A Traditional Multicultural Indian Wedding at Lumen in St. Louis, Missouri

Alyssa Brussee (29 and a school social worker for Catholic Family Services) and Niraj Patel (30 and an electrical engineer for St. Louis City Water Division) met at Double D karaoke bar. “It was my friend’s birthday party, and my friends and I had celebrated by going to a Kentucky Derby party and entering into a fun hat competition,” Alyssa says. “After watching the race (and losing the hat competition), we continued to celebrate at a local karaoke bar. I went to get a drink at the bar and started chatting with a really cute guy. That guy was Niraj, and he was out celebrating a friend's birthday, too. After an ice-breaking, ‘Nice hat,’ we connected instantly.” Niraj planned a surprise, mystery date for Alyssa. They got into the car and drove for a long time before they pulled up to a hot air balloon ride. They were walking around the take off site when he said, “You know how much I love you, right?” “The rest is kind of a blur,” Alyssa says. I was in shock that he was down on one knee! He pulled the box out of his sock (because ‘I didn’t want you to see a bulge in my pocket.’) and asked me to marry him.” Alyssa and Niraj wanted to combine their cultures for their wedding. They brought in both a Christian officiant as well as a Hindu maharaja for the religious ceremony and modified the programs so guests would understand the parts of the ceremony that were in Sanskrit. Alyssa wore a gold saree and red veil for the ceremony and changed into an Elizabeth Fillmore dress for the reception. "I wanted to show Niraj and his family that I wanted to be a part of the Indian culture and traditions as well," Alyssa says. The couple flipped the room at the Lumen from the ceremony to the reception while guests enjoyed both Indian and American hors d’oeuvres, mango jalepeno margaritas and brown bears (dark ‘n stormies). All of the reception tables were decorated in the colorful palette of red, orange, teal and gold. They worked with Lumen and Tandoori King to create mix Indian and American food for dinner. “We had different food stations,” Alyssa says. “The biggest one was filled with Indian food, but there was also a panini station and lettuce wrap station for those who couldn’t handle the spice. After many trips to Tandoori King (we couldn’t decide, the food was all so good!), we went with vegetable dishes, such as chana masala (chickpea curry, my favorite), chicken curry and chicken tikka masala. For the lettuce wraps and paninis, we worked with Lumen to come up with some great combinations.” At the end of the night, the couple enjoyed an ornate red and yellow fondant cake topped with gold elephants (painted by Alyssa’s parents) and, of course, a mix of upbeat Indian and American music to keep everyone dancing into the night.