Rani + Alex // In The Memory Of

The wedding where we gave away $5K!

The stereotype is such that every Indian parent inspires their children to become a doctor or engineer. Most struggles of an immigrant family is the investment of their every breathe to ensure that their children make a living worth the respect of others. It is rarely the emphasis to represent the country that provides them the opportunity. Our strong and beautiful bride, Rani conquered the expectations of all of that, becoming a doctor in the U.S Army and finding a handsome prince with a similar background in medicine in the U.S. Navy. The story below is of Rani and Alex's Indian and American love story and their wedding celebration in April of 2021. Hoping that the pandemic was in the rear view mirror, this couple planned for a grand wedding. However, in early 2021, as the uncertainty of "what-ifs" still lingered, the plan was to still get married, regardless of those that could witness it.

Being doctors, our couple was extremely sensitive to Covid and the mandates thereof. The dilemma is that Indian weddings are hard to restrict. Most Indian weddings span over multiple days with different events with different meanings. And most of these events usually attract a large guest count. All of the planning leading up to the wedding in April 2021 was limited to the main wedding day of celebrations, however two weeks prior to the wedding, as the restrictions eased up, our couple sought our help to plan other parts of their event. In that very instant, it became imperative that beyond planning their wedding, that we do something very special for this couple and their family.

We encourage you to follow their journey through the pictures from PTaufiq Photography below, especially the part where we hijack the reception to deliver our good deed. If you want a quick teaser of the entire celebration, please enjoy this video.

(Rani and Alex's Highlight teaser from PTaufiq Photography)

This wedding featured an array of amazing outfits. Not only was our bride talented, but she also has a brother who is an exquisite fashion designer. (More on Anand Patel later in this blog) Pictured below are Rani and Alex in their pre-function outfits.

Being doctors, our couple was extremely sensitive to Covid and the mandates thereof. The dilemma is that Indian weddings are hard to restrict. Most Indian weddings span over multiple days with different events with different meanings. And most of these events usually attract a large guest count. All of the planning leading up to the wedding in April 2021 was limited to the main wedding day of celebrations, however two weeks prior to the wedding, as the restrictions eased up, our couple sought our help to plan other parts of their event.

Pictured below is Rani and Alex's sangeet night.

Luisa's Decoration and Boston Sound and Light Company completely transformed the ballroom at the Lawerence Elks.

Our couple enjoying the spring brisk weather outside for photos.

In having planned the sangeet in less than a week, our couple literally left it to us and Boston Sound and Light Company to create an agenda that kept the guests entertained. And so naturally, we began with some games, including the Shoe game.

And when you run out of things to do, you allow BSL to do what they do best and turn up.

Tanvi couldn't resist taking photos with our gorgeous bride and her array of outfits throughout the multi day celebration.

The bride's nephews even got in the action.

The following morning our groom got ready for what will turn out to be one of the most important days of his life.

And here we will pause to introduce you to the brother of the groom, Anand Patel (pictured prepping the bride for her wedding day) who flew to India prior to the wedding during the pandemic and designed each and every outfit for not only the bride, but the entire bridal party and the immediate family. Please check out his instagram handle @a__patel.

The first look.

We had planned for an outdoor baraat, however the rain would not let up. We gathered all the guests under the awning at the beautiful Burlington Marriott.

Rain or shine, the baraat was about to happen. Pictured below, our groom Alex hyping up the crowd.

DJ Yogz and DJ Dee from BSL were ready to rock and roll in the foyer.

And what an EPIC baraat it was.

In the ballroom, OLuxe Designs created a masterpiece for the mandap.

And they are married.

After the ceremony concluded, Anand got back to work prepping everybody for their reception outfits.

A few pictures of the couple before the doors opened to the reception.

Once the doors opened, we had an extensive program of items including the first dance.

Speeches.

Parent dances.

Special performances.

And in our opinion, most importantly, our founder, Tanvi completely taking over the wedding program for a very special announcement.

As promised at the beginning of this blog, Mint To Be Events wanted to do something very special for this couple and their families for having such big hearts. To note, through nearly a week's worth of celebrations, not a single person dared to bring up the name of the bride's sister, Riya Patel of whom the family lost years ago. To remind you of their great contribution, they donated her body to the New England Donor Bank so that she can help other people live. The very mention of her name would have brought everyone to tears. And Tanvi did just that....

In the middle of a program, we presented a $5,000 donation in the memory of Riya Patel to the New England Organ bank.

It was the least we could have done, and allowed Riya's name to be mentioned in great light at her sister's reception.

At the very end of this blog, you will find that the parents of the bride added an additional $4001 to our donation. Special thanks to the Yard Sign Company (Pure Energy Entertainment, specifically Johnny K for helping us print this massive check)

And with the help of our sister company, Boston Sound and Light Company turned a sweet and somber moment into an outright party.

Later in the year, we hand delivered the donation check of $5,000 (with the addition of $4001 from the family) to the New England Donor Services in Waltham, MA and met with Caitlyn Bernabucci (Manager, Development and Public Education of NEDs) and Melissa Chiumiento (Marketing)

The New England Donor Services honored our story recently in a blog post. To read their blog post on Instagram, please click here. To donate to this worthy cause, please visit the New England Donor Services website, or click here.