A Modern English Garden Wedding In Chico: Mansha & Aaron

Someone said it right when two people are meant to be together, they will find a way to each other in one way or the other. Mansha and Aaron met each other at the same consulting company they both were a part of around 5 years ago. A few months later, they again found each other next to each other at a work event and this time they hit it off and became friends. Over the next few years, their friendship evolved into a relationship, and both had a journey of learning about each other’s cultures, switching jobs, and moving to new cities. 

Being born and raised with two different traditions - Aaron in New York with Jewish traditions, and Mansha in California with Hindu traditions, they both are a combination of their own roots. With time, they both learned to celebrate aspects of each other's cultures. Their guilty pleasures are 2000’s R&B/Hip Hop music, Game of Thrones, and Taco Tuesday! 

Proposal Story

Their proposal story is a simple and sweet one where Aaron proposed to Mansha in the presence of her parents, in front of the Bay Bridge in San Francisco. She was out with her parents walking out to meet one of their friends when she felt a tap on her back. On turning around she was surprised with 2 dozen red roses with Aaron peeking from behind the bouquet. Then as planned, he went on his knees and popped the question, for which she said a yes. The whole thing was secretly captured by Mansha’s parents. After the proposal, both of them went to an Italian restaurant in North Beach, San Francisco, which is still one of their favorite restaurats.

Engagement Ring

Mansha has always loved oval shaped diamonds, so Aaron gave her an oval solitaire on a white gold twisted pave band. He went for a unique band to set the diamond in as a reflection of Mansha’s wanting to do things differently and uniquely. 

Wedding Details

The couple had a regal wedding at the bride’s hometown, Chico, CA and the inspiration behind the wedding was modern elegance. They wanted each day to feel distinct and modern yet preserve the traditions their roots were based on and they also wanted the wedding to reflect the fusion of two cultures - Indian and American, Hindu and Jewish. To celebrate both cultures properly, they planned one completely Western event - the cocktail party, one completely Indian event - the sangeet ceremony, and one fusion event - the wedding.

The bride did most of her shopping for wedding outfits and jewelry in Amritsar, Delhi, and the San Francisco Bay Area. Most of her wedding trousseau was from Sabyasachi, Abhinav Mishra, Payal Singhal, Masaba, and Ogaan and the jewelry came from Hazoorilal, Maliram, Amrapali, and Prune.

Mehndi Ceremony

The theme for the Mehndi was Bohemian Fiesta with the incorporation of Bamboo furniture, neutral pampas grass mixed with muted peacock-toned florals.

The food menu was inspired by authentic, and local Mexican food. The bride went for an unconventional choice of outfit designed by Payal Singhal with a fuss-free side braid.

Her outfit was a Bohemian co-ord set in purple, grey, and teal shades and she paired it up with colorful tribal jewelry from Amrapali.

Mansha’s beautiful Mehndi was created by Neeta Desai.

On the other hand, to match her funky and quirky look, the groom wore an embroidered Nehru Jacket with a burnt orange pocket square designed by Nasir Bespoke, a white shirt, and dark pants. 

Cocktail

Their cocktail party decor had a dark and moody decor with deep red flowers and dried grass. It was giving away a rustic glam vibe.

For welcoming the guest, they arranged for a welcome table with Jumbo Jenga Blocks to write date night ideas on them.

Another interesting decor part was the Wine barrels lit up with a custom neon sign with their wedding hashtag on it. For food, they had an Italian menu with a charcuterie board that spanned an entire table and chocolate-covered strawberry desserts with the bride and groom’s initials on them. 

Mansha’s outfit choice for the cocktail night was a stunning beaded red lace jumpsuit designed by Nadine Merabi, paired up with modern diamond hoops from Maliram Jewellers.

Her Hollywood half-up waves and smokey eyes with nude lips were just making her whole look perfect for the cocktail party.

Aaron on the other side looked dapper in a Navy blue Ted Baker suit with a white shirt and a red-blue tie from Zegna. 

Sangeet Ceremony

After having a glam cocktail night, the Sangeet was a colorful affair with vibrant decor, colorful lounge furniture with Indian Bazaar-inspired centerpieces, ‘Bangles & Baubles’ favor tables, including potli bags, earrings, tikkas, and bangles.

A part of the decor was a custom-created structure with bright pink, orange, yellow, and green fabric draping accented by hanging umbrellas, and dholkis.

They had a photo booth station with a 3-wheeler taxi prop and the entrance had a custom neon sign with the couple’s name hashtag. 

For her sangeet outfit, the bride chose an ivory and sage green chevron mirror work lehenga designed by Abhinav Mishra.

