I am Sri Lankan and my husband is Indian so we had a wedding filled with lots of culture and tradition but with a modern and unique vibe.  We got married in Malibu, California at Saddlerock Ranch on August 30th, 2008.  We had both a Buddhist Sri Lankan ceremony and a Hindu Indian ceremony back to back.  We then celebrated under the gorgeous trees at Saddlerock until 2 in the morning!

Aisle

I wanted to keep our ceremony mandap/poruwa mostly white/ivory but I wanted the aisle to have a burst of orange in it.  I wanted to save the rich plum color for the reception.  

After looking at tons of pictures, I found R. Jack Balthazar.  They make some truly breathtaking and unique florals and they served as the bulk of my inspiration for the wedding.  

I found these pictures of copper/dark wood bowls filled with rocks and orange spider dahlias in them and fell in love.  I thought they would look great lining the aisle.

Mandap/Poruwa

For the mandap/poruwa, I knew I wanted to have lots of hanging garlands of jasmine or orchids.  I was not a fan of the traditional mandaps with large thick pillars and super intricate/colorful work.  I was having such a hard time finding inspiration photos for the structure until I stumbled across Michelle Rago's website. The pictures below are of a chuppah she helped create at the Breakers hotel. I love the beautiful hand carved structure with its Moroccan vibe.  It was too intricate and expensive for us to replicate but it spoke volumes for what I wanted for our vibe.   I recommend South Asian brides to look at chuppahs for inspiration - they are usually more modern and streamlined that the mandaps that are available.  


I LOVE these orchid trees.  We wanted to do some type of archway leading into the aisle but I had to cut the ceremony flower budget down so these beauties didn't make it.  

Here is how our mandap/poruwa turned out.  Again, these aren't pro pics but these should give you a good idea for now.  We rented a simple dark wood canopy and a basic platform that we covered in ivory carpet.  I love the florals dripping from the structure.  I wish there were more garlands but it still looked very beautiful.  

All the manzanita trees and decor surrounding the structure were later moved to serve as a background for our sweetheart table.  

Cocktail Hour

I wanted to keep the costs of cocktail hour decor down so I went for something simple and unique.  I'm not sure that my Mom was a huge fan of the fruit in a centerpiece but I loved the pyramids of oranges and stephanotis.  Again, my inspiration was from R. Jack Balthazar. 

Although I didn't choose these, I loved the simple and modern look of orchids peeking out of bamboo. 

Centerpieces
Here is where my love for manzanitas enters.  When I first started wedding planning, I saw an episode of Platinum Weddings and saw this couple's florals with huge copper tree centerpieces.  They copper tree was dripping with flowers - heavier at the base and then hanging off the branches.  They also had these hanging candles coming off the branches.  Instead of copper (which would cost like $2K a centerpiece) we used manzanita trees.  I love their modern yet romantic feel.  

High

Another Tree by Square Root Design 

Long

We are going to have some long rectangular tables as well and I am in love with this sort of creeping tree and flower look from R. Jack Balthazar ( I know, I'm obsessed).

Low

Flowers by Fiore Designs

Love this lush piece also from R. Jack Balthazar

Isn't this piece gorgeous? I can't remember where I found it, but I love it! (I think its Daniel Ost)