Ethnic Essence Reviews
Reviews
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![Pritha]()
Pritha Sent on 12/22/2019Our Wedding
My husband and our families had the pleasure of working with Smita Mohindra and her amazing team with Ethnic Essence. Absolutely professional and a pleasure to work with, they really do work with your vision of the wedding and incorporate their own tasteful decor. and lighting. They understood the details of a South Indian Wedding and our wedding day was perfection. Smita was always responsive and available by simple text or phone call. We highly recommend Ethnic Essence for any couple looking to have a magical Indian wedding in Southern California. -
Adilene Sent on 08/05/2022
Elegant and Beautiful Wedding
Smita and her team did an amazing job in bringing our ideas to life. They understood the ambiance that we wanted to create. We asked for a romantic and elegant wedding and that's exactly what we had. All our guests were impressed with everything. Everyone loved it! -
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![Jhankhana]()
Jhankhana Sent on 04/04/2022The absolute best!
Ethnic Essence was one of the first vendors I picked when we began planning our wedding. We had gotten many recommendations about their services from our friends and family and I'm so happy with our decision. Smita Auntie & Mary both did a great job helping make my vision come to life and they are so great with the entire process. I completely trusted them to make everything look amazing and IT WAS A DREAM!!! The amount of compliments we received and the awe we had the entire wedding and reception made everything so worth it. I would recommend Ethnic Essence's services for anyone! -
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![Payal]()
Payal Sent on 12/30/2018Ethnic Essence wedding planning and coordination
Working with Smita and her entire team at Ethnic Essence was the best decision akhil and I made from the very beginning of planning our wedding. A year out from our wedding day, Smita took an entire day of her time on her day off (literally, she spent over 5 hours with us at our initial meeting) sketching out and getting a feel for the type of wedding we wanted - from decor, coordination, budget, color scheme, vendor recommendations (she’s got a lot of connections, so it was nice knowing you’d get the best deal if she connected you), etc.
In terms of decor, Smita’s vision is what really reeled us in. She was able to bring our ideas
of a succulent and rustic- themed dream wedding come to life. She also designed THE MOST incredible succulent bouquet that I always dreamed of having. It was truly a *succulent girl’s* dream bouquet! Smita and her team put in so much time sketching all the details from the altar, centerpieces, backdrops, linens, layout, etc. for each of our 4 events, and put together an extremely helpful “creative board” for each event as inspiration for us until we were completely happy and satisfied. She also took the time and energy designing our wedding around our budget, which was really important to us. We had a beautiful Punjabi/Gujarati wedding which was a blend both traditional rituals and cultures. It was nice knowing that Ethnic Essence has done so many of these types of weddings that required blending two different cultures, and they were able to mix both cultures as one flawlessly. You could really feel the love and happiness throughout the entire weekend, and we really owe that to Smita because of her understanding of both cultures, each of our families needs, and most importantly, making sure Akhil and I were happy.
With regards to organization and execution, Smita and her entire team blew me away with how organized and on time each event was. They had shared google spreadsheets months prior leading up to the wedding from checklists, timelines, seating charts, responsibilities, etc which was so helpful and important for execution during our wedding weekend. We got so many compliments on how organized, beautiful, and ON TIME each event was, which is rare in Indian culture (well, since generally everything usually runs late). The team at Ethnic Essence was on top of their game throughout the entire weekend to make sure everything was on time. Even during wardrobe malfunctions, horse malfunctions (during the baraat), etc. Smita and her team were right there to diffuse any situation such that nobody ever knew that anything happened to begin with!
Planning a wedding is super stressful. Everyone’s emotions are amplified x 100, so having a wedding planner and coordinator to alleviate alot of that stress is extremely important. We were so happy to have Ethnic Essence alleviate a lot of the nitty gritty details and coordination we didn’t have to worry about on our wedding weekend because we knew they were trained to execute our vision in a way we would not be able to on our own! -
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Meghna Sent on 10/30/2022
Excellent!