Her Navratan chandbaalis were from Maliram Jewellers, and she went for green and red bangles on one hand and chunky colorful bangles on the other, and a Kundan headband. The groom wore a cream-colored kurta pajama with an ombre green Nehru jacket designed by Nasir Bespoke.

Haldi

The Haldi ceremony decor was based on Traditional India with a paisley backdrop. For flowers, they used marigolds in rich orange and yellow tones to go with a sunny theme. The food menu was inspired by Amritsar cuisine, like kulcha and channe.

For her outfit on this day, Mansha went for a yellow embroidered suit that she got from a small shop near the Golden Temple in Amritsar. To compliment her outfit, she wore orange and yellow haathphool and tikka from Prune, kaleeras from Amritsar, and Chotteylal & sons. 

Wedding + Reception Ceremony

Both the wedding and the reception took place on the same day. The wedding ceremony was an outdoor event with a mandap decorated with ombre pink flowers and white seats for the guests with ombre pink fabric.

The theme was to go for Modern English Garden vibes, so the outdoor space was of ombre pink color, and the greenery was completing the decor.

A custom-made floral monogram with the bride and groom’s name initials was there at the entrance gate and around 100 custom bamboo cane lanterns hung throughout the venue. There was a 360 photobooth stall too for the guests to have fun. 

For this day, Mansha went with the ace designer Sabyasachi’s multicolored embroidered lehenga.

She paired her lehenga with the heritage jewelry passed on to her by her mother from Hazoorilal.

On the other hand, Aaron looked regal in an ivory Jodhpuri suit with a colorful pocket square designed by Nasir Bespoke and paired the whole thing with a long green necklace. 

Reception Night

The reception night was held inside the reception hall where the color theme was selected in contrast to the decor outside for the wedding ceremony.

There was a neon sign with the couple’s wedding hashtag hung up behind the head table. 

The color theme was cream and white color, with a grand chandelier and hanging florals and lights. 

Song Details:

• The bride made her entrance with Ik Onkar playing in the background. The song holds a special place for her family as they are originally from Amritsar, Punjab. This was also her sister’s bridal entry song, which is a tradition she wanted to maintain as a family
• Mansha and Aaron's first dance song was Jeffrey Iqbal’s mash-up of Tere Bina and Girls Like You. They both love this song as it's a perfect blend of East and West. Wth this, they also danced to 'Tere Bina' by one of her all-time favorite musicians: A.R. Rahman, who has single-handedly placed Indian music on the world map.

Tips from the Bride:

• Do at least one pre-wedding shoot with your photographer before your wedding to ensure you are comfortable around them as you will be spending a lot of time with them. This is also a good time to discuss the style of photo you are looking for (editorial, candid, etc.)
• As much as possible, try to envision each event (decor, food, small details, etc.) before you meet with your entire vendor team. This will help unite the team behind a shared vision and goal and make the planning process more targeted.
• I recommend doing as much research as possible online before you start shopping for your wedding trousseau in person so you have an idea of what you are looking for.
• It’s critical to be comfortable and feel like yourself in every outfit you wear - I highly encourage future brides to not feel pressured to succumb to the current fashion trends if they don’t mesh with your personal style.
• Try all the jewelry pieces you intend on wearing on each day beforehand so you can ensure every piece goes together (especially if you don’t buy everything as a set) as well as evaluate if you can manage to wear all the jewelry at the same time.
• Don’t forget to have fun at your wedding! In the weeks leading up to the wedding, try to tune out as much of the noise as possible (and believe me, there will always be things happening last minute no matter how much you planned) and live in the moment. On a related note, at every event, try to take a few minutes to walk around the venue and see how all your planning and coordinating came to life (and don’t forget to try the food too!).

Vendor Details:

Photo + Video: VisionOne Studios

Decor: WeDo Designs

Flowers: Strelitzia Flowers

DJ + Lighting: Wicked Entertainment

Makeup + Hair: Abhilasha Singh

Mehendi: Neeta Desai

Bride’s Outfits: Payal Singhal, Nadine Merabi, Abhinav Mishra, Sabyasachi, The Grand Trunk

Bride’s Jewelry: Hazoorilal, Maliram, Amrapali, Tribe by Amrapali, Prune

Kaleeras: Chotteylal & Sons

Groom’s Outfits: Nasir Bespoke, Ted Baker

Bridesmaids’ Outfits: TC Urban Couture

Groomsmen Outfits: Saffron Lane

Catering & Dessert: India Oven, Special Times Catering

Bar: Amezcua Bartending

Ice Cream Bar: Schubert’s

Cake: Mim’s Bakery

Venue: Almendra Winery, The Palms

Sitar Player: Joanna Mack

Signs: Sac Town Neon, Glo Fly

Dance Floor: Dance Floor Designs

360 Photobooth: 916 Capture Me