenny Ford Band from Hank Lane got the party started. Towards the end of the evening the band handed things over to DJ Amlan and hotel staff butler passes late snacks as guests dance the night away.

Stay tuned for the amazing decor images coming soon!

Meghna & Harish- Tradition mets The Plaza Hotel

I reflect back to last weekend when all of us had the honor of being the planners for Meghna Saxena and Harish Sarma's wedding. It was one of the best weddings ever!  Everything went like clockwork from the start of the day to the end of the day.

The bride and groom looked incredible and by 11:00am they were out doing photos in Central Park and in front of The Plaza Hotel.  I loved the way our photogarpher, Steve from Stak Photo and Janice from Celeste Studios, made the bride and groom feel so relaxed.

As the parents and other family members got ready, our crew went to work with all the vendors including Sushmita, Elegant Affairs, Atlas Florist, The Plaza Staff- Kristen and Steve, and Moghul Caterers. It was amazing how everything came together after months and months and months of planning (and a good timeline!).

Atlas' staff build this 15 foot tall tree inside the place card table and that became the focal point of the entrance to the ceremony. 

Elegant Affairs bought in almost 40 feet and 5 feet thick flower rackets which sat on the Mandap. The bride did not want traditional fabric curtains so instead we put almost 50 hanging lines of orchids. The entire mandap was filled with roses and orchids. It was stunning.

The baraat began at 3pm sharp and I really was not expecting what I saw when we led the groom outside. There were about 400+ tourist who began to know that something spectacular was happening at The Plaza.  It was so crazy trying to get the groom on his horse but when we finally did, and the baraat started, all the Saturday Fifth Ave. Shoppers wandered over to see what the excitement was all about!  The two dhol guys were even shocked at the amount of people/ tourists everywhere!  All and all we had about 800 people leading the groom for his procession.  Madness!

The guests were in shock when they walked into the ceremony conducted by Pandit Sharma. It was quite and all the guests watched as the bride was escorted down the aisle with her father, Dr. Rajiv Saxena.

The guests then went to cocktail hour which had probably the most amount of food I have ever seen at a wedding.. Pasta Station, Sushi Station, Raw Bar, Risotto Station, and about 25 butler passed items.  The guests enjoyed listening to the Trina Basu from Tiger Lillies Music (Violin, Clarinet and Tabla).

When guests entered the ballroom around 8:30pm, they had no idea of the opulence they had just walked into. At the door, I heard several guests whisper, "This is the nicest wedding I have ever been to" Everyone was stunned at the work that Atlas had done. It was magical!  There was a white dance floor with the couple's monogram, 36 tables of gold rimmed china and goblets, purple table linen with gold cut work overlay.  Each of the women attending received broaches and the men received Vosges Haut- Chocolate.  The guests received a plated Vegetarian Indian, Non Vegetarian Indian, Vegetarian American, or Non Vegetarian American meals. I loved the plate up service that Moghul presented to each guest. (who says you cannot do a plated Indian Meal?) The food looked great and tasted amazing!

Dj Kucha and Co. took the night away as guests partied until 1am and then partied some more at the after party at The Rose Club.

We were truly honored to have been called upon to put this together. Thank you, Meghna and Harish and we wish you a lifetime of happiness! I want to also thank my wonderful staff (Sweta, Beth, Ruth, Judy, Jay, Jesenia, Emily, Jessica and Neeti) for making this day happen for this specal couple. Couldn't have done it without you!