When Sonia and James talked about planning their fusion Indian wedding in Calgary at The Westin, I knew right away we HAD to work together.

Sonia is a tv critic and James is a playwright, and they currently reside in Brooklyn, NY. The first thing I do after watching a tv show or movie is immediately jump online to scour tv critic reviews and recaps. I don’t have many vices, but reading recaps could be one. I have always been a devotee to pop culture, long before it was cool to be. It was meant to be that they found me to plan and design their wedding!

*This wedding occurred before Covid-19

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Brooklynites host fusion Indian wedding in Calgary

So how did Sonia and James end up hosting their unique fusion Indian wedding in Calgary? 

James is originally from Lethbridge and studied in Calgary. After an internship in New York, where he met Sonia, the two embarked on a long-distance relationship before James officially moved to Brooklyn. To throw the type of celebration they wanted to, Calgary was the place for the most bang for their buck…we are so lucky!

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Wedding design concept

I could write a dissertation on the design concept for Sonia and James’ wedding, but I’ll spare you this time. Many Indian weddings have bold colours, and this one certainly does, but the requirements are what made this wedding unique.

The must-haves for their wedding included:

• Incorporating Indian traditions mixed with a modern, inclusive mindset
• Creating an enchanted forest vibe with a feeling of lush abundance (but not waste)
• Using jewel tone colours and fruit as part of the decor, and adding hints of paper planes too. No sweat, right?

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Sunrise, Sunset design theme

We developed an overarching theme of “Sunrise and Sunset” to represent the start and end of several days to their wedding. Each event included tons of plant-life, flowers and specific colour. Our challenge was making sure all the events were cohesive, but each event felt distinct…not to mention make sure the logistics of setting/striking multiple events happening on the same day for 300+ guests appear seamless.

Here’s a peek at the design direction we set for this wedding:

This wedding is too big for one post, so we will be doing several posts on different parts of the wedding, and you can follow along.