About the Couple
We met through mutual family friends in early 2005. Shaival was working in New York City as a resident in Anesthesia. I was working and living in Los Angeles. After eight months in a long-distance relationship, I was offered a job in New York City. Naturally, I jumped at the opportunity to live in the big, bustling city and move close to Shaival. Our two years in New York City were fabulous; we got to know each other well and enjoyed the city to the fullest. In our free time, we enjoy traveling and movies. Shaival is obsessed with music while I like reading and enjoying the arts.

Wedding Ceremony
On January 17, 2009, we had a traditional Hindu Gujarati wedding
ceremony at the Crowne Plaza Anaheim Report. We wanted to maintain the traditional aspects of the ceremony and décor– our primary colors were red, white, gold with punches of orange. The festivities began with a lively baraat, beautiful flowers, colors, the dhol and fun music.

Though we had nearly four hundred and fifty guests, we wanted each one to feel important. Before the ceremony, we had pictures taken with extended family as well as close family friends. We also had ‘family portraits’ taken for family and friends so they would have their own family memories of the wedding. We ensured as many family members/ close friends were a part of the ceremony– I had fourteen bridesmaids and six mamas escort me into the mandap, eight brothers offer gifts during the pheras and twenty five women offer their advice. Though this may sound like a circus, the ceremony went exactly according to the plan.

Reception
For the reception, we kept in mind the most important thing—giving the guests an unforgettable experience. So we spent more on food, favors and a great DJ (SoundNation LA), while limiting the budget on stage décor, flowers and our own clothing. We did splurge on gorgeous uplights, which enveloped the room in beautiful colors throughout the night as well as a lovely Radha Krishna ice sculpture and a confetti cannon.

Anxious Moments
I think the only anxious moment I had was when I woke up in the morning with another sleepless night. I was more than a little nervous thinking about how on earth I could be transformed from an exhausted person to a bride.

Luckily, Lishma from BeautybyLishma came in and eased away my nervousness– she creates miracles! From then on, I didn’t have any concerns or anxious moments. Everything had been planned in detail ahead of time, we had a tight timeline and I had the greatest group of family and friends who knew exactly what needed to be done! In addition, I had the best vendors who took care of everything! All in all, I had a wonderful time and I wasn’t anxious at all! In the end, while there were many small issues that came up, I wasn’t too concerned and concentrated on enjoying the day!

Memories we will cherish
"One of my most cherished moments was walking into the ceremony room with my mamas, the song playing was "Teri Ore," which mirrored my emotions to the tee.

I saw Shaival, my parents, my sister as well as my in-laws all in the mandap-- awaiting my entrance. On the side of me, I saw all my family and friends- pretty much everyone important to me throughout all the phases of my life was in one room-it was a beautiful moment. Other moments, both Shaival and I will always cherish are those from the reception. The wonderful welcome we received when we were first introduced as Mr. & Mrs. Shaival & Shilpa Patel, along with the heart-warming speeches. My sister and friends coordinated a beautiful ten minute dance dedicated to my dance career- creating a medley of dances- from my first dance to the last one I performed.

The dance troupe consisted of fifteen friends some of whom were from Texas, Nebraska, Pennsylvania (they learned the dance steps through video instruction). They practiced for four months! It was an honor to see such a beautiful performance and humbling to accept such an enormous gift."

"My advice for brides-to-be"
Though details make the wedding more unique and personal, don't forget the overall flow of the event. The key to a great wedding is
1) Luck (the weather, natural disasters etc),
2) Great vendors
3) PLANNING, PLANNING, PLANNING
4) Family & Friends. Make sure you take time to research your vendors and study their work. Plan out a detailed timeline and assign tasks to reliable people. If you can afford it, try to hire a wedding planner - they come in a variety of prices and packages so don't rule that option out. I was lucky to have interned with a great wedding planner in NYC and one of my closest friends is an event coordinator, so between the two of us, we had all the bases covered!