50 luxury las vegas | february 2014 51february 2014 | luxury las vegas

TechnicolorWhat

a r e m a d e o f …

…a fuchsia-adorned elephant, yellow diamonds, a blue

and gold Faberge-inspirednine-tier cake, and red-hot love

by cindi r. maciolekphotography by mili ghosh,

© 2014 mili ghosh photography

52 luxury las vegas | february 2014 february 2014 | luxury las vegas 53

Following a romantic proposal in Houston, an engagement party and ring ceremony in India, a stag party in Iceland, a bachelorette

fete in Miami and a honeymoon planned for Maui, Avnie Patel and Pankaj Malani could have had their wedding anywhere in the world. They chose the glittering lights and bustling energy of Las Vegas Boulevard to make their love eternal.

“My sister recently married in Houston so we didn’t want to do the same thing,” said Malani of the city where he resides. “We wanted our wedding to be different and unique. We both enjoy Las Vegas very much. Avnie likes to shop and I play poker. It has the nicest hotels and amenities in the world. Bellagio is the best. Its architecture is timeless. We felt it set the perfect scene for our Indian wedding.”

The happy couple met just two years

ago, although it’s amazing their paths hadn’t crossed much earlier.

“We hang out with the same crowd and many of our friends and cousins know each other, but we had never met. In fact, our parents’ houses are only a few miles apart in Houston,” said Patel. “We were introduced one night and we just started out as friends before the relationship grew.”

The proposal was almost as well orchestrated as the October 2013 wedding. “We got engaged in November of 2012,” said Malani. “I told Avnie we had free tickets to the symphony. Neither of us appreciates the symphony so Avnie was reluctant to go, but I

wanted her to dress extra special so I used the symphony as an excuse. We began the evening with dinner at the sushi restaurant where we had our first date then we went to the symphony. During intermission, I suggested we step outside. I had arranged for a 1960 Rolls-Royce to pick us up. Once inside the car, I had a video of our relationship on an iPad for Avnie to look at.”

“Pankaj gave me flowers for the first time,” said Patel. “I had thought he was going to propose to me in Europe but we really wanted our friends and family around for the proposal

what technicolor dreams are made of ::

54 luxury las vegas | february 2014

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so it happened in Houston. We drove to a beautifully lit fountain at the medical center which is reminiscent of Italy, than we had a luxury reception at the Hotel Zaza for about 60 people. When we walked in, the song “Yellow Diamonds” was playing. So much had happened I didn’t even realize Pankaj had given me a yellow diamond!”

With the proposal accepted, wedding plans began almost immediately, involving

both sets of parents as well as the bride and groom, although Malani and Patel already had some very specific ideas for their special day. They enlisted the help of Las Vegas’ premier wedding and event planner Tory L. Cooper to bring it all to life for the happy couple and their nearly 600 guests.

“I always dreamed of a grand wedding, yet we both wanted it to be detailed and intimate, catering to the guest experience as

they celebrate with us,” said Malani.“I always wanted to get married under

the stars,” said Patel, “so we had them all over the ceiling at the reception. We fell in love with the movie, “The Great Gatsby,” so we also incorporated vintage glam touches throughout. We had a custom monogram created to give everything that royal feeling and incorporated it throughout the wedding, from the save-the-date cards to custom cufflinks for Pankaj to the dance floor and cake at the reception.”

Long before the actual wedding, the happy couple flew to India for an engagement party and ring ceremony at Park Hotel in Hyderabad, followed by shopping for custom wedding clothes fashioned by Bollywood costume designers.

Save-the-date cards that looked like passports trimmed in gold were mailed to friends and family, followed by the actual invitations. “In Indian culture, the bride and groom send different invitations to their own guests and ours were each Vegas-themed, to reflect my love for poker,” said Malani.

Wedding plans were so intricately detailed, monthly visits with long meetings were required to make sure every last item was perfect.

“It takes a team to make a dream, and the wedding was out of this world,” said Cooper. “The most special time in Avnie and Pankaj’s life was their wedding, and we were able to take elements of some of the most amazing shows on the Strip and incorporate it into their party. They touched the lives of their 600 guests and I believe they all have a memory to last a lifetime.

After a quick bachelor party in Iceland and a bachelorette party in Miami, it was time to get ready for the main event.

The celebration began in Houston where the groom rode a horse onto the tarmac of a chartered plane that carried friends and family to Las Vegas.

“Everything was personalized,” said Malani. “The napkins and baggage tags all read Malani Airlines. The airline was very accommodating. They served special Indian food on the plane and even the flight attendants wore Indian clothing.”

Upon arrival, guests were greeted by ceremonial drummers on the tarmac. Limos and shuttle buses then swept them away to the Bellagio, followed by the evening’s festivities, the sangeet pre-wedding party at the Cosmopolitan pool.

