Heart, Mind and Soul: Real wedding Part 2

Rebecca and Jayant met and fell in love at a hospital they both worked at; Rebecca an R.N. and Jayant a neurosurgeon resident. We couldn't resist incorporating some of their profession into the details of the wedding!

It was really important to both Rebecca and Jayant that their wedding was interactive. They wanted their guests to have a great time and really get to know each other. In learning more about our cute couple, we soon discovered that Cranium was one of their favorite games to play together....and that was all it took. A little game of cranium and a neurosurgeon resident? What could be a better combination? The concept quickly began to develop and opened the door for our imagination! We knew we had found a fun way to keep the guests entertained throughout the evening and were up for the challenge of making a cranium inspired wedding elegant and beautiful! Sara France was there to capture it all at Estancia and left us nothing short of breathless.

We teamed up with Courtney of Brightly Designed knowing she would create the perfect invitations. They gave guests a sneak peek of all the fun that was to come! We wanted the invites to be playful, so guests had to "selectaquest" their RSVPs and "cadoodle" their meal chocies...literally having to draw a picture of their entree!

We chose a spice-inspired color palette of curry orange, saffron red and deep purple accents to bring everything together and as a nod to the Indian culture that was being infused. The colorful tables brought immediate warmth and intimacy to the room.

Rebecca and Jayant did an amazing job blending their two cultures; careful not to exclude any of the traditions that were important to both of them. After the ceremony, the newlyweds surpirsed their guests with an outfit change!

At the reception, guests were greeted with a faux pharmacy where they were encouraged to write prescriptions for a good marriage on custom-made prescription pads. The pharmacy was filled with "Love Potion Number 9," "Dr. J's Kissing Elixir" and "Laughing Tonic" all good remedies to keep a marriage strong!

The escort cards were arranged on a table that read, "I love you with all my heart, mind and soul." We loved playing off Jayant's profession as a brain surgeon, as well as his ability to play some mean saxaphone! This couple was full of love and talent so we absolutely had to showcase it!

Yes, we even had a phrenology head there that guests really enjoyed reading and learning about which parts of the brain were responsible for love and laughter among so many other things :)

We named all of the tables after objects that were both meaningful to and representative of Rebecca and Jayant for a very personal touch. For the escort cards, each guest had a drawing of one of these objects that varied from bikes, books and flip flops, to pictures of Texas (the bride's hometown), Rome and orchids - Jayant's favorite flower. They then entered the reception room and had to find the "zoomed in" version of the drawing. It really added some fun as guests tried to find their images and got to know even more about the couple in the process!

Each table name also had a little factoid about why that image was important to the couple :)

We all had so much fun with the details! We brought in hour glasses in various sizes and colors to reflect the timers you find in games like Cranium and Pictionary :) Robin Mathis, of Twigg Botanicals crafted all of the gorgeous flowers in the event. She used a mix of incredibly lush and rich flowers to create a elegant textured look, while still adding a playful component out of kermit and carnations in adjoining arrangements.

I loved the use of anatomical images that we played with throughout the reception as well.

Each place setting held a gorgeous menu, a flower and a Cranium card! We worked with their photographer and graphic designer to recreate personalized cranium cards like Creative Cat, Data Head, Word Worm and Star Performer. Using their engagement photos, Brightly Designed turned them into line art and put them into these amazing playing cards!

Place cards were actually created out of containers of custom-made scented playdoh in their colors, which also doubled as the guests' favors! Everyone, even the adults, had fun making little clay creations!

On the back of each card were multiple-choice questions, factoids and true or false questions about Rebecca and Jayant as well as marriage in general. It was a fun way to highlight the couple and their passions!

Rebecca's mom, Susan came to us with a special request. She wanted to surprise Rebecca and Jayant with hand-dipped gourmet candy apples. It was such a sweet gesture and the perfect way to play up the "apple a day" phrase, since Jayant is a doctor. :) So we turned to Michele Coulon who created amazingly delicious candied apples.

I love the oversized apple we found. It looked like a game piece itself! We hand wrapped each apple and tied on a little favor tag that read "An apple a day" with the couple's wedding date on it for an additional take-home treat! We also left several apples unwrapped as we knew no guest would be able to resit trying one!

The cake was from Michele Coulon as well. It was absolutely decadent. Twigg's flowers on top made the cake come to life and looked stuning in the room.

Jayant surprised Rebecca with a solo performance on his sax of, "At last." It was one of the most romantic moments I've witnessed. We had Rebecca seated on the dance floor and Jayant was in the hall. He started playing as he walked in the room . Making his way slowly toward her, it was the sweetest serenade and he sounded incredible!

When the dancing began everyone was on the floor, up and moving. It was a group unlike any other, so full of fun, excitement, diversity and culture.

I really can't do a good enough job expressing to you all just what a privlege it was for us to work with Rebecca and Jayant and their families. Their warm hearts and generous spirits reminded us of why we love this job; we get to meet incredible people like them and learn about new cultures. Rebecca and Jayant, we love you to pieces and know your future will be filled with lots of love! You have truly touched us heart, mind and soul!