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.