Featured Wedding: Ronak & Prexa (Part II)

The actual wedding ceremony took place on Saturday, July 11th at the Meadows Club banquet in Rolling Meadows, Illinois. This is a newer venue that can house a thousand guests. Ronak & Prexa have chosen this location due to their some 650 guests, and the fact it has a really nice decor set-up.

Here you guys get to see me in a traditional Indian sari, and my nephew, Aryan, in his adorable Indian garb. He's starting to take on the looks of his daddy, Nirmal.

The main color palette for their wedding ceremony radiates in rich shades of red, gold and creams. Down the main walkway, red rose petals adorn the runner to the grand altar. And I can't forget the stunning, lighted pillars with Ganesh statues (symbol of good luck) flanking the walkway.

I wish I could tell you exactly more of the actual details during the ceremony. However, most of the rituals were communicated in a Sanskrit language; but you can see some cool snapshots from the event. :)

(left to right: Prexa's youngest brother, Sandip, aka "Lalu", and her sister, Megha)

After much rice tossing, walking around the fire, and chasing each other to be the first one to be seated to claim themselves as "king of the household", it only took a whole hour and a half for the couple to be married. However, I am proud to announce the newlyweds, Mr. & Mrs. Ronak Patel.

Featured Wedding: Ronak & Prexa (Part I)

I thought the best way to start out my first blog post is with a wedding. And it's just not any wedding, it's a close family member. This would be my husband's, Hemal's first cousin, Prexa.

For her wedding, it's a very traditional, Indian wedding that takes place on American soil. If this wedding were set in India, it probably would be a week long affair that would include a whole town filled with thousands of people. However for this event, it was only 3 days of festivities, and it began on July 9th, a Thursday evening with her Mehndi party.

Mehndi (also known as Henna) is a traditional art form that adorns the bride's hands and feet. It is also practiced and enjoyed by close family and friends on the bride's side to celebrate this auspicious occasion.

The Mehndi party took place in the bride's parents home in their basement. As you can see, it doesn't look like the normal basement. The family decorated the walls with teal and lime green Indian fabrics to create a warm atmosphere almost reminiscent of a Moroccan boudoir.

The Mehndi that was applied to Prexa's hands and feet took several hours due to the intricacy of the pattern. Most of Mehndi designs are composed of floral and geometric shapes along with symbols of India – the peacock (the national bird), the lotus flower (the national flower), and an elephant/Ganesh with its trunk raised (a symbol of good luck).

Typically, the Mehndi party is a woman only event, but the boys just couldn't leave the women alone. Featured below is Sandip, Prexa's younger brother, my husband, Hemal, and Nirmal, Hemal's brother.

In this picture, is Prexa's younger sister, Megha, in the light teal blue, and her mom, Hemlata, in the yellow and pink attire.

And here we get to see a full body picture of Prexa with all her Mehndi on. The designs are just sooo beautiful and very detailed. Doesn't she look beautiful?

Welcome to "Design With Chon"

This is the start of my second blog, and I am excited to contribute to this blog specifically since I do not have the distraction of my wedding anymore. In my last blog, Chon's Wedding Journal, my posts dramatically dwindled as the wedding date approached. However this time around, I have more time to start a new chapter in my life dedicated to inspiring all you readers with good design for your wedding & home.

One thing that I realized after planning and decorating every detail of my wedding, I enjoyed every minute of it up to the very end! Even looking back, I still reminisce on ways of adding to the decor and theme of my wedding. The ideas just don't stop, and that's why I would love helping others in figuring out there big day. I received so many compliments from my wedding guests, my wedding photographer, and the staff of Hotel Baker that I believe I have the ability to plan and pull together a cohesive look for any wedding.

Not only do weddings pique my interests, interior design is my other forte. Color palettes and themes don't just stop at weddings, they carry over into home decor too. I have an artful eye for good design for the home – from the color on your wall to the way your books are organized on your shelf. I constantly find unique pieces for my home, and I would love to share my finds with you for yours.

Ideally one day, I would love to be a full-time "design & decor consultant" for weddings & home. So let me be your personal shopper, organizer, or designer whether it is for a wedding or your home. Please feel free to contact me anytime for some simple advice, or for a physical hand in the actual process.