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Jun
2008
Featured Grand America Wedding: Mairi & Ravi
By camille | Register for our wedding planning newsletter
Mairi Leining and Ravi Adusumalli
Two Entirely Different Ceremonies
September 9, 2006
Wedding Ceremony / Reception: Log Haven & Grand America
Photography by: Davina Fear Photography
View Ravi and Mairi’s Wedding Photo Gallery at TheBrideandGroom.com
How You Met
West High School in 1991 - we started out as best friends and things evolved over the years although we were often in different places. For college, I was at Rice and he was at Cornell. Then he moved to NYC followed by San Francisco and Hong Kong for business. I moved to Georgetown for medical school, Boston for residency, Lake Tahoe for my first job….in 2005 we finally almost lived in the same place: he was in the Silicon Valley and I was in Tahoe. Now we live in both places.
First Date
Jr Prom
How He Proposed
Ravi proposed with a scavenger hunt leading to roses, 100 candles, wine, chocolate and eventually the ring in our home in South Lake Tahoe, California.
The Wedding
Best Parts of the Day
There are too many great moments to pick one. Of course, the vows and the kiss. In the evening, our high school friends surprised us by singing “One” by U2 but changed the lyrics to make fun of us. I also loved dancing with all of our friends/family in the Grand America courtyard. At the end, we jumped in the fountain.
What Went Perfect/What Went Wrong
Perfect - we had so much fun (I expected to be worried about details but instead everything flowed and we had an all day party with our favorite people.
Wrong - it almost rained during the evening ceremony… very windy but the weather added to the drama of the Indian ceremony. We had to move the appetizers inside.
What was your “big splurge”
My big splurge was my Angel Sanchez wedding dress from Mark Ingrams Atelier in NYC.
Most Important Detail
Most important detail - we really wanted people to have a great time so we ordered lots of appetizers, a chocolate fountain, open bar, etc….many people told us it was the most fun they had ever had at a wedding.
What did you do to save money or add your personal touch?
Our morning ceremony was very personal. My older sister, Catherine, wrote and conducted the ceremony; our golden retriever, Sundance, was one of our flower girls; we had a bagpiper and several other Scottish traditions since my mom in from Edinburgh; we wrote our own vows; my father plays the banjo and joined a bluegrass band on stage.
In the evening, we had a South Indian ceremony to honor Ravi’s family followed by Indian appetizers and a buffet partially cooked by Ravi’s aunt, who is an Indian chef.
What influenced the theme, location, music and other elements of your wedding?
We wanted to represent both cultures but most importantly, represent our relationship. During the early years of our relationship, we listened to a lot of music together/went to many concerts. So, for our save-the-date we had concert tickets made (using an internet site). Our morning ceremony invitation was a CD (also made using an Internet site) with several of our significant songs and we used the insert/CD itself to list the wedding information such as venue, date, etc…
I love the mountains and wanted to get married in the mountains (we really liked the intimate and rustic atmosphere at Log Haven). Ravi and his family wanted the Indian ceremony to be big and fancy, so we chose Grand America and sent invitations, which were made in India. We had a South Indian priest conduct the ceremony.
Wedding Dress
My wedding dress was an Angel Sanchez dress from Mark Ingrams Atelier in NYC. My sari for the ceremony and gagra for the dinner/party were from Southern India.
Wedding Colors
Light blue - but really a multitude of colors between the two ceremonies
Wedding Cake
The wedding cake was a chocolate multi-layer, decorated with white and red roses - absolutely delicious, even one year later.
Wedding Flowers
I love sunflowers and wildflowers and I wanted lots of colors
Wedding Decor
Each location had its own decor/personality. We didn’t add much more than the flowers with the exception of the stage for the Indian ceremony (in the Grand America main courtyard).
Menu Selections
Morning: smoked salmon benedict, fresh fruit, chocolate fountain, mimosas by Log Haven.
Evening: Indian appetizers/buffett by Grand America and Ravi’s aunt.
Reception Entertainment
Morning: bag piper, bluegrass band
Evening: DJ, Indian drummer
First Dance Song
All I Want Is You by U2
Honeymoon Location
Peru/Ecuador. We hiked the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu followed by a cruise in the Galapagos Islands
Wedding Ceremony - what do you remember most?
The morning ceremony was very personal with my sister conducting the wedding, a bagpiper, our own vows, our dog, my mom had us drink whiskey from a special cup (Scottish tradition), the weather was perfect, we had a blue grass band in the background, the food was delicious.
The evening ceremony was very powerful and symbolic from the clothing to the priest, the steps of the ceremony, having our parents sit next to us on the special stage, the Indian drummer.
Wedding Reception - what was your favorite part?
Our big reception was in the evening in one of the Grand America ballrooms. I loved the dancing - everyone let loose.
What made your wedding unique, emotional, funny, outrageous or all the above?
Unique because we have known each other for so long, and although complicated at times, our relationship has spanned many years and many different locations: NY, Houston, Washington DC, Boston, Hong Kong, San Francisco, Lake Tahoe - we had friends and family present from all over the world who had plenty of stories with which to roast/toast us. Our wedding day was also unique because we had two entirely different ceremonies, which perfectly represented us.
Initially, I just wanted to either elope or do something really simple. I was an atypical bride in that I never really imagined my wedding day beyond being somewhere in the mountains… it was really important to Ravi to have a ceremony. I never guessed how much fun I could have at a wedding and now I tell everyone that they have to plan a ceremony - totally worth it! Also, Davina Fear is an absolutely amazing photographer who managed to capture all of the emotions, colors, cultures, moods of the day. I would recommend her to everyone!
Wedding Vendors
Ceremony Location: Log Haven, Grand America. We chose SLC since we both grew up there and our parents still live there.
Ceremony Officiant: My sister Catherine and a South Indian Priest
Reception Location: Log Haven, Grand America
Cake Designer: Grand America
Floral Designer: Twigs Flower Co ….great to work with!!!
Hair / Makeup: Salon NV: Celeste did my hair and make-up and she is awesome
Music: Bag piper = Andrew Morrill. Blue Sage Band (blue grass)
Photographer: Davina Fear - totally amazing!!!!
Videographer: STC Digital
Wedding Invitations: Concert tickets (our save the date): admitone.com; invite CD’s: mixonic.com; reply postcards: vistaprint.com; Indian invitations from India
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