Photos Courtesy: Shipra Panosian Photography
www.shiprapanosian.com

A proposal made in the air, and a wedding solemnized on earth,
… this jodi was made in heaven

Poornima flew from Philadelphia to Tampa, where she and Anand Tyagi lived planned to spend a quality weekend together. Poornima’s sleep during the flight was interrupted by an announcement. It was about a surprise gift Poornima Gaur had won, and she was requested to collect it from the front row. Reaching the front, she was congratulated by the staff for winning the special prize. In a flash, Anand appeared from behind the curtains of the beverage cabin, got down on his knee and proposed to her. Taken aback by such a welcoming surprise, all Poornima could say was yes.

The pilot announced their proposal and everyone on board joined in congratulating the couple. Celebrations started mid-air, with a bottle of champagne and drinks.

Although Poornima lived in Philadelphia, she chose the Palmetto Club near Tampa, Florida, as the venue. The venue’s mesmerizing outdoors was the perfect backdrop for the ceremony. The grand reception hall offered a comfortable accommodation for the guests to celebrate the event.

Mehndi and Sangeet
A Moroccan theme with vibrant purples, oranges, and pinks created a warm atmosphere for mehndi night. The centerpieces were colorful Moroccan lamps, and purple lighting shone throughout the room. The décor incorporated serpentine benches with orange, purple, and pink cushions, which were separated by a table with orange Moroccan umbrellas.

In the center of the room, there was a square boutique tent with purple curtains. A decorative hookah and Moroccan teacups all around generated a true theme ambience. The love seat placed for the couple stood under an orange canopy surrounded by pink Devdas curtains.

Poornima wore a Rajasthani outfit with silver detailing and colors similar to the evening’s theme. Her silver jewelry included pink stones to match her outfit.

Wedding Ceremony
The couple picked a yellow, orange, and red palette as the color theme for the ceremony. An outdoor garden event, the mandap was fabricated with white and gold pillars draped in burnt orange. The roof of the mandap was adorned in gold draping.

There were six Deepalaxmis on white pedestals along the aisle, holding beautiful bouquets. The pedestals were connected with burnt orange drapings, which fell to the grass and were aligned with yellow, red, and orange flowers.

Two white elephant statues stood guard at the mandap gate. The entrance was marked with a Ganesha idol standing on a table beautifully decorated with yellow, red, and orange lotuses.
For the wedding ceremony, the bride went for a traditional look. She wore a burgundy outfit with heavy embroidery. Matching jewelry added much opulence to her elegant look. Her hair was set in an up do and was accentuated with a flower matching her outfit. Her makeup was dramatic, in true Bollywood style.

Poornima’s favorite color teal was the theme for the wedding reception. Adding a blend of purple to the theme color created an amazing ambiance for the evening. The bride’s lehnga was teal with of gold embroidery work. Her jewelry in gold withteal stones was a unique piece, and the earrings and tika were crafted in a butterfly design.

The setup for the reception space included two cross formations using long tables and seating. Around the cross formations were round tables. On the cross-section stood a huge 32” cylinder vase filled with clear gels, topped with a spray of six feet tall curly willows, bed of plum hydrangeas, lavender roses, blue and purple dendrobium orchids. Willows were adorned with hanging crystals. The vases were accented with floating candles. The entire arrangement was elevated on acrylic cube to create a more dramatic effect. The centerpieces on the long tables of the cross set-up were 28” pilsner vases topped with a spray of blue and purple dendrobium orchids and long spurts of curly willow.

The stage for the couple had two golden wrought iron trees as the backdrop. The trees were decorated with floral arrangements. Hanging candles and crystals were also used to bejewel the trees. The stage had a golden royal love seat with a white pleated backdrop.

Other unique décor elements at the reception included semi-ornate orchid chandeliers hanging above the dance floor. The chandelier treatments were designed using blue and purple orchids, hanging candles and Swarovski crystal strands.

Throughout the evening, DJ PRAM from Rang Entertainment played a mix of American and Bollywood numbers to keep guests dancing.

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Magic in the Air

A film-like wedding story of a girl and a boy who meet, became friends, fall for each other, then part ways, only to reunite – this time forever.

The friendship between Radha and Mahesh that began at Duke University grew through chance meetings. It continued to strengthen when the two went to Washington, DC, for internships. A tennis game date with Radha watching and Mahesh playing, ended with the first sweet kiss – a transgression from friendship to love. The teens graduated and became professionals. Work led them to distant places. Understanding the complications in a long-distance relationship, the two soon decided to part ways but still remained friends.

It took twelve long years for them to understand that they indeed were soul mates, inseparable.

Official Proposal

Mahesh did an extensive research on diamond rings, and made several rounds to the wholesalers and jewelers all around. He finally settled for one. Mahesh planned a weekend trip to Clearwater beach of Tampa Bay area. Setting the tune for the evening, Mahesh took Radha for an exotic lunch at the Hispanic beachfront restaurant – Columbia. After lunch, enjoyed a luxurious couples massage at Sand pearl Spa Resort.

