The dramatic double staircase at Glen Oaks
Haema and I met during when Heama and Paul were planning a microwedding at Como Park, and Haema just wanted some simple henna for their day! Six months later, they started planning a much bigger celebration in Iowa and asked me to help them with a fresh and welcoming environment to celebrate with their family and friends.
They loved the look of marigolds, so that served as a theme throughout the wedding day, and we had a simple palette of orange, white, gold, and green. They wanted to be as sustainable as possible, so we definitely made decisions to keep things simple, compostable, or reusable!
Photos: Rachel Lahlum Photography
Design & Decor: Kahani Events & Design
Floral : Kahani Events & Design with Ediflorial
Venue: Glen Oaks Country Club
Haema and Paul both wanted to keep the design very simplified in terms of color and style, and make sure traditional elements were used throughout. We started off in the entryway lining the staircase with (faux) jasmine garlands, adding in some signage and a welcoming Ganesha statue, as well as a Nilaviḷakku (Kerala style diya lamp) and a large urli (bowl) full of petals and floating candles.
For the ceremony, which was outdoors, we had quite the challenge - stormy weather and little bits of rain! High winds were knocking over the flowers on our columns, messing with our draping, and nearly ripping apart our marigold strands! Luckily, the rain had stopped before we setup and didn’t start again until after we tore down! Our design plan had to change a little bit from the original, but we made it work!
For the reception, we continued the same color scheme and simple aesthetic. We were able to reuse some of the marigold strings from the mandap to accent the tables, but added in some greenery in our copper pots with the help of Amber @ediflorial. A few specialty linens, some hanging lanterns, and brass urlis all added some subtle shine to the evening.
Making things sustainable - the favor boxes were compostable and included marigold seeds, as well as some sweet treats for the guests.
and last but not least, Haema & Paul, who are avid cyclists, absolutely had our rickshaw on their must have list! They had a group of fellow cyclists coming for the wedding, so it was a fun and meaningful photo prop for all!
"Thank you for joining us on the ride that was our wedding! ...It truly felt like a breath of fresh air. We are so grateful you were able to work with us, and were patient enough to deal with ALL of us...Everything felt perfect and we've heard from so many friends about how beautiful everything was..."
- Haema & Paul