Packing months of planning into four days!

Last weekend, on the heels of coming back from Argentina, Saurab and I finally found the time to get on a plane to LA. It has been several months (upward of 3 or 4 months) since we've been there - - -  which means that we have been doing every ounce of planning work over the phone. I think Amy, our planner, was getting REALLY nervous that she hadn't yet met us face to face. 


As we landed the excitement was quickly building. We had so much to do, so many people to meet, so many decisions to make and get all our ducks in order in one fell swoop over 4 days. As you might have gathered by now, I work 24 hours a day practically, so this is the ONLY LA wedding trip we have planned. We had no choice but to get it ALL done. 


Let me just say that I have a total new appreciation for the people who are able to deal with LA traffic.....the itinerary of this trip gave a new meaning to the word tired. However, it was WELL worth it and we got it all done. 


So, what did we do.....
Friday: 
As soon as we got in we went to check out the Sangeet venue. We had only seen this place off the internet and booked based on my parents doting of how beautiful it was. Immediately entering the property, we realized hands down, that we made the perfect choice. The place is beautiful, and completely in sync with our artistic sides. We elected to choose the grand foyer to do the Sangeet, versus the originally planned ballroom. It was an absolutely no brainer - this place is going to make an out of this world sangeet. We even have a fireplace!!!


Saturday: 
Oh if someone could have just warned me to brace myself. This was a VERY long day....but oh so needed. Early in the morning our decorator, Fayaz, came to my parents house and we started designing. It was comical because I pretty much pushed Saurab aside for the whole day and made Fayaz my boyfriend. He with his color swatches and me with my art color pencils, we were submerged into complete and utter creativity. Lucky for our budget, we had Amy, our planner, not too far behind reeling us in when she would hear things that were off the wall crazy and would break the bank! Spending the day in design land with Fayaz was like a closet design girl's candyland. SO MUCH FUN!!! 


So the design work went from about 9am to 9pm....going to and from the various venues and just letting all the creative juices flow. Between Fayaz who was creating imaginary mandaps and decor themes, to Umair who was talking about electric panels, outlets and DJ equipment, to Amber (Umair's lighting expert) who kept using words like uplighting and gobos (I now learned some new words) to Amy who was just trying to find the best spot on this estate for us to get married and kept talking about guest flow.....it was one insanely fun day! One of the funnest, yet most exhausting days I have had in a LONG LONG time.  I wish I could go into details, but I don't even know where to start....and I don't want to ruin it for those the readers who will be attending the wedding. Let's just say, this wedding is turning into a production!


Sunday: 
Early Sunday, we started our cake tastings by driving to a place which was an hour away (I think everything in LA is at least an hour away!), mendhi trials and hair and make up trials. In between each of the trials my mom and I went into as many clothing stores as possible to scope out wedding wear. Needless to say we didn't get very far on the clothes front - but all I wanted to do was determine whether or not I needed to go to india (will write more on this in a separate post). 


While we were doing all of this running around, my dad and Saurab were stuck in gridlock traffic in Santa Monica / Malibu looking at various hotels for our guest accommodations. Let's just say that there is nothing like gridlock to force bonding! By the time everyone got home we were literally ready to fall. 


Monday: 
Early Monday morning we were supposed to meet the pandit (the guy who marries us) an hour away at the temple. We ended up having a great phone chat with him since we were WAY too exhausted and had another gut wrenchingly long day in front of us. I don't understand why most couples don't spend quality time with their pandit before the wedding. This was an invaluable experience for us to go through - we went through a traditional Gujarati and North Indian ceremony, talked about the differences, determined what we wanted to incorporate and talked about us and things we wanted to do that were solely important to us. Very valuable!


We then did more cake tastings, and the spent the next 6 hours with Fayaz and Amy again. This time we went straight to his office, where he had taken all of our conversations and mocked up a sample centerpiece and drew out our designs. All I have to say is that there were tears flowing rampantly. This guy is a genius. Not only did he design something that was flawlessly breathtaking, his vision completely mirrored my vision and through this centerpiece and table mock up he showed me how good he is at listening and taking random thoughts and creating something magical. I am so so so lucky. So, he became my boyfriend for the day again, and out came the swatches, coloring pencils and design pages....again. :-) 4 hours later, Amy was waiting for us with the minute by minute itinerary for all the events for us to review. OMG. By this time, I felt like my head was going to roll off my body, but luckily this is Saurab's sweet spot and he ate it up. Amy and Saurab's relationship is a bit like my relationship with Fayaz. They are the project managers and we are the ones who get lost in a creative cloud - - - and prefer to stay there! :-)  It was the best working session one could ever ask for, and to sit with Amy after months and months of phone conferences was priceless!