Then Mahesh rushed her to the hotel – The Renaissance Vinoy. At the balcony of the hotel suite, with the scenic harbor view in the background, Mahesh went on one knee and officially proposed Radha. Goes without saying, Radha accepted.

Knocking on the door, soon after the proposal and acceptance, was a bunch of unexpected guests – the couple’s families. Mahesh had already taken their consent. The proposal plan worked out perfectly. Only that the plane with banner flying behind… “RADHA, WILL YOU MARRY ME?” while the two were standing in the balcony, as planned by Mahesh didn’t appear. The cloudy sky that evening didn’t let the flight take-off.

The Wedding Plan
Orlando offered an excellent location for the event since the couple wanted the guests and their families have a blast at Orlando’s theme parks. That’s why they chose to have the wedding on a holiday weekend, Memorial Day Weekend. The Grand Cypress Hyatt was the venue of choice due to its beautiful architecture and trusted advice from the their Event Specialist, Angela Palacio.

The Garba and Raas took place in the Hyatt Ballroom. The Garba-Raas Gator group as well as a Bhangra Gator Group performed in between the Garba and the Raas. A dhol player was present to keep the music of the occasion festive and live.

Jilna of Suhaag played a key role in translating the dream vision of the couple into a real life event. Not only did she translate the duo’s vision for the entire week of events into an exact reality but also garnished with additional surprises in the final décor. The additions were more than welcome.

The Wedding Ceremony was staged as a traditional Royal Indian wedding in a gold, red, green, and ivory theme. The elegant ceremony remained short and timely. The priest, Mahesh Gor, with an eye for frames proved to be a fantastic key-man for the photographer, DJ, and the videographer. At the end of the ceremony, Mahesh and Radha exchanged personal vows. As a traditional Hindu ceremony, the priest recited shlokas in Sanskrit and one of Radha’s uncles interpreted the recital.

Radha appeared for the ceremony by walking down a spiral staircase. At the bottom of the staircase, she was greeted by her mamas (mother’s brothers), who were followed by her brother and her father.

The Reception party centered around a Western Crystal Palace theme with Swarovski crystals everywhere, blue lighting giving an ice-life effect, and white draping throughout the entire ceiling.

Music for each of the events the events was kept as personal as possible. The tracks included original music written and composed by Radha and her brother. Special performances of the evening included the Father-Daughter Dance to the track “Pull Me From Heaven,” the First Dance to “Love Me Right,” and a special piano performance by the bride’s brother. Radha herself wrote “Pull Me From Heaven” signifying times soon after her birth. She as a baby had almost died due to a fatal illness. Her parent’s faith in God made her survive. During the wedding ceremony, Radha chose to walk down the aisle to “Latika’s Theme” from Slumdog Millionaire. In this special version, the voice-overs in the track were pre-recorded by Mahesh and Radha.

The final production truly represented east meets west entertainment. It began with Bharatnatyam dancers, followed by fusion dancers, and ended with Cirque performers in an aerial performance. DJ Firoz was called in for the evening and dhol player Sunny added to the fun for bhangra enthusiasts. Dancers from the University of Florida included the groups of Bhangra, Garba, Fusion, and Bharatnatyam.

Bridal attire
Radha’s clothing and jewelry was all custom-made and bought in India. Her wedding dress prominently displayed her favorite colors, red and green, and less of the typical red and white or red and gold. She wanted the outfits to look rich with a lot of embroidery, but not over the top. For the Garba Raas, Radha dressed in blue to match the festive and colorful peacock theme.

Radha’s reception dress precisely met her personal vision that she had visualized since her teenage days. She always wanted to marry according to Indian traditions and style, but was also enamored by the ‘white dress.’ She herself designed the dress to look like a crystal princess. And so she was. Her jewelry too was magnificent, very bright and catchy, especially on camera.

The Wedding Cake
The cake looked grand! It was about five feet high on its own platform. A crystal gateway was created for the cake with hanging Swarovski crystals. In the middle of the cake, there was a large white crystal shimmering elephant. It was a centerpiece all on its own.

The wedding events and personal touches truly captured the essence of Mahesh and Radha’s personalities and their romance!

Hotel Catering:
Grand Cypress Hyatt Regency
www.GrandCypress.Hyatt.com

Décor:
Suhaag Gardens
www.suhaaggardens.com

Catering:
Tabla
www.tablabar.com

DJ:
Dudha Productions
www.dudhaproductions.com

Photo Booth:
ShutterBooth
www.shutterbooth.com

Photography:
E.P. Pro Studio
www.epprostudio.com

Cinematography:
Perfect Sky Productions

Henna:
Sangita Patel
sangita1961@gmail.com