Jigna & Gautam in Houston, TX

“I don’t like ordinary. Never have, never will,” says Gautam Gulati. So when it came time for him to propose to his girlfriend, Jigna Patel, he knew he needed a plan that was truly unique. He quickly decided to involve the off-Broadway show Stomp. Over three weeks Gautam worked with the staff and cast of the show to surprise Jigna with tickets to a Friday night performance. Toward the end of the show, the couple was pulled onstage. “The audience gasped as I kneeled, then applauded in joy when she accepted my hand in marriage,” he remembers. The Bride Jigna Patel, a 30-year-old business application senior analyst The Groom Gautam Gulati, a 31-year-old physician The Date October 8 Because the couple now lives in Virginia, where Gautam grew up, a wedding in Houston (Jigna’s hometown) required a lot of long-distance planning. Luckily, they had lots of help from family, friends, and the Internet. “I found most of my vendors from TheKnot.com’s local listings and message boards,” Jigna says. Though the couple did choose to have a traditional Indian wedding, they chose an unconventional color scheme of sage and ivory rather than the usual brights.