After we left their offices, we headed over for some food tasting, and then called it a night. 


Luckily I stayed back a couple more days so that I could meet Joe Photo (our photographer) and meet with our videographer, Bryan Geddes from Guava Street Production to seal the deal. I took them through the whole vision and the whole itinerary, and by the end of my trip the entire team was set! 


I came back to Chicago with not a concern in my mind - other than the budget :-) We have a FABULOUS team that is going to create the most amazing set of moments for us. Less than 5 months to go.....whoo hoo!


For all brides planning out of state weddings - don't miss the opportunity to have a full in weekend like this. Tell everyone to clear their calendars and make sure you get everything you need to get done in one fell swoop. And of course, ensure you have nothing less than the best partners to work with who will make the entire weekend seamless. 


Upcoming posts: The details and decisions of all the tastings and trials. 

Anticipation for the Weekend....

I got an email from Gabriel yesterday, sooner than I expected, saying that our engagement pictures were done! YAY! I am SO excited. I asked him if he could share a few of his favorites to inspire me till this weekend when I can get the DVD. Here is what he sent. WOW! It nearly brought tears to my eyes.

I have all the faith in the world in our wedding photographer, Joe Photo. But, these shots that Gabriel took make me want to fly him out to shoot the wedding. Aren't they AMAZING!!!!

This looks like we are in an enchanted secret garden. (and oh, by the way, this is not highly photo shopped....he's got some mad skills!)

I love this image of me....vain, I know....but I just love it....

and this one is just fun....and so us....

In all honesty, I have seen lots of engagement pictures in my search for photographers. Regardless of the fact that we are in the pictures, these shots are the best shots I have ever seen. I would highly encourage anyone in the Chicago area to hire Gabriel from Radiance of Light for their shoot. 

I can't wait to get the DVD this weekend....it'll be our Diwali gift! :-)

Engagement Pics....WOW....that was Quick!

I just wrote the post on our great weekend shooting our engagement pics. I was fully expecting that it would take a couple of weeks to see the pictures. I randomly went on to the Radiance of Light website and I found that we made front page. Holy Cow. And I love this picture. Thanks, Gabriel...I can't wait to see the rest!

Engagement Pictures!

Last weekend was our first execution of a real wedding event. We took our Engagement Pictures!!! Being a photographer, I was surprisingly comfortable being in front of the camera versus behind it. We both had a blast. Most photographers will give you a 2 hour engagement package as part of the entire wedding photography package. But, we could not do this since we needed our engagement pictures to be in Chicago and the wedding is in California. So, I scoured all the photographers in Chicago to find Gabriel and Lidia of Radiance of Light .

Given that this was just an engagement shoot they gave us over 5 hours of shoot time. Try being a model for 5 hours straight....it was exhausting....but so so so much fun!!! I have fully lived my little girl dream of being a model :-). 

We started our shoot in Glenview Woods, where Gabriel has shot pics like this....

We then went to the Botanical Gardens, which of course, holds very special meaning for us (where we met and where we got engaged)....and yes, we shot tons of pictures with our beloved tree!

 

Surprisingly, Saurab really got into it as well. He didn't complain once, and at times I think he was having more fun in front of the camera than me!

I can't wait to get the pictures. It should take a couple weeks to process and get all the Pics on a DVD. I am so excited!!! I think it will be hard choosing one or two to go on our save the date! I'll have to enlist some help in choosing....

