An Elegant Indian-Pacific-Northwest-Fusion Wedding at the Fairmont Olympic Hotel in Seattle, Washington
Elisabeth Prehn and Aashish Tripathi’s wedding at the Fairmont Olympic Hotel in Seattle was an elegant Indian-Pacific-Northwest affair full of vibrant color and plenty of personal touches.
The day unfolded with a traditional baraat, with Aashish making his way toward the Fairmont in a pedicab in lieu of the typical horse. The police closed down the streets around the venue to make way for the festive procession—more than 200 of the couple’s family and friends were at Aashish’s side! The couple’s DJ pumped the crowd up and got them dancing with high-energy Indian dance music and a dhol drum.
The Fairmont’s Spanish foyer played host to the traditional Hindu ceremony. Elisabeth and Aashish’s priest officiated in both Sanskrit and English so all guests could understand the symbolism of each element of the ceremony. The couple also included a Western-style bridal party entrance, and Elisabeth’s grandfather walked her down the aisle to Barber’s “Adagio for Strings.” Draped with raw blush silk and garlands of textured greenery and raspberry pink roses, the couple’s classic mandap set an undeniably romantic tone for the ceremony.
Elisabeth and Aashish had their wedding day duds custom made for the occasion. For the ceremony, Aashish wore a traditional cream and gold silk sherwani suit with a burgundy hat and scarf, and Elisabeth donned a magenta Benarasi silk sari and jewelry from India. The couple did a quick costume change for the reception, with Aashish slipping into a midnight-blue, pin-dot tuxedo and gold tie and Elisabeth swapping out her sari for a midnight-blue lehenga with antique gold embroidery.
Guests gathered for a postceremony cocktail hour, then headed into the Spanish Ballroom for the reception. Borrowing from the venue’s refined, timeless vibe, Elisabeth and Aashish opted for a classic color palette of ivory, gold and pink, and decorated the tables with textured linens and bouquets of anemones and roses piled high atop gold pedestals. “Flowers truly anchored our wedding and decorations. Seeing them all come together was incredible,” Elisabeth says.
One of the couple’s favorite details was the watercolor escort cards in a spectrum of bright hues that Elisabeth designed herself. “The presentation looked beautiful with all of them on the table together for guests to pick up during cocktail hour,” she says.
Mashups of old-school hip-hop and popular Indian music got guests dancing during the reception, while snacks like Top Pot Doughnuts (a Seattle favorite), a French fry bar and fried chicken in waffle cones kept the party going late into the night.