A Modern, Summer Wedding at Lansdowne Resort and Spa in Leesburg, Virginia

Starting work in the DC metro area gave Amit Patel  the perfect opportunity to ask out Nirali Patel. Their fathers grew up together in India, and they had been family friends forever. After courting for a while, Amit spent a Friday taking Nirali around downtown, visiting restaurants and museums.

As a surprise, one of the stops included the Hilliard Art Space, where Amit opened the door to reveal a path of rose petals leading to five paintings he had commissioned. Each painting included a scene and quote from each of Nirali’s favorite books and movies – Titanic, Harry Potter, Pride and Prejudice, and The Notebook – with the final painting being of the two of them. Surrounded by their custom masterpieces, Amit got down on one knee and popped the question. 

With half the wedding party having to travel from out of state, Nirali and Amit decided to host their wedding at Lansdowne, located in the wine country suburbs of Virginia. After months of extensive wedding planning, it was a welcome relief when the wedding weekend arrived, and the couple could finally celebrate with their loved ones.

The wedding was a vision of absolute elegance. From the colorful Sangeet, to the white and green ceremony, to the black and white reception, glamour infused the entire experience. The ceremony itself involved transforming the ballroom into a white canvas, accented by white and green touches of roses and florals, and made even grander by white carpeting and ceiling treatments.

It was important to the bride and groom that their guests were treated to an array of Indian bites during the Sangeet and cocktail hour, and everyone dined together over a family-style reception meal. Other special moments were the Sangeet performances by family and friends, the baraat dance performances by the groom’s family and Aatma Performing Arts, and Nirali’s father-daughter dance that transitioned into a Bollywood dance number.

For their honeymoon, the newlyweds traveled to Bora Bora for a romantic getaway with blue waters and white sand beaches. “Staying in a hut over the water was exactly what we wanted – a complete vacation after the wedding,” says Nirali. “One of our favorite parts of the trip was the snorkeling experience with sting rays and sharks. We actually got to be in the water with a dozen sharks swimming all around us in the most crystal clear, indescribably perfect water.”