Dear Smita Aunty, Shilpa, Neha, Pooja, and team at Ethnic Essence, I cannot thank you all enough for helping us plan our wedding. Everything we experienced this past weekend completely surpassed expectations. When it came to the task of planning an Indian wedding from across the country, not seeing or being familiar with many of the venues and vendors before booking, all while starting my first few months of residency, I was definitely worried how things would go. But from the first day we worked with Smita aunty, she put my mind at ease and it was clear that we were in good hands. You were always there to answer any questions (we had many!) and so helpful always. It was amazing seeing your creative vision come to life last weekend and I know the guests were just as blown away as we were with your decor and planning. The whole thing was just WOW! And Shilpa, Neha, and Pooja throughout the weekend were truly amazing with their coordination and execution skills, I couldn’t have imagined things going smoother. Thank you guys for keeping me and Gajan well fed, hydrated, and in good spirits throughout all our events and for making sure we were all on time and hitting our cues. Extra special shoutout to Pooja who my bridesmaids couldn’t stop raving about for being such a positive energy on the morning of the wedding when things got a little stressful! The entire team at ethnic essence has truly made this an event that me and my family as well as Gajan‘s family will never forget. Thank you so much for all your help and we can’t wait to highly recommend you to all our friends and family for their future wedding planning! Best of luck with everything ahead!
Lots of love,
Meghna & Gajan -
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Amrita Sent on 03/08/2018We found Smita barely 2 months before our wedding, trying to plan a long distance wedding from afar. From the first phone call, Smita made me feel at home- I wasn't talking to a planner, I was talking to a personal friend, who just happens to plan! She understood both my style, vision, and the perfect way to merge and highlight my husband's and my unique cultural differences and family dynamics. After our initial chat turned 2 hours, my mom and I hung up instantly telling each other, SHES THE ONE!! She gave us honest advice, was upfront about pricing (with line by line budging) even before we were finalized with her, and took the time to draw out ideas and sketches that were spot on with the vision that I could barely articulate.
But literally within a day of our conversation, before we had officially signed our contract with her, we suddenly found ourselves in a crisis- having to change our venue <60 days before our multiple events. Smita jumped right in, helped deal with our anxiety, met my parents at the proposed new venue and literally jumped into crisis mode- well before she had any obligation too. She coordinated the entire transition process to the new hotel, and needless to say, relived an unbelievable level of anxiety we went through, especially since planning from afar, I wasn’t able to see the wedding venue until 2 days prior to the wedding!!! And she turned my wedding events into a SHOWSTOPPER. She understood the balance between not enough, and too over the top. every single event was seamless- every vendor perfectly on point, and even modified by Smita to be what we needed them to be- She has worked with each of them countless times over. We had more than half a dozen other assistants/coordinators that Smita brought, at her discretion, to ensure that everything was perfect. I couldn’t have asked for a better few days to spend with my loved ones, and are still in awe by how perfect it all was. Thank you Smita!! -
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Anuja Sent on 03/16/2018The moment we decided our wedding date, I knew that there were some vendors I absolutely HAD to have. Ethnic Essence was one of them and I booked them the day after our date was decided.
Our initial consultation turned into a 2 hour conversation where we went back and forth on ideas and brainstormed different aspects of the wedding and pre-wedding decor! She understood that I had a specific feeling I wanted to portray with the decor and came up with so many ideas to bring it to life. Her background in design enables her to draw out and color what you come up with. I was actually really content with the drawing but Smita Aunty BLEW ME AWAY on the wedding day when I saw everything in person.
I knew that I had a specific theme and vibe I wanted for each of my events and I am so grateful to the entire team: Smita Aunty, Iris, Darsha and the rest, for making everything we wanted and then some to happen during the wedding week. I found out weeks after the wedding, but Smita Aunty graciously added some more decor on the garba day to complete the rajasthan vibe due to some changes we had to make. Iris and the other decor assistants were SO excited to decorate sangeet night and it's these little things that really sets them apart from the crowd and turns a client-vendor relationship into something more.
For logistics and coordination the team went above and beyond in everything we needed to make our day perfect for us. Darsha was with me the moment I started getting ready during the wedding day and I was able to meet with her logistics coordinator a few weeks before the wedding at our venue. All of the vendors were on the same page at all times. The excel spreadsheet is daunting at first but a lifesaver. The team helped us fill it out and her logistics coordinator looks over it for any missing pieces (she had caught numerous little details we missed) -
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Amreeta Sent on 10/01/2017We had a Persian/Indian fusion wedding at the Laguna Cliffs Marriott and Smita and the wonderful team at Ethnic Essence did such an amazing job!!!!
