A Catholic/Hindu wedding: Libby and Dipanjan

I LOVE fusion weddings! Fancy favors, darling details, and pretty paper don't turn me on like multi-cultural weddings do. When Libby and Dipanjan contacted me about their Catholic/Hindu wedding I was so excited to begin working with them! Both of them are Doctors (Libby in Internal Medicine and Dipanjan in Cardiology) at Stanford up in Northern California and they both had very, very little time to put together wedding.

The Catholic ceremony was to be held at Libby's childhood church in downtown Los Angeles, and the Hindu ceremony was to be held under a Mandap on the lawn of the Athenaeum at Caltech in Pasadena with the reception immediately following. For those of you not familiar with Los Angeles: these two locations are 12 miles apart through some of the craziest freeways. Add traffic, a cocktail hour, and multiple dresses changes into that Timeline and hello, potential logistical problems! Thankfully, I had the wonderful Jen of B & G Photography on our team to help keep everything flowing. Not only in Jen a dynamite photographer and a wonderful woman, she can roll with the toughest logistics grace and class. I love her.

Libby and Dipajan fused their two cultures together in such a great way: at the Catholic ceremony the ladies wore bridesmaid dresses and the groomsmen wore tuxedos. At the Hindu ceremony, everyone dressed in traditional Indian outfits. Libby's sister Margaret folded 1,000 Origami cranes to hang from the Mandap and decorate the table settings and cake. After the wedding, the cranes were sent to Japan the Hiroshima Children's Peace Memorial and in lieu of favors, donations were made to charities that they both feel strongly about: Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief and Homeboy Industries.

The day could not have happened without the amazing team of:

Photography: B & G Photography
Planning and Coordination: Amber Events (with special thanks to my girls Nira, Michelle & Anie!)
Getting Ready: The Langham Pasadena
Dress: Lea Ann Belter
Catholic Ceremony: Japanese Catholic Center
Hindu ceremony and Reception: The Athenaeum at Caltech
Mandap: Krushna Mandap Decorations
DJ: Ian from Redshoe
Florist: Susan Marchant
Hair and Make up: Kelly Zhang
Cake: Euro Pane Bakery
Limo: Crown Limo

Michelle and Dave's Vibiana Wedding

Attached are a few wedding pictures of Michelle & Dave's gorgeous wedding at Vibiana in downtown Los Angeles. Dave and Michelle was the most easy going couple I've had to date and it was such a pleasure working with them and their lovely (large) family! Michelle was sweet enough to answer questions for currently engaged couples, and I love the answer to her last question--it really sums up the wedding day. Enjoy!

What was the best part of your wedding day?

The best part was having all of our friends and family together in one room.

What do you feel was totally unnecessary?

Nothing

What would you change, if anything?

I would have let everyone know to meet us on the dance floor to say hello instead of trying to go to each table.

What was unexpected that you loved?

How creative people were with our photo-booth guest book.

What are your fondest memories of your wedding day?

We took 5 minutes to sneak away and watch the reception in full swing. It was great to watch everyone having a blast.

Is there anything you wish you had spent more time or money on?

I wish I would have spent a little more time dancing.

Is there anything you wish you had spent less time or money on?

The lounge area. It looked awesome but no one used it. Everyone was too busy dancing.

Were there any unexpected surprises or issues?

No, everything went smoothly.

What's your number #1 tip for future engaged couples?

In the end, it will be worth all the stress.

How did you feel after the wedding?

In a daze. It was both the longest and the shortest day of our lives.

Photos taken by the fabulous and fun Brian and Allie Callaway of Allie and Bri Photography.