1. Real Weddings

A Beautiful Indian Wedding in Rockleigh, NJ

The Bride Shital Patel, 32, a private consultant The Groom Darshan Lakhani, 35, a hotelier The Date June 16 With so many traditional events associat

The Bride Shital Patel, 32, a private consultant The Groom Darshan Lakhani, 35, a hotelier The Date June 16 With so many traditional events associated with their Indian wedding, the couple gave each occasion its own flair. The color palettes for the prewedding parties were blue, green and mango orange. On the wedding day, they used white, pink, red and gold for the ceremony and light pink and green for the reception.

The elaborate gold-and-blush cake played up the couple’s wedding logo—a lotus flower—with leaves made out of gum paste.
Ceremony and reception site: The Rockleigh, Rockleigh, NJ Photography: Matthew Lee, Orlando Emmanuelli and Bo Shim/CLY CREATION Videography: Amish Thakkar/Fine Art Productions Consultant: Planner: Tapan Patel/Elite Events Management LLC; designer: Krupa Trivedi/Rangoli Weddings Gown: Ceremony: Hare Mumbai, India; reception: Tarun Tahiliani, Mumbai, India Hair: Jenika Ventura Makeup: Ashunta Sheriff; henna artist: Shilpa & Sangita Bridesmaid dresses: Deepkala Ahmedabad, India Formalwear: Groom ceremony: More Mischief, Mumbai, India; Groom reception: Gucci, Saks Fifth Avenue; Groomsmen: Deen Fashion, Iselin Invitations: Vivah Ahmedabad Escort cards: Paper Presentation Flowers: Howard Kramer/Anderson Flowers Catering: Tandoor NY Music: Ceremony: Swati Girglani; reception: DJ Sharad Cake: Joanne Bruno/Palermo Bakery
Shimmery escort cards were set in a bed of grass.
Henna on Hands
Plates of flower petals were set out for the religious ceremony that was held at Shital’s parents’ home.
One of the prewedding parties, the mehndi, is devoted to applying henna to the bride.
The Knot's own Carley Roney attended the reception.
Darshan wore a pink rose on his lapel for the reception.
Ceremony Seat
All of the bridesmaids donned mauve-pink saris.
Varying shapes and sizes of glass vases were filled with peonies, hydrangeas, roses and orchids.
For the reception, Darshan wore a classic black suit, while Shital chose a more customary lehenga with a purple-and-pink pattern.
Of her reception outfit, Shital says, “I felt like a princess.” She wore her hair pulled to the side with curls.
For the couple’s wedding ceremony, Shital wore a vibrant orange-and-red floral lehenga. Darshan’s sherwani matched.