Bonjour mes amis,
Today, meet Arjun and Shivani!
They chose to have a Florida Indian Wedding, and since it is officially their wedding week, and I wanted to share their love story. We have been working together for the past year and a half, and I am just so excited to see them married. This journey has truly been a wonderful one to watch. Sit back, grab a glass of champagne, and let’s read their love story.
Where did you two meet?
We met each other while both growing up in Charlotte, NC. We had mutual friends in the South Asian community so we would see each other every now and then at events. However, one of Shivani’s best friends is really good family friends with Arjun, so that naturally helped progress things from just being friends to being more than friends by the time Shivani was a senior in high school and Arjun was a freshman in college. From there, Shivani and Arjun spent every second they could together, and when they couldn’t, FaceTime (Skype in the old days) was their go to.
Tell us about the proposal?
Arjun planned the most epic surprise proposal in Atlanta, Georgia and proposed to Shivani in Piedmont Park. All of their best friends and family were hiding close by so that they could spend the rest of that day celebrating together. Shivani thought she was planning a couple’s trip for them and two of their best friends and had no idea that Arjun had secretly put together a well thought out proposal. After the proposal they spent the day at Sweet Water Brewery and then ended the night dancing on tables at their favorite pizza spot in the city, Antico.
What do you love/admire about each other?
Shivani: What I love the most about Arjun is his fun-loving and easy-going nature. He helps me relax and reset especially when I am stressed out or taking something too seriously. He helps me remember to take time to appreciate the little things in life. He knows exactly what to say to make me feel better or what plans would make me the most excited. I love that we share the same outlook on life and make each other’s best friends our own friends. We enjoy the same foods and activities. We push each other to be better versions of ourselves everyday mentally and physically. We know we always have each other’s backs. At the core of our relationship, we are best friends, and it can’t get better than that.
Arjun: What I love and admire the most about Shivani is her drive to accomplish anything and everything she sets her mind to. It is truly incredible to see that intrinsic motivation in all aspects of her life such as her career, health, and family/social life and how it constantly radiates outwards. This may sound cliché, but she makes me a better person and I love her for that. Shivani makes me feel like no matter wherever I am, in any situation, as long as I am with her, I feel safe and always at home. Shivani constantly thinks of me and the ‘little things’ speak volumes like knowing my favorite order at any new restaurant we try, recognizing my own small pet peeves or quirks even before I do, and always going out of her way to make sure I am happy. Lastly, I am grateful that I don’t have my family and Shivani’s family- it is one bigger and better family that makes us all feel all complete.
What are your wedding plans?
We picked the Omni Orlando at ChampionsGate for our venue and are super excited for our wedding week. We loved all the spaces the venue had to offer for our various events: Welcome Party, Haldi, Sangeet & Garba, Ceremony, and Reception. We will have all of our events in different outdoor and indoor spaces at the resort from Thursday-Saturday in February 2023. All our guests and amazing vendors will be coming in from all over the US. We will be having the traditional Indian wedding events but personalized to us with a twist.
Where do you plan on honeymooning?
We will be going to St. Kitts & Nevis a few days after the wedding week ends. We plan on just relaxing and sitting and taking it all in. This won’t be an adventurous trip since we expect to be pretty exhausted from the wedding week. The ideal day will just consist of eating, drinking, and lounging by the beach or pool. Eventually down the line we will probably plan our dream European vacation.
What are you most excited about this weekend?
We are most excited to have all our favorite people from all aspects of our lives in one place to celebrate with us for a few days. We are also really excited to see all the dance performances our friends and family put together for our Sangeet & Garba night.
How do you feel the planning process has helped you prepare for what’s coming?
We think the planning process has really helped us stay on task and keep ourselves organized with all the vendors. Since there are so many different vendors and lots of people involved it can be overwhelming coordinating with each of them and helping them coordinate with one another. Since it is the first wedding in the family for both sets of parents, the planning process was also a completely new experience and a learning curve for everyone. In the final 2 weeks leading up to the wedding, we are feeling confident about our wedding week going smoothly without a hitch thanks to our parents’ support, amazing vendors, and wedding planner.
Any advice for other engaged couples?
Our advice would be to give yourself enough time to plan the wedding and just enjoy being engaged. That way you truly have time to research and talk to vendors so that you pick the people that are the best fit for you rather than rushing to just pick whichever vendors still have availability left. We don’t have one vendor that we are feeling hesitant about working with. From our engagement day to our wedding day, we will have been engaged for 1 year and 10 months and we do not regret that at all. Not only did we take a break and enjoy our engagement before diving into the wedding planning process, but we also had the time to think about personal touches and unique experiences we wanted for ourselves and our guests. We truly feel like our wedding events will be a representation of who we are individually and as a couple.
I would like to say CONGRATS! and send a special thank you to Shivani and Arjun for sharing their love story with us. Can’t wait to see it all come together, and witness their love!
If you would love to share your story and plan your Florida Indian Wedding Contact us!
Xoxo
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