A Unique Welcome Party in a Parking Garage Kicked Off This Luxe Wedding in Miami, Florida
After a jaunt to Las Vegas in October 2022 to elope at the iconic Little White Wedding Chapel, Seema Shah and Karan Purewal planned a blowout bash for 225 of their loved ones in Miami at the 1 Hotel South Beach on March 4, 2023. “The first time we visited Miami together, we went to the 1 Hotel and loved it,” says Seema. “We have always loved Miami—it’s been a constant for our weekend getaways.”
To inspire the wedding weekend aesthetic, the couple pulled from the city and their venue’s seaside setting. Seema and Karan also incorporated some resonant Indian wedding traditions but made other swaps that prioritized what was most meaningful to them: quality time with their people. “Truthfully, we liked that we took out a lot of the events that make up a full Indian wedding,” says Seema. “I think the downtime is so important—you’re usually rushing to get to the next event at South Asian weddings. We didn’t have that problem. We genuinely feel like we got to hang out with our guests.”
The pair also omitted a few Western wedding traditions along the way. They sent out a Miami Beach–inspired save-the-date—a neon blue and green piece of stationery by Seema’s favorite designer, Swell Press—but no formal invitation. They asked guests to RSVP on their wedding website.
The couple ultimately chose to begin the celebration with a nod to their heritage: a mehndi (henna) ceremony for Seema.
But she and Karan skipped a traditional sangeet, a North Indian prewedding ceremony where the couple sings and dances with loved ones to celebrate their nuptials. Instead, they invited loved ones to a tropical disco-themed welcome party on Friday night. The bash mixed the deep, rich colors one might find at a sangeet with the hot-and-bright hues of Miami. “We leaned into the fact that, traditionally, South Asian sangeets are very colorful,” Seema says. “Even though we didn’t do one, we still went with a bright palette that integrated neon hues with iridescent tones.”
The lovebirds wanted to start the weekend of revelry with Miami views, so the welcome party took place somewhere pretty unconventional: on the covered rooftop of a garage. Retro vibes radiated from the decor, with disco balls and funky florals comprised of hot-pink, juicy orange, rich purple and sparkling silver hues. The two classic convertibles (also overflowing with a bevy of blooms) that anchored the party area drove the theme home (and made for a perfect photo op).
Shimmering brighter than the metallic and nearly holographic design elements, Seema greeted guests in a lavender number bedecked in sequins and ostrich feathers, while Karan wore a custom linen three-piece suit. Attendees passed family-style plates and platters of charcuterie, Spanish tapas dishes and paella across the long dining tables, while steel drummers and a DJ spinning soca tracks set the tropical vibe. “We wanted to lean into our personalities, the venue and Miami Beach, and allow guests to have fun too,” says Seema.
On Saturday, the bright and bold colors gave way to cooler tones—earthy and green—as the ceremony unfolded. Following a first look on the 1 Hotel’s rooftop, the ceremony took place on the venue’s beachside terrace. Once again, Seema and Karan embraced and bypassed tradition to personalize their interfaith ceremony. They focused on meaningful Jain and Hindu practices from Seema’s upbringing and omitted rituals from Karan’s Sikh background. “Ideally, we would have done a ceremony for each of our religions,” says Seema. To ensure guests could follow along with the events, the couple explained everything in a ceremony program; a whimsical cartoon of themselves in their wedding outfits gave it a touch of personality.
Karan drove to the ceremony in a vintage red convertible, in a lively processional known as a baraat (common to many South Asian weddings). Then he strode down the aisle beside his mother and younger brother, while Seema was escorted by her 9-year-old nephew and 5-year-old niece. The pair went without an official wedding party (close friends said a few words at the welcome party instead), but they did have loved ones surround them at the altar. Seema also kept family close in her attire, pairing gold bangles that belonged to her grandmother and Karan’s great-grandmother with her beachy cream-beige bridal lehenga. Karan donned a custom groom’s sherwani made in Bombay for the ceremony…well, most of it. “Karan was super nervous, so he forgot his stole for the ceremony,” says Seema. “Luckily, we took pictures in the full looks in the morning.”
Under a canopy of hanging white blooms and tawny pampas grass, Seema and Karan heralded their marriage with some meaningful Hindu wedding traditions like varmala, where the couple exchanges floral garlands to represent the acceptance of each other into their respective families. Seema’s aunt also recited the Jain Navkar Mantra before the ceremony.
After a poolside cocktail hour where guests sipped on personalized libations—an espresso martini for Seema and a popcorn old-fashioned for Karan—attendees made their way to the reception. The hotel ballroom’s design leaned into the earthy palette of the ceremony and brought tonal and textural dimensions inspired by the Japanese wabi-sabi aesthetic. Votive and taper candles, multicolored glassware, rattan placemats and rustic linen napkins decorated the tables—with ikebana-esque flower arrangements in the center. “I wanted to use flowers in a minimal but unique way that fit the color palette of our theme,” Seema says. And like the bangles she wore at the ceremony, this special touch nodded to the couple’s nearest and dearest: “We had old photos of our family members when they were younger—either before they were married and were kids or when they were newlyweds—framed and put on all of the tables for guests to enjoy and walk around and see,” she says.
Dinner was dynamic, with made-to-order food stations (including a most-essential tandoori oven) devoted to the couple’s favorite North Indian and Indo-Chinese dishes. A cart serving ice cream—Karan’s favorite dessert—offering an assortment of flavors, toppings and cones replaced a classic cake.
The couple danced the night away, including an improvised first dance in their third outfits of the weekend: Seema in a form-fitting, white beaded gown and Karan in a custom black-and-white suit. House music—it was Miami, after all—and hip-hop were their genres of choice. And when the clock struck midnight, the party moved upstairs to the same rooftop where the pair shared their first look earlier.
From dawn ’til dusk, every element of Seema and Karan’s day spoke to who they are as a couple: a pair who cares most about staying true to themselves and experiencing joy alongside their loved ones. And Seema suggests other nearlyweds follow suit. “Do what you want, whether that breaks from tradition or not,” says Seema. “Embrace the whole weekend and try to be as present as possible. You’ll want to remember it all.”