Purva and Dharmish, Radisson Newport Beach, CA

Hindu wedding and reception: Radisson Newport Beach
Bride and Groom: Both are Gujarati-Hindu

What were your venue selection criteria?

ability to accommodate 400+ people
nice area
convenience – non-hotel venues don’t have changing rooms or some require you to arrange a lot of things yourself.
near an airport

What made you decide on the Radisson?
It matched all of our criteria plus I really liked the chandelier in the ballroom. That caught my attention right away. And their pricing for everything – food, alcohol, and the space was really good.

Did your guests stay at the Radisson for the weekend?
Yes, a lot of our guests stayed there but we also had several people staying at a hotel near my parent’s house too (about 35 minutes away) as it was more convenient for them to attend the pre-wedding functions that were at my parent’s house.

How much time did you spend on wedding planning?
I didn’t hire a coordinator and I spent at least 2 hours a day at the beginning of planning. In the middle of planning, it wasn’t that much as a lot was done and our vendors were doing alot. As we got closer to the date, it picked up agin because I made my escort cards myself, packing for each event, and following up on RSVPs.

Were you working while planning?
Yup, I worked until about 3 weeks before my wedding.

What was your favorite part of wedding planning?
Working on the decor. It was really fun to see my decor ideas come to life. I hired Manjit from Manjit’s Flower Cottage. He was very open to my ideas. He’d listen and then show me the great ideas that he came up with. Since we got married in Newport Beach, I wanted a beach theme and I was really happy when I saw that come to life.

How did you stay organized while you were wedding planning?
I made organized folders in my inbox for each thing and I also kept a tabbed binder for any physical materials I got from vendors.

How did you manage communications between both of your families?
Dharmish and I really took it upon ourselves to communicate with our families. I was still getting to know my in-laws when we were planning our wedding so it was better for us that I communicated with my family and he with his. Our parents also talked with each other directly too.

What advice would you give to your friends who are getting married?
Well that partly depends on their personality. For people who are pretty particular – my advice is plan/do things yourself. That’s how I was and I didn’t want to delegate someone to execute my ideas and risk not liking it. It’s time consuming though and that was ok for me – I wanted to do things myself.

For people who don’t want to do as much and just want to enjoy and not worry – hire a planner.

For everyone, I recommend that before you start visiting venues, have a pretty clear picture of what you want. Meaning what type of venue – hotel, banquet hall, resort, mansion etc. and then what type of atmosphere you want – near/on a beach, winery, lake etc. You can look online, especially now that ShaadiShop exists to get a sense of not only how a venue looks but also how desk-friendly it is.
Also, don’t wait too long to book your mehndi person and makeup artist. Don’t forgo the makeup trial. It’s worth the money

The Radisson Newport Beach is very familiar with desi weddings and is minutes from OC Airport and some of the world’s most famous beaches and shopping.

The Radisson has a great area in front of the hotel – perfect for a car, horse, or elephant baraat.

Notice the chandeliers – setting the decor and feel of their ballroom.

SoCal weather coupled with this lovely Newport Beach property – you’ll can’t go wrong with the many locations to do photo shoots.

The Pavilion is where most desi ceremonies take place. It’s a covered with beautiful windows on both sides.

Another view of the Pavilion – notice the chairs – those are the standard chairs that come with your wedding package.

A closer look at the mandap for you.

This couple had a Hindu wedding ceremony – a flame is no worries at the Radisson Newport Beach.

This bride wanted a beach theme to her wedding and made these escort cards herself!

Before the reception, once all the lights around the Radisson go on – you’ll find great places for photo shoots at night.

The Radisson has relationships with desi caterers – you can see the list in their ShaadiShop profile Preferred Vendors section. They will work with the caterer to supply the equipment they need.

Great view of the ballroom set up for a reception. Again, you can see the chandeliers set an elegant tone along with the lighting, chairs covers and decor.

Another view of the ballroom setup for a reception. You can see the sweetheart table setup for the bride and groom.

Here you can see the dance floor and its proximity to the tables and chairs.

This is the Radisson’s place setting. They provide all glassware, silverware, china, and linens. Some linens – chair covers and colored linens – are upgrades that are an additional fee.