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 About
the Couple
Mona Mandal is a techie by
profession. She was born in Calcutta and was raised in New York
City for most of her life. Now, she resides in Durham, North
Carolina. Somnath Mukherji is an electrical engineer by
profession. He is also a mountaineer, a rower, an environmentalist
and is passionate about living life in its full glory. He was born
in Calcutta and now lives in Arlington, Massachusetts.
The
proposal
Says Mona: "We had
gone for a breakfast picnic on October 19, 2002 near Spy Pond in
Arlington, Massachussetts. It was a beautiful, crisp fall day and
there were fall colors all around us by the minuteman trail.
Somnath told me to stand under this tree near our picnic bench and
to close my eyes. When I opened my eyes, he was on one knee and
then he proposed to me- first in English and then in Bengali. Of
course, I said yes J. He gave me a beautiful necklace as a momento
as Bengalis do not traditionally exchange engagement rings. It was
really a wonderful day.....the first of many more to come in our
lives together."
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Venue
Decor |
Wedding
Ceremony |
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The
Details
Most of the
wedding music was edited by the immensely talented
DJ Kenz Desai. He also had fantastic lighting
equipment that really added to the whole reception
atmosphere. Say the couple: "We would highly
recommend him to all our local friends for
creating magic for a special event you want to
celebrate in grand style."
The wedding cake
was a masterpiece done by a local bakery, Sweet
Traditions in Cary. Karen, the baker and owner of
the charming little bakery used the bronze
coloring and the design from the wedding card to
make the white cake with buttercream frosting.
The wedding
caterer was Sitar India Palace Restaurant. Says
Mona: "We worked closely with the owner, Mr.
P.C. Anthony, who was a real pleasure to work with
and was full of great ideas. We would highly
recommend this Indian restaurant for any special
occasion." |
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The
Wedding
The Wedding took place on
a rainy day of February 22, 2003 in Hilton, Durham, North
Carolina. The Mandap was the setting of the wedding ceremony and
one of the main focal points of the wedding. It was set up in the
Trinity ballroom of the Hilton hotel in the morning of the wedding
day. Mona and Somnath personalized the ceremony with the wedding
game. "We wanted to give our guests a glimpse of our
personalities and so we had a wedding game in the program with 20
facts about the bride and groom", says Mona. The program
ended with a verse from the Gitanjali by Tagore. "We wanted
the image of a world where we look for ways to enrich our lives
with knowledge and the search for truth and try to be better human
beings", say the duo.
The
Reception (s)
The wedding reception was in the
evening on the same day and was held in the adjoining banquet
hall. The bride and groom had a blast throughout the whole
reception as they got to relax and sit back and watch the show
from the Head Table followed by the wild dance party at the end of
the night.
Says Mona:
"One thing that was close to my heart was our first dance
song which was a special music piece that was produced on our
request. We picked two songs and we had a recording session with
our DJ/Music Producer Kenz Desai who also put in our words that we
said as a tribute to each other. We heard these words for the
first time on the dance floor and so it was a very special
experience for us. For me, it was a way of saying some special
words to my husband to convey how I felt about him."
The bride and
groom then went back to India to have their second wedding
reception in India on March 15, 2003 and it was the first time
Mona met Somnath's parents. The Bou Bhat ceremony is the first
time the new bride serves her new family with food (typically
rice) and thus the translation - "bou" meaning bride and
"bhat" meaning rice. The reception followed the same
evening.
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The
First Dance |
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Wedding
Cake |
Text inputs and Pictures courtesy: www.somnathmona.com
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