Neel & Reshma’s Vibrant Cultural Wedding

Neel & Reshma first crossed paths on a balmy New York City evening in May of 2012. With the weather finally warming up, Neel had made plans to meet his friends at the Kimberly Hotel Rooftop to enjoy the beautiful evening. As fate would have it, Reshma was heading to the same trendy rooftop to catch up with friends. As punctual as ever Neel arrived before his friends, and surprisingly so did Reshma. The crowd was picking up and Neel and Reshma bumped into each other in line. They began talking and instantly hit it off, the two lost track of time and the evening whisked away. The rooftop eventually reached capacity and their friends never made it up allowing their conversation to carry an interest to blossom. A few days later Neel asked Reshma out on their first date. Neel’s pick was for Mexican cuisine. Reshma canceled reservations 5 times before finally agreeing to dinner at Fonda, putting Neel’s patience, or lack thereof, to the test. The first date dinner conversation included dream travel destinations, as Neel was in vacation mode because he was heading to Budapest, Prague, and Vienna with his friends the next morning. Similarly, Reshma had plans to take a breather from NYC and visit her friends on the west coast.

Months flew by and the two merely forgot about their encounter on the rooftop earlier that summer. August rolled around and Neel happened to be at a Yankee game with his brother and a few friends. Reshma was working as the doctor on call at Yankee Stadium and in between patients was enjoying the game. She was there with her cousin Luky who had checked in with her on Facebook at Yankee Stadium. Neel saw the Facebook check-in and instantly messaged Reshma to meet up. A couple of days later Reshma responded and it had turned out that Reshma had moved two blocks away from where Neel was living. Sparks ignited. The two hadn’t known each other for long, but jet-setters at heart, they planned a spontaneous trip to Brazil to ring in 2013. And as they say, the rest is history. In the short time that Neel and Reshma have known each other, they have certainly done more than their fair share of travel. Together they have visited over 22 countries including a 40 day Southeast Asia trip. 

It was Reshma’s birthday week so Neel used that as a ploy to plan a grand surprise. He told Reshma to meet him for cocktails before her birthday dinner. They had officially met on an NYC rooftop but Neel figured he had to be a little discrete in planning as inviting her to the Kimberly Rooftop would not only have given away the surprise, but Reshma would have caught on. Alternatively, he picked the Hyatt Times Square and booked a suite which had a beautiful private terrace on the 52nd floor. Rose petals scattered and champagne toast ready to go, he directed Reshma towards the terrace he had decorated. Still thinking it was her birthday celebration, Reshma hadn’t pieced things together when Neel dropped to one knee and asked Reshma to marry him. But that was only half the surprise! Neel had invited friends and family from near and far to join for a private party and had booked the Skybox at Tao. The surprise worked out perfectly. 

A Few Special Pieces

Neel & Reshma had fun designing and incorporating a specialized Snapchat filter for their guests to use during the wedding. It was an innovative idea and the guests loved it!

The Groom’s Favorite Part of the Day

My favorite part of the day was the entrance. The Michigan flag was raised proudly, there was confetti being thrown every direction and fireworks were going off above us. It was magical! 

The Bride’s Favorite Part of the Day

It is hard to narrow down to one moment, but I would have to say that walking down the aisle was my favorite moment. Seeing all of the personalized signs that I had created, the beautiful Mandap with flowers and the lake in the backdrop was breathtaking.