Said and done, here are some tips for choosing an engagement photographer:
1. It 's not a bad idea to have a separate engagement and wedding photographer. You can get comfortable with the camera, and learn multiple styles. With one photographer, you are stuck with their style and their way of "seeing through the lens"
2. You don't have to go all out for engagement photographers. Being a photographer myself, I think this is a great opportunity to find a "diamond in the rough" and go with a photographer that is up and coming, and trying to get their business off the ground. They will be willing to work with you a lot more and they'll give you 110% of what they've got....and you get to help out a budding career by being a reference. It's a win-win.
3. So, how do you find the Gabriel's of the world, that have SO much talent and catch them before they become "famous"? My advise is to start with flickr.com. Put in some search critiera that makes sense for the type of pictures you want. I typed in "indian wedding" because I wanted someone who had shot people in indian clothes. Several contenders came up - some of which we professional, some of which were amateur, and some of which were...well, miscategorized. So, there is some leg work involved...but it's fun and at the end of the process, you will end up with someone as wonderful at Gabriel and Lidia. OR if you are in Chicago, just cut the leg work and hire Radiance of Light! :-)

This weekend is our engagement party!!! Yay....this is becoming more and more real!

The BIGGEST box checked: Photographer - DONE!

I am so excited to share that today we checked the photographer box - the box that I have been working so hard on since the week we were engaged! I have now looked at over 50 photographers, and based on a list of 15 criteria we have chosen to go with Joe Photo.I found Joe a couple weeks ago through another photographer I was speaking with, and when I saw his website, I absolutely fell in love with his work. In essence the 15 criteria boiled down to these couple of things.....

Someone who:

• had a fantastic eye for capturing moments,
  
• was artistic and could turn any photo into an art piece
• could take glamour and high fashion shots
• was dynamite at post-processing and put just as much time and care into making a photo pop as the time it took to shoot the event
• knew the intricacies of an Indian wedding and knows what to capture
• who gave us ALL the images, including the post processed images (which not all of them do)
  
• was collaborative and a pleasure to work with.

Joe's work embodies all of those things, and Joe himself is a wonderful person who I was able to connect with over a long phone conversation. Joe also happens to be one of the top photographers in SoCal and widely publishes his work! He took the time to understand who we were, what we needed and what was most important to us. There are many good photographers out there, but it's the connection that you feel to a photographer that lets you know that they are the right one for your big moment. Joe, welcome aboard to the team!

Given that there were many wonderful and talented photographers we looked at, I would be remiss if I didn't mention the list of people who made the top of our list of Southern California photographers in hopes that it can be a helpful starting place for other brides on this journey.

• Ahmed from AA Creations (good at understanding your needs and putting together custom packages, good pricing, good amount of creative, good post processing, and all around positive, understands Indian weddings very well, everything was solid, and he was willing to give me all of his RAW files....which is HUGE for a photographer. At the end of the day, our choice came down to AA Creations and Joe.)
• Dina from Andrena Photography (extremely artistic, wonderful collaborator, beautiful work, but does not give post processed images on DVD)
  
• Megan from Megan Stark Photography (wonderful collaborator, very very good at the photojounalistic style and capturing amazing moments, works with real lighting and doesn't do too much post processing, more talent on capturing moments than the glamour shots)
  
• Tony Florez (awesome post processing, great shots, good follow-up, and can really get into the Indian market - just needs to do more and more of them to build a big enough portfolio)
• Yogi Patel from Global Photography (great artistic ability, but very Indian. He's won many awards for his artistic talents, but at the end of the day it just wasn't our style)
• Ryan Phillips (gorgeous photography in every way - artistic, photojournalistic, stylistic, you name it and he's got the skill. He wasn't available for our date, and dealing with the communications with him through the process left an extremely sour taste. This is where no matter how good the work is, you have to make sure that there is a relationship and a partnership)
  
• Eric Tom (new comer in the field, and is often a second shooter for one of the other photographers I mentioned, he's talented and has potential, but hasn't shot any Hindu weddings - only Paki and Afgan weddings)
• Jessica Verma (great eye, not sure how much of the post processing polishing I saw, but I didn't look into her too much because I didn't see Indian weddings, but worth looking at since she was highly recommended by my bhabhi)

So, that's that. I can't tell you the weight that has been relieved from my shoulders just in making this decision!

My piece of advise to any bride is to settle on your criteria based on what is important to you. There are MANY talented photographers out there, and if you don't know what you are looking for it will be a completely overwhelming process. The other side of it is - try to not be too stringent on what you are looking for (if possible) because otherwise, you will end up like me...completely stressed out and cross eyed after looking at thousands of photos!!!

