SEJAL & JAY’S WEDDING

Bride and Groom Name: Sejal Acharya and Jay Mistry 

Wedding Date(s) and Locations:

2nd August 2019- Hindu wedding at Oshwal Potters Bar. 

3rd August 2019- Registry Wedding and Reception at the Great Barn Headstone Manor. 

 

CONGRATULATIONS ON GETTING MARRIED LAST YEAR. HOW IS MARRIED LIFE?

Thank you! Married life is wonderful – it’s been 11 months now! We have known each other for nearly 14 years which is a long time and has really helped in terms of settling into our new life together. I would say moving out of my home was and is the hardest thing I have ever had to do, but it just makes me appreciate my parents and sister so much more when I see them. 

Unfortunately, we didn’t get to go on our honeymoon due to COVID-19, but we have been so lucky to have had this time to spend together. We would usually both be at work and come home to one another in the evening and have dinner. But we now have breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert together! (Not sure that’s always positive for our waistlines, but for us food is life!) 

We have also used this time to grow our own vegetables, go on long walks in the evenings, cook new recipes together, play table tennis ( big kids at heart!) and so much more! It’s been a great opportunity to do things together without having the excuse of being too tired or busy. And I’m sure most people will say annoying one another is also part and parcel of being married!

WHAT APPEALED TO YOU ABOUT HAVING YOUR SPECIAL DAY AT YOUR CHOSEN VENUE?

Oshwal Potters Bar – We were having a big fat Indian wedding and with that comes big fat numbers! So we came up with a list of venues to check that they catered to our numbers. We went to see hotels, big houses and Oshwal was one of the venues on the list. When we went to see Oshwal the long entrance, the grounds, together with the mandir outside seemed perfect. It was simple yet could be made up beautifully for our big day.  

The Great Barn – This was our registry and reception venue. As soon as we went to see it we thought it was amazing! It was so rustic, beautiful, calm and it came with a fuss-free and relaxed vibe. This is exactly what we both wanted for our registry and reception events. We wanted it to be all about creating a chilled and fun environment without all the big lights, glitzy table decorations, screens and dance floors you get at hotels or other venues. This venue fitted both of our personalities well and we could really see our close family and friends enjoy themselves here.

WHAT WAS YOUR FAVOURITE PART OF THE WEDDING PLANNING PROCESS AND DID YOU USE WEDDING PLANNERS?

To be honest, I loved the whole planning process. Planning all our pre-wedding events was a highlight for me – it was time with my parents, sister, brother, sister-in-law, nephew and best friend! We laughed, we cried (they cried lol) but we put together some amazing decorations for the Puja, Pithi and Mehndi night at home. We spent quality time together joking around, thinking about the music and games for the Mehndi night and what kind of look I wanted in the marquee for each event. I’m extremely creative and love making things and so we were all busy making decorations for the marquee, the favours, and thinking of ways to add some uniqueness to each event! I will treasure this time forever as we spent around 12 months planning and enjoying ourselves with tasks to do every week! 

Jay is also extremely hands-on, we both knew the kind of vibe we wanted for our main functions (the Indian wedding, Registry and Reception). Food is the foundation to our relationship I would say and so food tasting was our favourite! We were 99% on the same page and so this helped make the process extremely easy and fun – and without any arguments! We have known each other for a long time and I think this understanding also helps in these kinds of situations. 

We didn’t use wedding planners and that was because of the amazing team of suppliers for all our functions, but also because our families and best friends were hands-on! I would say Jay and I were stress-free throughout the process because we both had the backing of our amazing families and we also had suppliers that we completely trusted, and we left them to do what they excel at with no restrictions – which I think is really important!

HOW DID YOU CHOOSE WHO TO USE FOR THE WEDDING VIDEO AND PHOTOGRAPHY?

In our search for venues, Jay came across Nick Rose’ photography page on Instagram. He then showed me his page and website.  Jay got in touch with Nick and we took it from there but instantly we loved the style of photos Nick captured. Other photographers were recommended including some well-known photographers we were suggested some well-known names in the Indian wedding industry, but something just stood out with Nick’s photos and we decided that we wanted to go with him as the photographer for our wedding events as well as our individual pre-wedding events. Both Jay and I don’t really like being in the limelight and neither do we like having our photos taken; when we met Nick for our pre-wedding shoot he really made us feel at ease. Nick also got us extremely excited for our wedding which was lovely! Sometimes in the middle of planning it all you can forget to get excited and look forward to it all. Nick captured every single moment of all of our events perfectly! We look back at our photos and absolutely love them, they are a true reflection of all our events. Our friends and families also all thought he was an amazing photographer! 

