Ganga Palecanda Chengappa and Sebastian Roberto Astrada
May 23, 2009
Family
Drs. Palecanda and Nirmala Chengappa; Dr. Carlos Astrada and the late Maria Cristina Astrada
Ceremony
A bride with Indian heritage and a groom with Argentine roots were joined during a Hindu ceremony performed by Vinod Pandeyji from the Hindu Jain Temple (615 Illini Drive, Monroeville; 724/325-2054, hindujaintemple.org)
Reception
At the Westin Convention Center Hotel (1000 Penn Ave., downtown; 412/281-3700, starwoodhotels.com/westin), more than 400 guests gathered to dine on Indian main dishes, side dishes and desserts catered by Taj Mahal (7795 McKnight Road, McCandless; 412/364-1760, tajmahalinc.com). Kat Shaw of Trends to Traditions (417 Quarter Horse Lane, Adams Township; 412/267-2108, trendstotraditions.com) coordinated logistics and even provided beautiful fuchsia and gold linens. Argentine Malbec wine, a nod to the groom’s heritage, doubled as table assignment cards and favors for guests.
Flowers
Jim Price from Cuttings Flower and Garden Mart (524 Locust Place, Sewickley; 412/741-7227, cuttingsfg.com) used dark-pink tulips for dramatic and striking floral arrangements.
Photography & Videography
Araujo Photography (99 Sunset Drive, Robinson Township; 412/787-2711, araujophoto.com). Videography by David Meek (meek-one.com).
Music
Honoring the groom’s Latin heritage, the couple invited tango band Tangueros de Ley (represented by Entertainment Unlimited, 1701 Banksville Road, Pittsburgh; 412/343-7700, entertainmentunlimited.com).
On the Bride
Ganga wore a red-silk Ritu Kumar sari (ritukumar.com) from India.
On the Groom
Sebastian wore a custom-made three-piece Indian wedding suit provided by the bride’s aunt for the ceremony, and changed into a traditional suit from his own wardrobe for the reception.
Cake
Fenoglietto’s (2955 Leechburg Road, Lower Burrell; 724/335-5359, ultimateweddingcakes.com) created a tiered vanilla cake with strawberry-cream filling.