The Proposal
Mitesh proposed to me in September of 2002. I still remember it so clearly. He took me to this wonderful restaurant in New York City located at the top of the Marriot Marquis hotel. This restaurant spins around so that you have a beautiful 360-degree view of NYC. I was a little suspicious as to why he took me to such an expensive place ... It wasn't my birthday! I put my suspicions aside and enjoyed our time together.
The dinner was great, and we spent the entire time reminiscing about our past. He then, for some strange reason, tried to persuade me to stay the night with him at the hotel. He gave me some lame excuse that his brother-in-law got a really good rate for the night, and that we should take advantage of it. At first I was reluctant, but it didn't take much to convince me. He had arranged for us to stay in a presidential suite. The room was absolutely gorgeous! Now I'm talking about a huge beautiful black piano right smack in the middle of the living room. A full dining room equipped with snacks and a mini bar (always a plus!), three full bathrooms and a huge king-size bed with a breathtaking view of the city. And still, I had no clue that he had pre-planned all of this. He had ordered room service to bring up a fruit platter along with some wine (the expensive kind). He then secretly placed the ring inside the whip cream on the fruit platter, where just the stones were protruding out. Still, without a clue, I started munching on the fruit and eating the whip cream, not even noticing the 1.3 carat ring popping out of it. After a few minutes, I looked closer at the shiny object sticking out of the whip cream and at that point I knew the whole evening was set up for a proposal. He then got down on his knee and proposed. I was feeling very euphoric, with all kinds of wonderful emotions at the same time. It was a very touching and memorable evening. I was on cloud nine for the rest of the week!
About the Ring
My engagement ring is a total of three stones, all princess cut. I actually knew what my ring looked like because we had been ring shopping before ... many times!!! The center stone is .95 carats and the two side stone are .22 carats, a total of 1.39 carats. I absolutely LOVE my engagement ring. I still look at it in AWE till this day. It is just so unique and different from the rest.
The Date
Manisha and Mitesh were married Aug. 31, 2003.
About the Dress
All of my wedding attire was purchased or custom made for me in India. My family and I took a trip to India back in mid-April and purchased the majority of our clothes while vacationing (It's much cheaper that way, trust me!). Indian weddings consist of more than one day of events. We actually had three days of ceremonies and celebrations; hence, three days' worth of beautiful dresses were required.
The wedding dresses were made by an Indian designer located in Mumbai. He had initially measured me back in April before I had lost any weight. As a result, I had to get all of my dresses resized and altered again about one month before the wedding. And then, as if that wasn't enough, my dad had to take in a few more inches because I had lost more weight during that last month before my wedding. It was a nightmare having to get these dresses altered so many times, but well worth the uniqueness of each dress.
I wore two dresses the day of my wedding. For the actual wedding ceremony, I wore a traditional maroon dress with gold work. The Indian wedding dress consisted of a short blouse with a long A-line skirt and a scarf that drapes over my waist and shoulders (we call it a dupatta), and of course we can't forget the veil. Then for the reception I wore a more contemporary-style dress. It was a sage-green dress with gold-and-red diamond embroidery. The skirt was long and straight with a slit, and the blouse was short with a matching dupatta. While the dresses were being made, I was very nervous about how they would turn out. But in the end, I couldn't have been happier with my product.
