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Jay Patel, an interventional radiologist, comes from a traditional Indian family. But that didn't stop Jay's mother from
approving his American fiancee, Nancy Flatten.
"Jay's mother always tells me that I'm a gift from her son," says Nancy, a former financial advisor for Vosges
Haut-Chocolat. "She tells me I'm Lakshmi, who's the Hindu goddess of good luck. Jay's parents were prepared to usher
Flatten into their family with pomp and splendor befitting the Hindu goddess. Apart from good luck, Lakshmi represents
wealth and beauty--attributes that were brought to cinematic life for more than 500 guests at Nancy and Jay's wedding, held
at the Palmer House Hilton on August 26, 2006.
In preparation for the big day, the couple teamed up with wedding planner Rachel Bradley. "We wanted our wedding
to reflect Indian traditions, but we also wanted it to show our own personalities," says Nancy. During the planning
process, the wedding's theme emerged by accident. Bradley showed Nancy some linens in a shade called Peacock Crush, and
"Nancy just loved the color," says Bradley. "From there, the peacock kind of took over."
The wedding began in the morning with the groom's baraat, or procession. Traditionally, an Indian groom leads
his family to the ceremony astride a white horse, but, as Nancy says, "Jay isn't a traditional kind of guy." The groom
drove up to the Palmer House Hilton in a red Ferrari.
Inside, Vince Hart of Kehoe Designs had filled the hallways with self-contained waterfalls, each 50' high and
trickling into a bamboo pool filled with floating candles. A mundup (Indian wedding altar) was waiting for the couple in
the hotel's Red Lacquer Room. Taking inspiration from the rose-colored room in which the ceremony was held, Hart constructed
a mundup of red crystals accented with silk lanterns, gold orchids.
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