Published on March 16th, 2008.
Viewed 104 times.
Story rank of 30.
Of course you’ve dreamt about your wedding day. Probably hundreds of times if not more, right?
Most brides have thought about this day, long before they’ve even found their soul mate. Isn’t that crazy? Do men have that ONE “special day” or “event” in their life that they’ve visualized their entire life? Strange, that just dawned on me.
How about your parents – have they ever envisioned what your wedding day would be like? To a point, I suppose they have. But, has it been to the extent that you have? That’s probably rare. I can beyond doubt say my mom had. We often spoke about weddings – in general. Mine in particular? A lot more after I turned 23 (It was “the age” factor kicking in). But, I always knew my mom dreamt big, possibly even bigger than I did – and by that I DON’T mean costly, just exclusive.
Our wedding celebrations took place in Homestead, Florida on April 5th – 8th of 2007; definitely, the most memorable events of my life, to date. Not sure, how many people are familiar with this tiny town located 45 minutes south of Miami, 200 miles away from the southern tip of Florida; however it definitely wasn’t my first choice of location for our big day (or so I thought).
Shortly after we got engaged in September 2006, my family collaborated together to start gathering ideas. Our families quickly came to an agreement on the dates (of course it was sought after the Indian Calendar – god forbid we got married on “that” day). Now onto location – isn’t that key for most successful businesses? Ok, so this isn’t a business venture, but it’s still pretty darn important. My mom envisioned it OUTDOORS; I imagined a UNIQUE theme - just something elite.
Designing our wedding was no easy task. We started thinking about some key factors vital to a 3-4 day Gujarati wedding. We had to think about convenience, leisure and accommodation for 500 guests that were going to be attending our celebrations. After all, our guests were just as important as we were (the pleasures of being an Indian Bride). But, in all seriousness seeing our family come together during that time is what made our events so memorable.
We looked at several venues in Miami, Kendall…even the Keys large enough to hold a crowd of 500 - Homestead just wasn’t cutting it. But even the most luxurious hotels and resorts, didn’t gain the “awe...I’m in love” factor. Until my aunt suggested we hold the celebrations on the parking lot of my my parents’ 90 unit motel. A parking lot wedding?!? You’ve got to be kidding! That definitely didn’t play a role in my storybook wedding (again, or so I thought).
Our envisioned location was right before us and we didn’t even know it. My mom agreed and I went with it – I trusted her gut. My mom’s mind started racing with ideas….
Our “Little India” wedding theme was created with two inspirations in mind: The important aspects of a traditional Gujarati wedding and an idea to build around my grandfather’s native birthplace (or more commonly known in “Gujarati terms” as my Gaam, Karamsad, a city in Gujarat. Here’s a little history lesson…Karamsad, is a part of the Chaagaam Gol (Circles of Six Khadkies or Villages), namely Bhayani Khadki, Bapani Khadki, Hathibhaini Khadki, Motabhaini Khadki, Jini Khadki, and Chhatthi Khadki. We started by creating road signs for each Khadki and a map for our guests to visualize the city. The idea of having our guests’ rooms overlooking an open tent came from the idea of how Indian weddings were held in the olden days – in the streets of the city. We used all sorts of hand-painted terra cotta matli’s (wall and landscape décor). We created signs for each location of the events, namely Suhaag Garden and Peacock Pavilion, which resembled our themes for the particular occasion. I was brought into the wedding in a gadhu by my mama’s, which I have to say was the most momentous part of the traditional wedding feel.
Our Peacock Themed Reception was a fun and colorful theme, with so many intricate details. It was the perfect theme for a wedding reception because not only do peacocks symbolize our religion, but it also allowed us to decorate with so much color. Peacocks were used in every sense of the bird from handmade peacock centerpieces to handmade peacock isle décor. We made chocolate boxes for each table, which were painted using all colors of the peacock. And best of all, we used peacock masks as our napkin holders, which was definitely an awesome and unique way to get the party started.
From September ‘06 to April ‘07, my family went full force. We didn’t hire a wedding decorator. We hired the best of the best....our Mom, Bharti Patel, our Baa and Dada, Pushpa Baa and Shantilala Dada, our mama, Bejal Patel, our very good friends Komal Shah and Julio Perez - who together HANDMADE 90% of our wedding decorations. Nor did we hire a wedding coordinator - our team consisted of the entire 'Patel Clan', with special effects by our sister-in-laws Etu and Jyoti Patel, our brothers Sunny & Sam Patel and our very good friends Suni Karki and Nikinbhai Shah. And last, but most importantly, this day couldn't have happened without the love, support and funding from our dad, Prem Patel
Accommodating our guests at the actual venue gave our guests the privilege to attend our wedding ceremonies in a timely manner (we’re all familiar with IST, right?) without leaving our “Suhaag Garden”. But more importantly, it allowed us to be creative with our decorating ideas since the location was our “second” home. And at the end of everything - what we envisioned to be an exclusive wedding was a reality.
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