Bijal Patel & Ashish Jain

They met in undergrad at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville through mutual friends.  When they met for the first time, Ashish’s thought Bijal was a nice girl who was beautiful and classy and Bijal thought Ashish was a good looking and a fun-loving happy guy.

When it was time to propose, Ashish convinced Bijal they were heading out on a weekend gathering with people from work in Asheville, NC.  Only when they arrived at the Biltmore Estate did Bijal start to get suspicious.  After checking in and making their way to their room, Bijal was immediately captivated by the beautiful view from their balcony.  That’s when she heard Ashish say, “Hey what’s this?” 

There, she saw a small table set up in the corner with a bouquet of roses, a bottle of wine and a small envelope she immediately ripped open.  As she turned around, she saw Ashish down on one knee extending an engagement ring and asking her to marry him.  After she said, “Yes” hugs and kisses were exchanged with laughter and tears of joy.

“The wedding day was exactly as I had envisioned—a day I had been dreaming of since I was a little girl,” said Bijal.   As she was getting ready, Ashish’s cousin hand-delivered a card from him.  The words inside described their relationship prior to that day.  “7 years, 4 cities, 9 apartments, 4 graduations, 4 degrees later, I knew we would be together forever, today is just confirmation,” he wrote. She started getting giddy.

“The most memorable part of the wedding was by far watching Bijal walk down the aisle,” said Ashish.  It was the culmination of seven years of dating and the beginning of their future together.  Bijal’s maternal uncle (mama) walked her down the aisle.  “The rest of the wedding ceremony went perfectly,” she said, “and I was just ecstatic to be marrying my best friend and love of my life.”

The reception was elegant and classy with various textured champagne-colored linens that gracefully fell to the floor of each table.  The centerpieces were tall branches with floral décor, crystal draping and candles.  The up-lighting around the grand ballroom gave the room a twist with purples and blues. 

A serpentine dessert table included layered pumpkin spice cake shooters, mini Oreo cupcakes, raspberry cheesecake bites inside Chinese soup spoons and a twist on an Indian dessert—ras malai in faluda.  All surrounded a display of a four-tiered dark chocolate fountain with fruit, pound cake and marshmallows.  

Bijal and Ashish did the rumba to the original "Sway" by Dean Martin and continued to take the evening back into time during their first dance.  They also choreographed a short routine to a popular Indian song to which they, their bridesmaids and groomsmen performed at the Garba night.  

Their three day wedding weekend was very fulfilling and exactly what they wanted. “Before we knew it, it was all over, but the memories will last forever,” Ashish said.