Over the Span of Time

Pooja Sinha and Nils Ansgar Skogstad

Married in New York, New York on July 2, 2011

Location and Caterer: The Plaza, New York, NY; Cake: Sylvia Weinstock, New York, NY; Event Director: Emily Reifel, The Plaza; Event Designer: David Tutera, New York, NY; Entertainment: The Michael Hart Band, Hank Lane Music, New York, NY; Lighting and Sound: Bentley Meeker Lighting and Staging, New York, NY; Videography: Funico Studios, New York, NY; Photography: Roberto Falck Photography, New York, NY

Pooja Sinha and Nils Ansgar Skogstad were married at The Plaza hotel in New York surrounded by 300 guests. It was an exceptional international affair where family and friends traveled in from places like India, Norway, Singapore, Switzerland, Brazil, Argentina and, of course, throughout the United States. Pooja grew up on the North Shore of Long Island with family ties to India; Nils was raised in Oslo, Norway and spent five years in Pakistan, where his parents were posted as diplomats.

Though the couple’s relationship spanned four years and several countries, it was a chance meeting in New York that first brought them together. While Pooja had always dreamt of marrying in a majestic palace in India, the couple knew that only a New York celebration would hold the significance of bringing their international courtship full-circle. Pooja and Nils envisioned a royal Indian wedding that infused the richness of the Hindu culture with European elegance and the traditions of Norway. And The Plaza was the sole venue they knew could recreate that historic regal ambiance.

With eight months of planning behind them, the wedding festivities consisted of a vibrant four-day affair. Days one and two, which took place at the bride’s family estate on Long Island, were an infusion of music, color and flavor. Pooja donned a saffron sari for haldi, as women of the family sang ancestral wedding folksongs while beautifying and blessing her with turmeric. A Rajasthani bazaar with food-stalls, jewels and live instrumentalists served as the backdrop for the mehndi ceremony, where the bride and guests were adorned with henna. Afterwards guests moved to the tent for the sangeet, a night of musical performances and toasts by the bridal party and family. Drawing on her years of traditional North Indian dance training, Pooja culminated the evening with a surprise performance for Nils; it was an emotional moment for both. The song Tujh Mein Rab Dikhta Hai, described the bride’s devotion to her beloved as one with God.

On their wedding day, Nils arrived at the steps of The Plaza with his barat: a celebratory procession of family and friends, dancers and drummers paving the way to the ceremony. To honor both of their cultures, the couple wed under a rose and crystal adorned mandap in a Hindu ceremony followed by vows in Norwegian officiated by a Lutheran priest of the Norwegian Seamen’s Church.

Creative visionary David Tutera constructed archways of rich tissues and branches, melding royal India with the raw nature of Norway. He lined the aisle with ivory candelabras and suspended votives to create a warm church-like ambiance. A live cellist and violinist played music by Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg for the groom’s processional, then the majestic tunes of Jodha Akbar served as the backdrop for the bride’s entrance with her father. Pooja wore an elaborate red, emerald and fuchsia lengha embellished with gold threads and cutwork by Mumbai designer, Neeta Lula, and a gold tulle veil. Her jewels were polki diamonds designed by Surana’s of Jaipur. In European tradition, Nils wore a bespoke navy tuxedo with a personal touch: monogrammed slippers. The couple greeted one another under the mandap surrounded by garlands of champagne tea roses.

No detail was too small. Wedding portraits of the couples’ parents gave the escort table a nostalgic and personal touch and a live pianist set the mood for cocktails in the ballroom foyer where Tutera created a Norwegian enchanted forest complete with fresh moss and snow. Guests dined on bountiful reception stations, which included a raw bar paired with an ice sculpture for caviar and aquavit and a European marché serving black truffle risotto and savory crepes.

Guests happily abuzz entered the ballroom to behold a grand topiary elephant and Versailles-like chandelier constructed of suspended rose petals. The Plaza’s dinner menu and wines were divine and Plaza waiters strategically passed watermelon sorbet shooters on the dance floor between courses to both cool guests down and cleanse their palates while the sensational Michael Hart band created a concert-like atmosphere. The bride and groom’s fathers shared affectionate and often humorous words about the couple and each other’s families.

A seven-tiered wedding cake of cascading fuchsia and aubergine roses by Sylvia Weinstock was aloft in the opera box, where Nils later offered a heartfelt toast to his bride. Most palpable was the love between Pooja, Nils and their families. “The stars aligned for Pooja and Nils to meet, and for their wedding to go off so magically,” says Pooja’s father, Dr. Anjani Sinha, a lifelong believer in destiny. Nils describes: “It was a celebration of the commonalities our two families share despite residing in opposite corners of the world.” Pooja agrees: “My dream really did come true.”

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