|
 |
|
Reception:
Runa is wearing a rust & gold lengha from
Sunny's Bridal in Vancouver, BC and Ankur a dark
gray suit with a gold shirt. |
About
Ankur and Runa
Ankur Gupta, the son of Sushil and Lalita Gupta is 25
years old and a software engineer at the Credit Bureau
of Columbus Companies in Columbus, OH. Ankur was born in
Delhi and grew
up
in the sun and fun of Miami, Florida. There he attended
Florida International University (FIU) and graduated
with a Bachelors degree in Finance and MIS. Runa Shankar,
the daughter of Ravi and Uma Shankar, is 24 years old
and a business and financial analyst at The Boeing
Company in Seattle, WA. She has a Bachelors degree in
Finance and MIS from Seattle Pacific University (SPU).
Runa is an international woman; she was born in Mumbai
and has lived in many places including London, Nigeria,
Boston and Houston.
How
We Met
"Although we initially met through common friends
while in school, we didn't start going out till much
later. We remained friends throughout our college years
and mostly communicated through e-mail and occasional
phone conversations." After graduating from FIU,
Ankur got a job that would occasionally bring him to the
Emerald City of Seattle. Ankur took the opportunity to
spend time with Runa and the two hit it off! Ankur soon
started visiting Seattle not for work but to meet Runa.
"After some time we both decided to tell our
parents that we had found that special someone. A year
later we were engaged and six months after we were
husband and wife."
The
Wedding Functions
Dances
First Dance:
Don't know much by Linda Ronstadt and
Aaron Neville Father/Daughter
Dance: Butterfly Kisses by Bob
Carlisle
Centerpieces
Glass vases with a beautiful assortment
of flowers placed on round mirrors and
surrounded by votive candles and gold
tea-lites. Instead of seeing a bunch of
green stems through the glass of the
vases, there was an upside down lily
instead (the stems were cut really short
and were hidden by a water soaked sponge
close to the mouth of the vase).
Favors
4 different kinds of candy (hugs,
kisses, promises, treasures) wrapped in
burgundy tulle and tied with ribbon.
Attached to each was a vellum papered
note saying "A Hug & A Kiss, A
Promise to Treasure, Thank You for
Sharing, Our First Day
Together."
Guest
Features
"We had 12 disposable wedding
cameras placed on every other guest
table for our guests to take candid
pictures of the party that the
professional photographer may not have
had. We also had wedding bubbles for
people to blow around us while we were
doing our first dance."
|
|
The
Engagement
The
engagement was held at the residence of the Shankar's; a
semi-formal affair on a beautiful Seattle afternoon on
Memorial Day weekend, May 25th, 2002. Runa was dressed
in a beautiful maroon lengha and Ankur was wearing a
very stylish casual tan suit with an ivory shirt. Ankur
was accompanied by his family and friends from Florida,
his relatives from New Jersey and family friends from
Delaware. Runa's family and friends from Seattle were
all there at her house to greet her fiance-to-be. After
a day of great conversation, good food, and fun games,
Ankur and Runa exchanged rings.
Wedding
Planning
Ankur and Runa decided they wanted to marry in February.
Their parents sat down to decide when and where the
wedding would take place and after talking with the
priests, the date was decided to be the weekend of
February 7-9th. After some deliberation, it was decided
that the wedding would be in Miami, Florida. Ankur, Runa,
and Runa's parents made trips to South Florida to work
on the wedding details. Hotel ballrooms were examined,
decoration ideas exchanged, flowers carefully chosen,
table and chair covers coordinated, center pieces
designed, Ankur's mom and Runa's mom carefully selected
the menu and Ankur's dad even visited a farm to select a
horse for him to ride. At the same time, Runa's sister
and friends, Rupali, Monica, Sharon, and Kamran worked
with Ankur's sister, cousin, and friend, Alka, Nikhil,
and Rishi, to coordinate all the wedding performances
and speeches.
|