A beautiful blend of embracing each others cultures, made for a magically colorful wedding day
Star Bright Farms is a stunning lavender farm that sits in the hillsides of Northern Baltimore County. It is a venue that gives you everything and more when seeking a traditional farm venue with something a little different. When we first arrived at the farm, we we're greeted by a gentle smell of lavender and a picturesque red barn with quaint stone wall accents that sat on top of of one of the greenest hillsides we've seen.
As the flurry of guests flowed in, the colors and energy spoke for itself
The assortment of vibrant colors that the guests wore, were truly other worldly and something special. Vijay grew up in the states with both of his parents here as immigrants from India. While Jess was raised in the states and fell in love with Vijay's culture, fully embracing his heritage she was marrying into. It's always so incredible to be apart of a wedding that so uniquely screams the fusion of the couples personalities and values.
We continued to unveil more beauty that the venue holds
As we walked through the hillside, we were greeted by the most magical of gardens. A setting that transported us to an elevated garden space used for cocktail hour. Between the walls of the picket fence, you could hear both the humming of the chatter and the friendly pollinators. This space had an almost Italian feel to it, stepping miles outside of what you think of when someone says "just outside Baltimore, Maryland."
The ceremony space welcomed us with a vine-filled pergola, a lush assortment of flowers, and the sweetest little family member
With drinks in hand and hoeur d'oeuvres in their bellies, the chatter and laughter of the guests surrounded the ceremony space. Little by little, they found their seats and basked in the cool summer air. Jess was adorned in detailed henna, green and gold jewelry complimenting her Saree and her hair with an ornate headpiece. All of the traditions woven into this ceremony were uniquely beautiful. The first being the flower garlands you'll see. The jai mala is a garland, made of strung flowers, that is exchanged between the newlyweds. The jai mala symbolizes the partners welcoming each other into their families. This ritual was followed by a traditional exchange of rings. The next ritual is called the Sapdapati, where the couple takes 7 steps together to show their support for each other in a happy marriage. Each step represents a vow that they make to each other. The Pandit then offers blessings for an abundance of happiness, children, food, and prosperity. Towards the end of the ceremony, a family member came around to the guests handing out rice. Throwing rice on the newly married couples signifies the symbol of fertility for the bride and groom and made for a spectacular exit.
A moment for the bridesmaids Saree's
We will never get over the vibrancy of this wedding. Or the beauty of the exchanged traditions. It was so special to see all of the bridesmaids embracing the culture Jess is stepping into with Vijay.
With a dress change from the bride, and a live band luring us in, we moved over to the main barn to get our groove on
If there is any wiggle room in your budget for a live band, we 11/10 recommend it. This band absolutely killed it. They had everyone moving, jumping in unison, and smiling hard the whole night. Lining the back wall of the barn was an array of party goodies from dried lavender sacks, seed packets, and a lavender spray hand sanitizer. All sourced from the farm! We're pretty positive that if venues didn't have a cut off time, this party would have kept going till sunrise. The energy was infectious and it was bittersweet to part ways at the end of the night.