Nick recommended The Wedding Filmmakers to us as a potential videographer. As soon as we got in touch with Adam and Rachel we instantly clicked and thought they would be the perfect videographers for our events. They captured every little detail amazingly and were a joy to have around. The wedding video was amazing we received a clip of all our events put together and that really did capture everything, all in 1 minute! It was amazing! 

The team of Nick, Adam and Rachel was the best decision we made, we received the most amazing comments from our family and friends and they all were in absolute awe of our wedding film and photos. This team will also be there for my sister’s wedding which is very exciting!

YOUR WEDDING LEHENGA WAS BY THE WORLD-RENOWNED SABYASACHI. HOW DID YOU GO ABOUT CHOOSING YOUR BRIDAL OUTFIT AND JEWELLERY?

I had heard about Sabyasachi quite a few years ago. We would watch his show ‘Band Baja Bride’ and I would be in awe of how he would put bridal looks together. They were all so classy and elegant but traditional. When I started to look for my bridal outfit, one of the places I decided to browse was Aashni and Co, who stocked Sabyasachi lehengas. I picked out a couple of lehengas, all from Sabyasachi in different colours; my family and friends reaction when I came out in the red lehenga will stay with me forever – I think we all knew that it was the one I had to get married in! The detail, the quality and the work speak a thousand words and it was nothing but a dream to be able to wear the lehenga on our wedding day. 

All of my wedding jewellery was from Red Dot Jewels. We had 6 events (Puja, Pithi, Mehndi, Indian wedding, Civil wedding and reception)  and each look was complimented with beautiful, and in many cases bespoke jewellery. I had an appointment with the ladies at Red Dot and took my parents, sister and best friend with me to talk through all my outfits and to browse not only for myself but for everyone. Blue is my favourite colour and I really wanted to incorporate this into my Indian wedding look in some way! When I first came into the Red Dot shop I saw a beautiful turquoise and green set and thought I want this! The ladies at Red Dot helped me put this look together, with bespoke bangles, earrings and a choker being made especially for my big day! Not only did I and my wedding party wear Red Dot jewels my husband also wore a bespoke Safa (turban) jewel and necklace too! 

The ladies at Red Dot really helped and advised us on our looks for each of the functions and everything we bought was fantastically made. I also bought my bridesmaids and my mum some gifts from Red Dot and they loved them. My sister is getting married next year and I can’t wait to buy some more goodies from Red Dot.

Hair and Makeup is such a big part of the overall look. Did you have any special beauty treatments 2-3 month before the big day? Who was your make-up artist for the main wedding day?

My hair and makeup artist was Jawaad Ashraf for all the wedding functions. I am quite simple when it comes to make-up, the less the better but I love lipstick!  I’m sure Jawaad would agree when I say I probably wasn’t the best bride, as all I kept saying was I don’t want too much on my face! 

Jawaad spoke to me a lot aboutskincaree and helping my skin look and feel great, not just for the wedding but also in the long term. He suggested going to Binsina laser clinic and having their laser genesis treatment. This treatment really helped in evening out my skin tone, helped with scars on my face and overall really brightened up my skin. I did this treatment for 6 months and even after the wedding continued as I could really see the benefits. My sister is also very good at facials and face masks so she would do these for the family every week, all with natural products.

DO YOU HAVE ANY WORDS OF ADVICE FOR ANY BRIDES CURRENTLY PLANNING THEIR WEDDING DURING LOCKDOWN?

For all the 2020 brides that have unfortunately either had to cancel or postpone their weddings I would say take this time to enjoy being with your family (if you are living in your family home). This time is precious and so my biggest piece of advice would be cherish these moments and make the most of it. 

For all the brides planning their 2021 wedding (my twin sister included) – keep going, be positive and flexible and don’t take on unnecessary stress. Stress will not achieve anything, so be calm, go with the flow and keep planning the day of your dreams with a flexibility that some things may need to change.