A Nod to Tradition: Manish & Gargee Intimate Wedding

Checkout out Gargee & Manish’s wedding featured in Richmond Bride.

Gargee Patel and Manish Patel met through mutual friends in college. (They already had the same last name, Patel being the Indian equivalent of Smith or Brown in the U.S.) Manish, a student at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, was supposed to tutor Gargee, who attended James Madison University, in physics, but it never happened. They became close friends who eventually began dating, and Manish proposed on Memorial Day 2019.

Due to COVID-19 restrictions, they downsized their 550-person, traditional Indian extravaganza at the Main Street Station Train Shed to a 100-person celebration in the station’s Headhouse. “It was the venue we originally wanted, but we had too many people, so downsizing was a blessing in disguise,” Gargee says.

Their big day included classic Hindu traditions, such as a lively dance procession for the groom’s entrance, called a Bharath; an intimate ceremony beneath an elaborate floral canopy, or mandap; and beautiful henna and mehndi body art, provided by Ava’s Mehndi. Guests dined on a buffet of Indian delicacies, including crispy fried spinach chaat with mango poppers.