Karishma Lalwani and her now-husband, Sohail, are a picture perfect family. After meeting through the company they both work for, but on opposite coasts, they eventually came to realize that their love was meant to be and the rest is history. The KYNAH team was so happy to help her find the perfect lehengas and were pleased to hear that the Nessa made her feel like princess she deserved to be! Congratulations to this lovely couple, we wish this new family a lifetime of love and happiness!
How was your shopping experience with the KYNAH team?
I heard about KYNAH from my local Los Angeles friends, it was the FIRST shop I visited when I began the arduous task i.e. search for my perfect bridal outfits. Before visiting, I had shortlisted a few lehengas online (Nessa was on my original list). I booked an appointment at the Los Angeles Pop Up store where I met Aisha and Simran (OMG Simran is amazing). They were extremely polite, professional and I did not feel pressured into selecting anything that day. After visiting 2-3 other stores over the next month, my heart was still stuck on purchasing my outfits from KYNAH and so I took the appointment for an hour. Surely enough the lehengas were a hit and I booked two on the same day! One was Nessa Lehenga (for my ceremony) and the other one was Gia Lehenga (for my sangeet).
They did not have Nessa Lehenga for trial on my first visit. However, soon after, Simran did reach out and let me know when it was available to try. I tried at least 10 lehengas but my heart was set on Nessa right from the beginning. They say the outfit chooses the bride rather than the bride choosing it. My friends told me I looked like an Indian princess and I felt like one too!
As for Gia, It is such a unique lehenga due to its dark colors and velvet look. It felt very regal and elegant at the sametime, it was perfect for my sangeet vision. Another reason I loved it was because it was very light to carry and I could dance all night in it.
How did you meet your husband? Tell us a little bit about your relationship.
We met at work at a product company called Salesforce. We were colleagues for 4 years where we worked on making many customers successful with their investment in Salesforce. Our work brought us together and we became close friends and shared the ups and downs in our lives for the next few years. Even though we lived on different coasts we eventually found love. We decided to build a home and a life together with our 2 kids (my toddler son and his teenage daughter). If I were to describe our relationship it would be the one where the universe conspired to bring two souls who have similar values and a similar vision of how they wanted to spend their life on this planet together. Our kids have a 13 year age gap but they are perfect together and we are a complete family of 4.
What was your wedding theme?
Sohail wanted this wedding to be everything I ever wanted it to be. So for the sangeet we had colors from reds to purples with flavors of Mumbai chaat and Hyderabad kabab celebrating our hometowns. For the wedding, it was a perfect white flowers and acrylic mandap. We had a non-denominational wedding and were married by a Rabbi. I sang the song "I get to love you" by Ruelle which was pre-recorded and played when I walked down the aisle.
What advice would you give to all future brides/brides-to-be?
Listen to your heart, whether it is the outfit or the venue or the type of celebration. Have a vision and take the help of experts to bring that vision into reality.
Vendors:
Photography: Braja Mandala
Planner/Design: Exquisite Events, Madiha Khan
Florals: Butterfly Floral Event Design, Yvonne
Videographer: Avec Lumiere Productions
Rentals: MTB Event Rentals
DJ/Lighting: Special Occasions DJ
Beauty: Lulu Nguyen
Tents: Raj Tents