Neha gupta & benjamin thomas

Neha Gupta first met Benjamin Thomas while attending medical school in San Francisco. Even before classes started, Ben first noticed Neha at an event for accepted students. It wasn’t until two years later, however, that they became friends; and they both knew there was an immediate chemistry between them. 

Ben first professed his feelings towards Neha during a formal at San Francisco City Hall, saying that “she gave him butterflies.” Still a bit apprehensive on both ends, it was many months later when they finally started dating.

Ben initially planned to propose while celebrating their anniversary at Chez Panisse. Instead, he followed a more natural course of events and found himself proposing more informally, one morning over coffee.

As physicians in training, the wedding planning process was tricky for Neha and Ben to fit into their schedules. This is where wedding planner Melissa Panico fit in, immediately getting to work by creating a beautiful wedding at San Francisco City Hall – a wedding venue with stunning architecture and an emotional significance for the couple.

With Ben being Nigerian and Neha being Indian, both the bride and groom were the first in their respective families to marry outside their cultures. Honoring their families and cultural traditions was therefore top priority. Their multicultural wedding vision was accomplished greatly through food, with Indian and Nigerian food stations set up during cocktail hour, and Indian desserts added to a selection of cake and donuts. 

The DJ also incorporated Indian, Nigerian, and western music throughout the evening, and the ceremony was an abbreviated version of a traditional Hindu ceremony – something the bride had her heart set on.

“The wedding day was perfect,” says the bride and groom. “Our biggest regret was not realizing how quickly the day would pass. Before we knew it, our DJ was asking us for our request for the last song.”