It's been a while...

I know it's been a while since I have last posted anything...

What to say....there has been SO SO SO SO much going on in the last two weeks. Some highlights....

• All sangeet venues had to be scrapped and we had to start the search from scratch due to incorrect capacity quotes or incorrect availability responses. VERY frustrating. But, I think we may have a place nearly selected, so stay tuned. If it wasn't for all the help from my parents going from venue to venue, this one topic would have put me over the edge.
• I have now looked at over 50 photographers. Both original photographers, Andrina and Megan, are still in the running but are not getting us everything we need and want. I have a very narrow list of three photographers I would like to decide between this weekend. In my head, and in my heart, I think I have the decision made....I just have to go through all of the samples one last time (hopefully tomorrow) and make a final decision.
• We've looked at the budget inside out about 50 times...re-adjusted, re-thought, re-everything you can imagine....and the aweful truth that we can't deny is that indian weddings are just darn expensive. Let's just say, though, that the spreadsheet is now SEVEN excel tabs long! Can we say obsessive?
• I met with a decorator and started thinking about themes, flow, colors and storyboarding out the entire day. This is going to be the funnest part!
• The DJ is almost locked in. Saurab has been working this part, and I have tried my best to stay out of his way.
• I got my hair cut the other day and my stylist, Dana said she would fly out to LA to do my hair.....definitely something to consider since she's been doing my hair for five years!
• Our engagement pics are next weekend....need to start preparing for that....and our actual engagement is the week after that....oh boy!

Not to mention....I have been spending most of my time in Raleigh these days....week after week. So, that's a quick update of where things are......things are QUITE hectic.

Wedding Photographer...Need Opinions

Well, now comes a time where we are forced to make a decision quick. The dates we have chosen for the wedding are either July 24th or July 31st. The venue we are looking at is available both dates, as is our wedding planner. The photographer, however, is not. One of them is tentatively speaking with another couple for the July 24th date.

Here is where I need the help. As many of you know, I consider myself to be a photographer. So, naturally photography of my wedding is EXTREMELY important to me - and it's important that they are very very good. I have narrowed it down to two photographers that have an excellent eye, an exquisite artistic ability, and have done Indian weddings.

What I need input on is the following:
1. Is one better than the other?
2. Are there any others that I should be looking at?
3. Has anyone worked with either of these photographers?

Both of these photographers are REALLY REALLY REALLY expensive....more than I ever thought I would ever have to spend for someone clicking a camera....but they are really good. I need to know if there are others that are just as unique and good out there.....help.....

Option #1 is Andrena Photography (click for her portfolio)
Option #2 is Megan Stark (click for her portfolio)

Thoughts???

Engagement Photographer - Box Checked!!!

I love getting text messages and emails about how some of you are getting addicted to my blog. Cracks me up...but i'm touched. It makes me smile to think that there are people following my story. Thanks...Feel free to post your comments directly on the blog. FB is fine too but this blog is looking pretty empty...like no one reads it....I'd love to get your reactions through my journey.

I am extremely excited to report that we have locked in our first thing....our engagement photographer. Usually, the wedding photographer also shoots the engagement pictures, but since the wedding is in LA, we need to the engagement pictures here. And think again if I am flying any photographer out to Chicago or out to LA. NO!

Thanks to everyone who offered their suggestions for photographers in the Chicago land area. There are wonderful people here with some great talent. Again, thanks to Anjali for providing such an extensive list. Also thanks to Shannon, Cyndy, and Shelly for some great recommendations.

At the end of the day, given availabilities and portfolios, I ended up choosing Radiance of Light . Gabriel is a wonderfully talented artist and his work blew me away from the moment I saw it. I even love his tag line - "Telling Your Love Story One Frame At A Time". He is a budding photographer that I found in my photographer community on flickr. I went through probably anywhere from 20-30 photographers and finally found him. Given that I am a photographer, I was looking for a very particular style - - - one that I have not been able to do! And Gabriel's work fits the bill completely....it is so soft and romantic. I am SO SO SO SO SO excited. We met with him today, and it's going to be magical! I can't wait.

Here is his business card, scanned, in case anyone is looking for photographers for anything...I really encourage you to look at his website to see how stunning his work is!