A Lavish Indian Weekend Wedding at the Plaza Hotel and Cipriani in New York, New York

Pallavi Cherukuri and Zubin Patel are a Hinge dating app success story. Since they both enjoy the speakeasy vibe, they decided to meet over a drink at Raines Law Room in midtown Manhattan for their first date. Zubin thought Pallavi was “gorgeous, outgoing, and intoxicating,” whereas Pallavi found her date to be “standoffish, aloof, and annoying.” Fortunately, she decided to give him a second chance and the rest is history.

After dating for almost a year, the couple decided to celebrate New Year’s Eve in Florence, Italy. Zubin wanted to pop the question just as the New Year was ringing in, but he didn’t anticipate the cold weather and how rowdy the crowds would be. 

While leaving dinner and heading back to their hotel, the couple passed by the St. Regis hotel and Zubin suggested they get a nightcap. He asked the host for a quiet place and, much to his surprise, the host led them to the hotel’s famous Russian tea ballroom which featured a 30-foot Christmas tree and 50-foot painted ceilings. It was a last minute proposal attempt, and it turned out to be absolutely perfect.

With Pallavi having previous relationships with several top wedding vendors, the wedding planning process was relatively smooth in terms of bringing her vision to life and choosing the right roster of talent to make it happen. What culminated was an elaborate weekend wedding that far exceeded anything the bride and groom could have imagined.

A Parsi wedding and Sangeet were held on a Friday at the Richmond County Country Club, a South Indian Hindu wedding was held Sunday morning at the Plaza Hotel, and the wedding reception was held Sunday evening at Cipriani on Wall Street. 

The Plaza wedding theme was traditional and included a baraat and full-on South Indian Hindu ceremony with a color palette of gold and red. At Cipriani, the couple opted for an elegant and refined aesthetic with an emphasis on white, cream, and gold décor.

“We wanted to keep both events classic, with the rich and vibrant red for the wedding and the classic white theme for the reception,” says the couple. “No timings were missed, and the décor aesthetics were visually stunning. The food was amazing, and we were very happy with the entertainment, lighting, and music. We feel blessed that there was not one thing that we would have changed from that weekend.”

For their honeymoon, Pallavi and Zubin chose Greece, as Zubin wanted a beach atmosphere and Pallavi wanted to have a nearby city to explore. It was the perfect compromise and the perfect ending to a whirlwind courtship.