We met on Match.com in the summer of 2017. Jason was the first connection Harsha made on the platform. Fortunately for Jason, Harsha did not keep looking. We both recognized each other as our soulmate shortly after we began seeing each other. We were engaged in the spring of the following year.
We were living in the Midwest and we knew we wanted an outdoor wedding in a fun venue, we decided to not trust the unpredictable weather of Chicago, so we looked elsewhere. We fell in love with the charm of Savannah, Georgia, it is truly a perfect location for a wedding.
We toured the Mackey House the summer before our wedding and instantly fell for the charm and beauty of the estate. It was important to find a location where we could host a traditional Indian wedding in a non-traditional way. Savannah and Mackey House proved to be a perfect fit.
We set a date for May 2019 but life handed us a surprise when we found out we were expecting. Mackey House was gracious enough to allow for us to push back our wedding to the fall of 2019. We enlisted the help of seven of our cousins to be our flower girls. Ela, our newborn, made her way down the aisle in a wagon pulled by the Groom’s father and stole the show.
Outfit shopping was a fun experience, none of the Groom’s family had ever been shopping for formal Indian attire. We made several trips to Devon Street in Chicago to help family and friends pick out suits for the big day. The bride’s dress was custom made by Studio East in Chicago. The groom was very excited to have a suit jacket custom made in India, but the size was too small and we had to quickly find a new outfit before leaving for Savannah.
We rented the Broughton Estate from Lucky Savannah Rentals for our stay in Savannah. It is a beautiful home dating back to the 1860’s and was perfect for our wedding. The rental was perfect location for the Mehndi party the day before our wedding. UB Henna & Company did the bride’s work, which was stunning. About Faces did the Henna at the Mendhi party.
The evening before our wedding we hosted a dinner for our wedding guests and family at The Wyld, a perfect location to host a large group dinner. We had a low country boil to go with the libations to welcome our guests.
Food is very important to the us, we really wanted the wedding reception to feature area and play with the low country vibe, but also reflect our taste. We enlisted Thrive Catering to help us achieve our goal. Chef Wendy, was incredible at working with the hors-d’oeuvre and entree menu. The dinner was served “family style” to all our guests tables which was perfect because we wanted it to feel like a big family gathering rather than a formal reception. Chef Wendy worked with us on some Indian hors-d’oeuvres and a special vegetarian dish for a sort of Indian twist. She [Chef Wendy] also replicated a favorite dessert of ours, which was a huge hit.
The Mackey House property is a former dairy farm and a rather perfect setting for the Baraat. We were able to get a stunning horse for Jason to ride in on from “Horse and Carriage” in Savannah. The Groom’s family was not familiar with Indian weddings, so it was a unique experience for everyone.
Our Indian Priest was kind enough to make the trip from Tampa, Florida. He performed the wedding ceremony for Harsha’s sister and husband just a couple years prior, so it was even more special to have him at our wedding.
It was really a beautiful evening, and out Photographer, Tori Bronston captured it quite well. The venue was vivid and colorful, a perfect location for an Indian ceremony. We hope to the next family member on the Patel side to marry choses to have an Indian wedding.
