2.5 years after Vivek got down on a one knee in a vineyard in Portugal, Megana Kalakuntla finally tied the knot in Seema Gujral’s Ara Lehenga and Anya Gown. Being a COVID bride, Megana was rightfully worried about her online bridal shopping experience but the KYNAH team was so happy to re-assure her every step of the way and be part of her big day. Congratulations to these lovely newly weds, we wish them a lifetime of love & happiness!
How was your experience with KYNAH?
Using KYNAH was a complete lifesaver being an Indian bride shopping online during COVID. I had reached out about 3 months prior to my wedding and wasn't sure if they would be able to take my order on such short notice. We had a video call and went over all the items in the store and the entire team was incredibly kind and they were willing to take 4 orders for my sister and me even with such a short turnaround time. Our orders arrived a couple of weeks before our events and everything was exactly like the photos and was packaged so well. I'm not sure where I would have shopped if it wasn't for KYNAH. I've been recommending them to all the future brides I know!
What was it about the Anya Gown and Ara Lehenga that made you say “Yes!”?
I had my eye on the Anya Gown from Seema Gujral for the longest time and knew that I wanted something sexy, gold, and a gown for my sangeet. That was an instant yes for me! I had been back and forth on what color I wanted to wear for my reception but came to the realization that I wasn't wearing any red for any of my wedding events. I wanted to have one traditional color aspect in my wedding week and decided to go bold and red for the reception. The Ara Lehenga was definitely loud and heavy which was the look I was going for and the red was going to be a perfect pop during our fall wedding. It was sexy, bold, and big so it was an immediate yes for me once I saw it on our video call. I'm so happy with both of my choices.
How did he propose?
Vivek and I started dating in March 2015 and in May 2019, my family and I had planned to go to Portugal for my birthday and spend 10 days traveling the country. We arrived in Lisbon and a couple of days later on my birthday, Vivek surprised me by showing up in our Airbnb, I had absolutely no idea he was going to be joining us and I thought that was going to be the biggest surprise of the trip. We then traveled to Porto and during our stay there did a day trip to Douro Valley also known as wine country. I had chosen a vineyard the night before that looked incredible and it was our last stop on our wine tour. Vivek, my sister Varsha and I did a little vineyard walk and during our walk, Vivek was insistent that we take a photo with the incredible backdrop. As we were searching for a spot we landed in the middle of the vineyard and while my sister was taking the photo he then got down on one knee and popped the question. He really caught me off-guard and I, of course, said yes and we spent the evening roaming around Porto.
If you had to do it all over again, what would you do differently?
If I were to do it all again I wouldn't change much! Our day was completely unique to us and after planning the wedding for 2.5 years I've realized that there were will always be bumps in the road and imperfection is what makes the day special. All I'd really do is try to be more organized and accomplish some of my tasks earlier than I did! Otherwise, it really was an incredible day and one that had been long overdue.
Did you enjoy planning your engagement/wedding?
I definitely did enjoy planning our engagement and our wedding! I was always someone that would watch Say Yes To The Dress, watch wedding videos on YouTube, and was obsessed with bridal fashion. It was definitely stressful during the last couple of months and after being pushed a year back due to COVID there were moments of frustration and exhaustion. Overall though it was really enjoyable to work closely with the vendors and try to incorporate both of our personalities into our wedding day. Would I do it again? I'd love to relive the entire day again but not the process because it was so exhausting haha but all the hard work and collaboration between both families definitely paid off and turned into this incredible day of celebration and love.
Vendors:
Event Planner: Ace of Events
Wedding Catering: Chef Anand
Sangeet Catering: Rangoli
HMUA & Draping: Amola Surya
Photographer: Hannah Leigh
Videographer: Unique Vision Studios
Henna: Bhavna Naik
Wedding Decorator/Rentals: Imperial Decor
Sangeet Decorator/Rentals: Party Belles
Wedding DJ: Dynasty AV
Sangeet DJ: Rob Sharma
Sangeet Venue: Lauxmont Farms
Wedding Venue: Westfields Marriott Washington Dulles
Ballroom Draping: Fabrication Events
Jewelry: DNS Jewellers