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 About the Couple
Ekta Patrawala and Amit Nahata live in Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania. Amit is from New Jersey and Ekta from Florida. Says Ekta: “We met at an
after-work happy hour in New York City. Amit called me a few days later and the rest as
the cliché goes is history.”
The
Proposal and Engagement
Ekta is a Gujarati Jain and Amit is Marwari Jain so both families were very happy that
their wards had chosen a Jain life-partner. Says Ekta: “Amit proposed to me in NYC on
January 10, 2003. He took me to a fortune-teller who told me that she saw an engagement in
the near future. I immediately looked over and Amit was on one knee with a beautiful
diamond ring. We had a formal engagement party with our family and friends in August 2003
at Milan Banquets in Garfield, NJ.”
The
Wedding Functions
The Mehndi was at the Patrawala residence (Ekta's
home) in Florida on October 30, 2003. The Garba/Raas
was at the Clearwater Beach Recreation Center in Clearwater, Florida on October 31, 2003.
 The Wedding and Reception was on November 1, 2003 at the scenic
Fort Harrison Hotel in Clearwater Beach, Florida. Pundit Harish Jani performed the Hindu
Wedding ceremony that incorporated Jain customs. The function started with The Kalaiya
music group (they performed at all the wedding functions) singing the Navkar Mantra that
lent a serene ambience to the surrounding. The music group with their live performances
and personalized tunes added a special touch to all functions. After the wedding, when
Ekta’s sister and friends stole Amit’s shoes, they sang ‘Jute Lo Paise
Lo’ from the film ‘Hum Aapke Hain Kaun’.
The wedding mandap was a
white-gold sankeda draped in beautiful cream chiffon accented by red roses.
At the Reception, Ekta and Amit
danced to ‘Tu Hi Wuhi’ from ‘Yeh Vada Rahi.’ The song had a special
significance for Ekta as it was her favorite childhood song and coincidentally, the song
played in the background when she met Amit for the first time. The centerpieces for the
reception were arrangements of black magic roses.
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Amit admiring Ekta's mehndi |
The
Wedding Food
The menu for the Mehndi was Gujarati and it included khaman,
katchori and basudi. For the garba there was a South Indian spread with dosa, idli and
medu vada. Pav-bhaji and various other appetizers were served before the wedding ceremony.
After the wedding and during the cocktail hour, foods from various countries were served-
hummus/feta pita, grape leaves, samosa, paneer tikka, fruits, mozerella sticks, stuffed
jalepenos etc. The special drinks created by Amit and Ekta included a mango martini and a
lychee martini. The reception dinner was a full Punjabi spread- naan, paratha, aloo saag,
navratna korma, daal makhani, dry bhindi, paneer masala, raita, salad and rice. For
desserts, there was a Viennese table with the wedding cake, cheesecake, mini-eclairs,
fresh crepes, chocolate covered strawberries, gulab jamun, ras malai, gajar halwa, and
chum chum.
Wedding
Shopping
Ekta with her sister and mother went to Mumbai in summer 2003 to buy the clothes,
invitations, decorations, give-aways and dandiyas. For the Garba, Ekta wore a
chaniya-choli from a Mumbai designer. Amit's garba outfit came from Edison, New Jersey.
For the wedding, Ekta wore a panetar style chaniya-choli from the store
‘Friendship’ in Santa Cruz, Mumbai. For the reception, she wore an A-line skirt
choli from Zeenat Sayani of Private Collection, Mumbai. Amit's wedding and reception
outfit were both purchased from Pramanik in Matunga, Mumbai.
Wedding
Planning Advice
“If possible, visit India for the majority of purchases. It is far less expensive and
the selection and choice available there is awesome, compared to what is available in the
US. We also recommend that you plan early and make sure all your vendors are aware of your
‘wedding vision’”, emphasise Ekta and Amit.
Wedding
Ingredients
Décor: Palloo's Flowers, Orlando, Florida
Music: The Kalaiya Group, Mumbai
Photography: Arvin Patel, St. Petersburg, Florida
Catering: Punjab India
Ekta’s Make-up: Sangeeta Patel
DJ: Magic Mike, New Jersey |