This team is so fantastic and they truly were with us from the beginning to end! From the day we began planning, they were curious and inquisitive, asking us great questions, I mean things that we never had even thought about! They captured our vision and adapted to our changes so easily, and patiently. Smita knew the venue inside and out and had so many great suggestions for pictures and set ups, her experience was invaluable. They were delicate in balancing two cultures and figuring out how to make things work for us. Most importantly, they politely kept us on schedule for planning and the day of the events! We had a marathon of a day and it was so important to keep the wedding on track and the team kept it right on time! As a bride, I honestly had no stress in terms of planning and they didn't let me worry about a single thing. We had a few hiccups here and there as with any event, but the team came up with quick solutions and fixed things like it was nothing. They were kind with our guests and worked so well together! Our decor was what we imagined and more! I was in tears when I saw the finished product and our guests gushed about the flower arrangements for weeks! I honestly can't recommend them enough! They are professionals but they are also so personable! I am so grateful for all they did for us and can't thank them enough! -
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Naresh Sent on 07/29/2019
Excellent, outstanding, breathtaking.
Smita is an excellent planner for events. Her design, inventory, and final products are magnificent. She incorporates the client's ideas into her design and comes up with decor that is wonderful. She and her staff are professionals, courteous and easy to work with. This was the second event Smita did for us and would unhesitatingly go to her for any future needs. All our guests were awed by the decor and would not stop praising it throughout the evening. Not only did Smita come up with the decor, but she and her staff also coordinated with the other vendors (caterer, rental and wait staff) to make sure correct quantities, items, personnel were taken care of. Ethnic Essence would be my choice for any future needs and can assure there will be no disappointment. -
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Yeshma Sent on 05/11/2019
Outstanding !!
Smita & her team did an excellent job and far exceeded our expectations. We had multiple ceremonies for my daughter’s wedding & each one had amazing decor. Smita & her team took care of meticulous details & someone was always there when we had a question or needed help. I would recommend her very highly. Great job Smita - God Bless you - keep up the great work.
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Brooke Sent on 08/29/2019
HIGHLY recommend Ethnic Essence!
My husband and I got married in July and Ethnic Essence helped to create the most perfect and most beautiful day for us! We had a Hindu/Christian fusion wedding all in one day. Ethnic Essence was able to create wedding ceremonies and a reception that honored both mine and my husbands cultures. We also planned our wedding from across the country. Smita and Mary were always available to talk with us even through the time change and hectic schedules. They listened to us and designed exactly what we wanted. The day went perfectly! Everything was so well organized and on schedule. Our family and friends are still complimenting us on how wonderful the day was! We HIGHLY recommend EE for your wedding or festivity needs! -
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Sharan Sent on 03/15/2021
BEST Decor & Planning Team in the Business!
Planning a wedding is no small feat. My now husband and I were referred to Ethnic Essence and Smita in 2019 when we set off to plan our dream wedding in Palm Springs. We reached out to her about our decor desires for our big day and she worked with us to stay within our budget and still make all of our events look magical. Fast forward to March 2020, two months before our big day - we had to cancel our wedding due to COVID. After months of uncertainty and two attempts to reschedule, we finally settled on moving forward with a small, intimate wedding. Cutdown from 200 to 50 people, venue change to something more local in Malibu (we're from LA) and cutting down from 4 events to 1 - Smita worked with us to adjust all the little details so we could still celebrate our big day and that too safely!
The ceremony space it was so ethereal and magical - everything turned out even better than I dreamed of in my head! Smita is a true visionary and brought everything I asked for to life! Everything came together so beautifully - from the palki sahib, to the entry archway, to my GORGEOUS bouquet (which I'm having preserved so I have a memory of it forever), to our amazing B&G table at the lunch -- I still can't stop thinking about it.
We even had our planner back out of working with us less than two months before our wedding and we reached out to Smita to do month of coordination for us and she more than happily agreed. Her and her team (Alisha and Radhika), were so wonderful the day of and we were so gracious and thankful that we had them running point on our big day. We had delays and small hiccups, but they handled everything with calmness and care and made us feel so at ease.
Their hard work, dedication, professionalism and most importantly attention to detail throughout this whole process blew us away. So many of my friends and family commented how impressed they were by them. We truly had a wonderful and memorable day celebrating and could not have done that without Smita, Alisha & Radhika's help. We're so appreciative of the part they played in making our wedding special.
Highly recommend, look no further for your decor and planning needs! Especially for those looking to plan and execute small, intimate COVID safe weddings. -
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