Style and Charm | LiUNA Talks Wedding Details with Desiree and Pratik!
Desiree and Pratik’s wedding was one of the most beautiful unions to celebrate, from the delicate ambiance of the morning sun to the gold chairs, white linens and gorgeous cherry blossom trees, the aisles were adorned with flowers and loving guests, it was picturesque! But don’t just take our word for it, check out all the little details that went into saying ‘I Do!’
Tell us a bit about your event you hosted at LiUNA Station!
We had both our ceremony and reception at LiUNA Station.
Our ceremony was hosted primarily in the lobby area of LiUNA Station. We used the Continental Ballroom for breakfast prior to the ceremony, and the Grand Ballroom for lunch afterwards. Our ceremony was a traditional Hindu/Gujarati ceremony which involves a “Mandap”–a high stage where the couple, the priest and members of the family sit. We had the design set up so we could use the long lobby area to fit all of our guests (around 250) along with room for a central aisle. The lighting that came in from the windows at the top of the venue added a great touch to the overall feel of the morning ceremony. We had some concerns initially about whether we would be able to make a big Indian ceremony work at LiUNA, but the staff at LiUNA helped us throughout the process – for example, by drafting a seating plan: we were initially skeptical that we could fit that many guests in the lobby, but Vico showed us proof that it could be done!
Our reception took place in the Grand Ballroom. We used the Lobby for cocktail hour beforehand, and had some special vendors such as a bubble tea station which was a huge hit with our guests. We also leveraged the Lobby to host the dessert table where we had gelato, doughnuts and of course wedding cake for our guests to enjoy!
Another unique aspect of the event was that the entire event was vegan! All of the food and drinks, from breakfast to supper, appetizers to dessert, throughout the entire day were fully plant-based. Shout out to LiUNA Station for coming through with the plant-based milks for the coffee station.
Throughout the day we had so many people tell us how much they loved the venue. The garden out front, the massive pillars at the entrance, the historic vibe of the Lobby and Grand Ballroom. Our guests loved it, and took loads of photos all over the venue! While we were in the process of planning the wedding, people were surprised we didn’t go to a traditional banquet hall for an Indian wedding – but once the event was over they understood why we chose what we did!
What were some of the sources of inspiration behind the look and feel of your event?
We took most of our design cues from the space at LiUNA Station itself – we wanted to pick a décor that worked well with it. The Station is already so beautiful and regal, and we didn’t want to stray too far from that. We had mostly a minimal design with some influence from Japan, namely the four giant cherry blossom trees that were used during both the ceremony and reception – Japan is where we took our first trip together, and also our honeymoon!
Share with us your number one couldn’t live without décor piece or tastiest food option from our catered menu!
One of the major elements of our design were four (artificial) white cherry blossom trees. These trees made up the four corners of the Mandap and also were reused later on in the reception design (this helped save on costs, too!).
What is the one piece of advice you would give someone planning their big day!
Overall our biggest piece of advice we have would be to trust your vendors – they are experts, have done this stuff hundreds of times, and have great ideas and solutions to problems that they have seen time and time again. Trying to dictate too much can introduce complexities that make everything more stressful for everyone. For example, people really complimented our design choices but 99% of that was us nodding along enthusiastically at our design vendor’s suggestions – and they really delivered!
We would highly recommend, where possible, a wedding planner or at least a day of planner. I can’t tell you how amazing ours were – they took all the stress out of the day for us by keeping the itinerary flowing and insulating us from any issues that may have cropped up (honestly, from our perspective nothing went wrong during the event – if anything did, we had no idea!). If only I could go back in time and tell myself the night before the wedding how smooth everything would go – I’d probably get a lot more sleep!
What moment during your event will forever be etched into your memory?
Walking down the aisle was the first time either of us saw the venue décor fully realized. Seeing how well everything had been executed by our vendors, and all of our guests gathered for our union, is something neither of us will forget.
A close second is seeing my (the bride’s) grandfather bust out his moves on the dance floor. If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes I don’t think I would have believed it!
Tell us all your secrets! Your event was so beautiful and we must know your vendor list!
Wedding Planner | Mehek Kay Events
Photo/Video | Fotos By Anum
DJ | DJ Emporium
Makeup | Nilo Haq
Décor | Diya Decor
Bubble Tea | Brewing Boba | Live Bubble Tea Station
Breakfast/Lunch | Gujarati Foods
Dinner | The Host Fine Indian Cuisine
Doughnuts | Beechwood Doughnuts
Gelato | Bliss Gelato
Photo booth | Cinebooth
Cake | Fruitlicious Cakes
Bridal Outfits | The New Delhi Company
Groom Outfit | Sartaj Fashions
