Dear Sonal,
We are going on our very happy one month anniversary and marriage definitely suits us! We are excited by our life together and we we still get so giddy when we talk about our wedding.
Big thank you’s to the full SJS team for making our wedding not only stunning and memorable – it was so true to us and the things we are about. You worked so hard for us in the last eight months and always kept our best interests at heart. Many people have called us asking about the SJS team and we have endorsed you wholeheartedly.
Clearly you were a great asset to us. Sonal, when we met several months ago I told you I needed someone who could take the whole thing soup to nuts – that I wouldn’t have the time or capacity to be able to pull off a wedding with the attention it required. You heard that and took over – your recommendations and input were so valuable to us. I appreciated that you didn’t just ‘yes me’ with everything – that if you had a suggestion that was maybe counter to what I originally envisioned, you expressed why this might be a route we would want to go. We learned so much from you all in this process.
There are so many highlights in working with you, but there are a couple of very memorable ones I want to cite:
- SJS knew that food was a big deal to us. We went through one tasting that didn’t quite meet expectations. So for the second one, SJS made sure that the hotel catering understood all the feedback and were on point. That was the first time my parents had met the SJS team and they were impressed. The tasting was a million times better and put us all at ease – you had clearly relayed our concerns. Moreover Sonal, your suggestions on presentation, on converting stations into passed hors d’ouvres, on what should be served at the sangeet vs the wedding – they were invaluable to us. Up until two days before the wedding, you were paying attention to the food and making sure that the dishes would be perfect and no one would want for anything. Our guests are still raving about the food.
- Our decor brief was very simple – ‘bring the outdoors indoors’. When we were going through the decor vendor process, SJS recommended three high calibre talented decor groups to us. When we got the triple bid, we decided to go with the vendor that was not the highest price. However, Sonal truly believed that the highest priced vendor was the one who could best execute our vision – so she negotiated them down to the other vendor’s price. And Design House went above and beyond. When we saw the mandip/chuppah – it took my breath away. It was colorful, organic and unexpected – everything we wanted.
My bridesmaids called me the ‘calmest bride ever’. It was the best compliment I could have received – and it was all because I knew I was in such good hands.
Thank you SJS staff!
Ritu Sharma and Greg Aguele
July 4, 2015
The Garden City Hotel