Groom of Her Dreams

Shivani always nurtured a wish to share her life with the man of her dreams. No one really knows if Amit meets all of her criteria, but there is no doubt Shivani was glowing with happiness the day they married. On that day, she was free of the usual wedding nightmares – that Amit might leave in the middle of the ceremony or that her wedding outfit was nowhere to be found. Thankfully, the event unfolded flawlessly, and it was clear that both Amit and Shivani planned the events down to the details.

Shivani Sunil Patel, a bridal consultant, met Amit Hasmu-khrai Pandya, a businessman, while on assignment in the United States. Shaadi.com bridged their two lives together, and they carried on a courtship over six months via Skype. Amit surprised Shivani with a visit to India where he proposed to her. They were quickly engaged and began planning the perfect wedding. Working out a plan proved to be an easy task, as Shivani had planned her younger sister’s wedding just recently. With Shivani in India and Amit in the US, sharing ideas and making decisions was sometimes tricky. Time differences meant that sometimes Amit was sleeping when Shivani was enjoying an afternoon of wedding planning. They soon learned that when you pledge to do something with all your heart, nothing would get in the way to stop you. The couple chose the Wyndham Orlando Resort as the venue since outside catering was allowed and the ballrooms there were exquisite.

Amit’s family would be traveling from Nairobi, Kenya, to attend the ceremony, so the venue proved to be the perfect fit. Both Amit and Shivani played a role in selecting the wedding colors and the decorations for the mandap, which had a distinct modern feel. The mandap had wooden hollow columns with orchids hanging from the top. Gold, red and green were the chosen colors for the event, and the reception was thoroughly planned with black and white damask with fuchsia lightening. The mandap ended up looking exactly as Shivani crafted in her imagination.

The wedding ceremony was preceded by a meet and greet function where theme was tropical blue, with an accent of tropical design and bamboo centerpieces alongside the pool. On the day of the much-awaited ceremony, which was held in the Palms Ballroom at Wyndham Orlando Resort, the bride walked down the aisle on a burgundy carpet. The wooden mandap with floral elements and gold Manzanita trees with hanging crystals added an extravagance to the decoration, and the aisle was lined with candles.

Shivani dressed for the day in a silk lengha, embroidered with gold beads on the front and a special veil made of net. The elegant embroidery on the lengha pushed her look over the top and gave her an impeccably graceful look. Her hair, done by her sister, was made up with small red and white flowers clutched by a jeweled ornament. Her mother, sister and sister-in-law wore purple orchids in their hair, while the bridesmaids wore white orchids and carried a golden plate with a candle and rose petals. The groom looked no less graceful than Shivani in his million star and greenery boutonniere enhanced with purple and pink orchids.

Estate tables, crystal pedestals and crystal balls, candles, cylinder vases, fuchsia lightning and fuchsia napkins adorned the reception venue. The newly married couple cut a white chocolate four-tier wedding cake. For the groom’s cake, Shivani surprised Amit with his favorite – chocolate cake with

chocolate filling in the shape of a sports car (since Amit is a motor vehicle junkie!).

The reception menu included a wide variety of scrumptious delights, including Hariali chicken, corn manchurian, kadai chicken, and malai kofta. Amit’s nephew, Vineet Gandhia raised a toast for the happy copule, and delivered a thoughtful good luck speech. Shivani’s brother, Karan, and sister, Nishima, joined Vineet in congratulating the couple. Guests danced into the night to African music and popular Hindi tracks such as “Tera Chehra” by Adnan Sami and a song from Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham.

The entire event went off without a hitch, and the happy couple are testament to the fact that love is where pleasure meets fulfillment.