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(Continued from page 54)

“We like the Cosmopolitan because it’s the most modern and hip place in town, and we like the view from the pool, plus it’s next door to the Bellagio which was convenient for our guests,” said Patel.

Malani’s favorite moment -- second only to seeing Patel at the altar -- came the following afternoon at the baraat when he was paraded up Bellagio’s drive atop an elephant. The official arrival of the groom was accompanied by a mobile DJ, wedding guests and even a few thousand onlookers enjoying the moment. ”

The authentic Indian ceremony took place at the Bellagio pool, decorated as a garden theme with brightly colored flowers. After two hours of tradition and four quick turns around the ceremonial fire, they were hitched. Patel was then carried away by four male relatives on a doli -- a cot suspended by four corners from a bamboo pole, a traditionally bittersweet moment symbolizing the bride leaving her family to join her husband.

After hors d’oeuvres, guests enjoyed one dramatic moment after another. First, a curtain lifted to reveal the dinner reception in Bellagio’s grand ballroom. When Patel and Malani entered the ballroom, their name lit up in lights, one letter at a time, followed by pyrotechnics. Once the party got rolling, a bar dropped down from the ceiling, serving special drinks with flowers that made guests’ mouths go numb. The bride and groom enjoyed their first dance to U2’s “All I Want Is You.”

No wedding would be complete without a cake, and this happy couple had a towering blue, Faberge-inspired, nine-tier creation filled with vanilla cake, custard and berries executed by Bellagio’s Jeanette Droegmoeller, assistant pastry chef, and Sylvain Bortolini, executive pastry chef.

“The cake stood six-and-a-half feet tall, and took two days to assemble, although the hand-rolled gold piping took two weeks,” said Droegmoeller. “The bride presented me with a photo of a cake for inspiration, and it was blue as well. She liked the idea of keeping the color because everything else in the room at that point was very pale, so the cake stood out. We incorporated their monogram into the design which gave it a very bold, classical look.”

An after-party at Hyde had special touches as well. “It was so cute. Avnie and Pankaj rode in on a boat and four bodyguards lifted them up while cocktail servers held gigantic signs that spelled Just Married,” said Cooper. “Snow-like confetti fell from the ceiling, creating a winter wonderland effect.”

After a traditional fertility ceremony with both fathers the following day during a brunch at Prime, the celebrations were over and it was time to return to reality. “I had to go to Houston dressed as a bride because by tradition the groom has to take the bride back home,” said Patel. The newlyweds then honeymooned in Maui.

Arjun Mohindra attended the wedding and said, “It was an amazing experience and I’m lucky to have been a guest. The Malani family threw one of the most opulent and regal weddings I’ll ever attend, yet they made sure all their guests were entertained, fed and nurtured. It was a big event but what stood out was the graciousness and generosity of the family. There was a lot of warmth. These are very down to earth people who enjoy having a good time and made sure their guests did as well.”

Harvey Stern, Bellagio’s executive director of catering, thought that the entire event was, “Magical! It was fun for other guests in the hotel who spontaneously joined in the baraat and the arrival drumming ceremony in the lobby.

“We brought on a lot of additional security, but everyone was very respectful of the wedding guests. The families were wonderful and we tried to create everything unique for them. My favorite part was when the curtain rose between the cocktail reception and dinner. That was a wow moment.”

“The entire weekend was vegetarian,” said Jason Johnston, executive sous chef at Bellagio. “We created both Indian and western continental offerings. Origin India restaurant worked closely with us to help tailor selections to their specific needs. The families were very involved in the details but easy to work with. They came to us with their vision and we achieved it.”

“Overall, we used just shy of 12,000 fresh florals for the weekend’s events,” said Nick Robinson, event manager at MGM Resorts Events. “For the formal ceremony we partnered with a designer from Houston to make sure we had all the Indian ceremonial requirements, along with the elephant symbol strategically placed. The venue resembled an English garden with the bright color palette of Indian culture. The aisle runner was entirely rose petals in a swirl pattern encased in acrylic. The Gatsby-themed dinner had a muted color palette of creams, peaches and pink but it was very architectural with pearls and hatboxes. The custom designed art deco dance floor was spectacular. The event had so many layers and it was great to work with such a gracious family.”

“Everyone said it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, a dream, so surreal and romantic,” said Patel. “Even though it was so grand, people could still see the love and enjoy the hospitality. We had a chance to hang out with so many people. Our families were both very involved in the planning. We wanted the dramatic effects, all those little touches. Our biggest challenge was the logistics but Tory, her staff and the Bellagio staff were top notch. Everything turned out flawless and seamless. It was everything we wanted and more.” q

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what technicolor dreams are made of ::