Anisha and Hitesh at Ahmedabad
Hitesh waltzed into Anisha’s heart when they were in college, and their romance was celebrated with a charming wedding in Ahmedabad
Our series, ‘Featured Weddings’ brings you wonderful moments from weddings held at the finest venues across different cities. Here, bride Anisha shares memories of how she met Hitesh, how he proposed and their marriage celebrations in her maternal hometown of Ahmedabad.
How We Met
Anisha and Hitesh first met at the University of Massachussets Amherst (UMass), where they were part of a fusion dance team. Back then, Hitesh was doing his Ph.D in polymer science, while Anisha was completing her bachelor’s degree in Kinesiology. “We gradually became each other’s best friend over one year of college,” shares Anisha. Hitesh currently works in research in the automobile industry, while Anisha is a special education teacher for middle school math and science.
Wedding Proposal
Anisha has the fondest memories of her time with Hitesh when they were both students. “When we were students, we used to go to this cheap diner after dance practice. It was a ritual to drink coffee, play ‘Stairway to Heaven’ on the jukebox and order cheesecake. Years later, when I was completing my Master’s Degree at UMass and Hitesh was working and living in New Jersey, he took me on a ‘special date’ – his plan was to take me to the same cheap diner but he did not reveal that. I obviously thought he was going to propose so I got all dressed up in a gown, wore jewellery and make-up and fancy shoes… which I never enjoy doing. Needless to say, I landed up at the dinner looking terribly out of place. During dinner, Hitesh remarked nostalgically that we had spent so much time in the diner, and I thought he was going to propose. The whole date I was on the edge thinking he was going to pop the question, but he did not say anything!”
Wedding Venue
“We got married at the Gulmohar Greens Golf & Country Club in Ahmedabad. Hitesh’s entire family lives in India, as do my maternal grandparents so we decided to have our wedding there. Our main consideration regarding the venue was that it had to be spacious enough to accommodate all our guests as we had lots of people flying in from the US. My guests stayed at Gulmohar Greens resort, Hitesh’s side of the family were put up at The Fern hotel and other guests stayed at Rajpath Club.”
Wedding Planning
“We got engaged in June 2014 and planned the wedding for December 2015 so that we had enough time to plan things from the US. My mom and I went to India in November 2014 to shop for my trousseau, jewellery and wedding invitations. Our relatives were of immense help and my mother travelled to Ahmedabad again in March 2014 to book the venue and hotel rooms. She also bought the bridesmaids sarees around the same time. We had about 400-500 guests at the wedding so it was a pretty large celebration. Hitesh and I both have large but very close-knit families. Plus, all my friends were able to make it for the event so it felt like an intimate celebration.”
Wedding Functions
“The wedding festivities kicked off with a party at my maternal grandmother’s brother’s farm in Vidyanagar. It was styled like a cocktail event and everyone came dressed and ready to dance.”
“The mehndi was held at my grandparent’s penthouse, and my cousin Devanshi Amin who is an amazing interior decorator made sure the décor was in sync with the mehndi theme. We had flowers strung across the ceiling with origami butterflies hanging down. We also had origami cranes and flower strands adorning windows. All my cousins helped made the origami creations so that was a fun, bonding experience. I wore a green and gold salwar for the mehndi which was bought from a vendor at the Wedding Expo in Ahmedabad only weeks before the wedding. My jewellery was from TBZ.”
“The sangeet revolved around dancing! Hitesh and I are both dancers and so are a lot of our friends, so we had a whole stage show prepared with dances that told our story. Our friends emceed, danced, and sang and the whole gathering loved the acts. We used local sound, stage, lighting and traditional décor with Rajasthani accents. The entry was vibrant with candles and decorative umbrellas. I wore a beautiful yellow pink and orange ‘chaniya choli’ from Mysore Saree Udyog in Bangalore. My mom and I spent almost two full days there buying clothes for my in-laws, my family and ourselves. My jewellery was a gorgeous antique set from Bespoke in Bangalore.”
“The wedding was next! The arched ‘mandap’ and entry to it was beautifully decorated with white and purple flowers. Garlands of blooms were also strung from the top of the arch in a beautiful profusion. My favourite part just before I walked to the ‘mandap’ was when my bridesmaids, cousins and I sang ‘Backstreet Boys’ for my younger sister to make her laugh as she was getting emotional. I’ll never forget that moment. My wedding lehenga was from Samyakk in Bangalore. For my sangeet and wedding, I wanted ensembles that were bridal in nature but also versatile to be worn at other events. My mother’s friend even had the net dupatta work taken off and stitched on silk because I’m not a big fan of net material. My outfit was a rust orange lehenga with an antique gold blouse and red dupatta, and my jewellery from Bespoke was antique gold with turquoise and pearls. My bridesmaid’s saris were all different shades of turquoise to match my jewellery! My favourite part of the ensemble were my shoes – I wore classic white Converse sneakers!”
“Our catering was amazing- everyone raved about the variety, creativity and deliciousness of the food at each event. My grandparents are very close friends with Lasty Parikh who has been running a successful catering business, Lasty’s Feast and Food, since she catered at my mother’s wedding! She and her daughter-in-law Anal Patel served up an amazing variety of dishes with outstanding flavours which everyone enjoyed.”
“Our catering was amazing- everyone raved about the variety, creativity and deliciousness of the food at each event. My grandparents are very close friends with Lasty Parikh who has been running a successful catering business, Lasty’s Feast and Food, since she catered at my mother’s wedding! She and her daughter-in-law Anal Patel served up an amazing variety of dishes with outstanding flavours which everyone enjoyed.”
Advice for other to-be wed couples
“One of the biggest realisations I have had is that people who you expect will be there for you may disappoint, and people from whom you did not expect much will deliver. So keep your friends and family members close, and stay involved with them because they will be by your side in an emergency. And most importantly – take a few deep breaths during the wedding week to really relax and enjoy those special moments because those memories will last a lifetime.”
The Wedding Makers
Catering: Lasty’s Feast and Food, Ahmedabad
Make-up: Ulupi Salon & Spa (sangeet and wedding)
Entertainment: Jal Tarang (wedding) and DJ Dhanraj (sangeet)
Wedding film by Preach Art
Photography: Preach Art
