On Saturday morning before the wedding, the bride and groom exchanged letters that they had written for each other. “I was left speechless when I turned around and saw Kajal for our first look,” Raj remembers. “Her wedding outfit was the only one where I had no idea what she had picked out. She looked so beautiful! And the amazing wedding location in front of the lake and mountains made it even more surreal.”
After their first look, Raj went to the front of the hotel for the small prayers. “I was really overcome with emotions, especially as my mother came to bless me—I’m a very stereotypical mama’s boy,” he admits. “After the prayers, it was time for the groom’s entrance: the baraat. Honestly, this was the part of the wedding I was most nervous about. I’m not usually a hype person, and I was worried about being able to energize everyone before the wedding. I’m not really sure what came over me—maybe it was the retro Japanese fire truck I had rented for the entrance—but I had the time of my life. The energy was on another level and the sirens were heard throughout the resort.”
At the wedding madap, fresh white florals were intertwined between the pillars and white roses hung from the middle. “I was left speechless again at the way that Prashe had executed all the decor details,” Kajal says. “The background with the lake and mountain view made for a beautiful backdrop! At the reception, the show stopper was the greenery and floral installation hanging over the middle of the ballroom above the dancefloor.”
“Once we were both seated at the mandap, I was admittedly exhausted from all the dancing,” Raj jokes. “It was great to have a little time just with Kajal…and the priest of course.”
After the wedding, there was the vidaai, a tradition where the bride’s family bid farewell to the bride. “I had previously joked to Kajal’s dad that I didn’t want to see any tears because Kajal would still be in Chicago and only moving 30 minutes down the road,” Raj says. “Of course, we couldn’t stick to this.” Afterwards, the newlyweds made a short trip around Scottsdale in their vintage getaway car.
“It took a few minutes as we were driving to let it sink in that we were officially married now,” Kajal remembers. “And that we only had one more event—the reception on Saturday—left in our wedding weekend. I was a little sad because it flew by so fast, all those months of planning had almost come to a close.” Thankfully, there was still one more night of roasts, toasts, and performances to close out their epic wedding weekend.