Inside Amit Patel and Martin Fulton’s beautiful multicultural wedding
Glimpses from the couple’s traditional Indian and Christian wedding ceremony
“I knew I had found true love and I felt that I had finally found myself,” might sound like an excerpt straight out of a rom-com. But it’s the exact emotion 40-year-old Utah-born and Texas-bred haematology oncologist Amit Patel felt when he married Martin Fulton, a 31-year-old from Upstate New York, in October 2018.
Image: Clane Gessel
Much like any other love story from the digital era, the duo got acquainted through a mutual friend on Facebook almost eight years ago in December 2010. They volleyed texts, calls and Skype dates for a few months, before Fulton, who was living in Michigan back then to pursue a degree in Biology and Chemistry, flew to New York City to meet Patel. In March 2011, they met for the first time at the LaGuardia Airport.
Looking back, Fulton can pinpoint the exact moment when, “Amit ran up behind me and gave me the biggest bear hug and I knew that was it.” At the end of the five days together, he was flying back to Michigan and was already in love.
A tale of two cities
The couple shared a long distance relationship across two cities for over four and a half years, meeting only over the weekends when Fulton would drive for six hours to see Patel. “Martin and I were finally able to live and be together in 2015 after he graduated. Then the next steps in our relationship could be planned—getting married—and coming out to my family,” recalls Patel.
To get around this, Patel and Fulton flew to Texas, where the former’s parents reside. Patel, with his brother by the side and Fulton at a friend’s house, came out to his folks. “My parents opened their minds and hearts and accepted me as well as Martin, without condition or prejudice. The next day, my brother and sister-in-law had a celebration at their home. I was there with Martin. Together. Free of anxiety, fear or doubt. It has been a nonstop celebration since then,” adds Patel.
Image: Clane Gessel
The picture-perfect proposal
It was almost eight years since their first encounter when Patel got down on one knee. But he sought Fulton’s parents’ permission before he popped the question to him on the Bow Bridge in Manhattan (one of the first places they visited as a couple together). “My family loved Amit from the very start, he was the first and only person I ever brought home to meet my family,” elaborated Fulton.
Image: Clane Gessel
The meeting of two cultures
The months that followed were a whirlwind of wedding preparations, from music selection to confectionery. The couple enlisted New York-based Sonal J Shah of SJS Events to be their wedding planner. Shah was torn between Fulton’s “something that nobody had ever seen before, both in scale and vision” and Patel’s desire for a big fat traditional Hindu wedding. She brought in lots of various ideas and vendors to make sure their visions were not just met, but also exceeded. “We asked our parents to tell us what they wanted with regards to the ceremonies, traditions and customs. We then built the ceremonies around those directions,” the couple says.
Image: Clane Gessel
The grand wedding celebrations
The festivities began on Thursday, October 18, 2018 with a mehandi night hosted at the Andaz Wall Street Hotel with friends and family—a fun-filled evening with music, laughter, wine, and reunions.
Image: Clane Gessel
The next morning, a vidi ceremony followed by Gujarati lunch was held at the hotel’s banquet, with 290 guests in attendance. Friday evening was the sangeet cum garba night at one of Manhattan’s most premium event spaces, Current at Pier 60. The venue, awash in hot pink, orange, dark green and purple, set the tone for traditional folk dancing from Gujarat followed by bhangra and other Bollywood favourites. The couple sported custom Tarun Tahiliani ankara work bundis with simple kurtas and mojris for the function.
Image: Clane Gessel
How the couple’s bespoke Tarun Tahiliani wardrobe came to be
The D-day, Saturday, October 20, started early. The couple got dressed in their custom Tarun Tahiliani creations go around the city for the pre-wedding photography session. “When I met Dr Amit and Martin, it was clear that they were what I would call them shokeen—people with a taste for the very fine things in life. The thought process behind the designs was that they should both look coordinated yet represent their ethnicity and celebrate the super-rich traditional crafts of India, namely embroidery. But, of course, with our TT fit,” chronicles Tahiliani.
Image: Clane Gessel
Patel wore a purple hand-embroidered sherwani, enhanced with heavily zardozi embroidered yoke and bootas spread all over. The sherwani was paired with the longer fine tasar and spun silk kalidaar kurta, kamarbandh and a stole, giving him a regal look. Fulton’s silhouette was inspired by a Western tail coat, mixed with Indian crafts on zardozi embroidery. The navy blue jacket, crafted with classic Italian wool crape with a bit of stretch, was paired with a kurta and trousers. “More than 40 karigars worked for over 40 days over the adda on the intricate embroidery. From the start to the end, more than 50 people were involved to craft these bespoke creations,” elaborated Tahiliani.
Image: Clane Gessel
Patel and Fulton’s return from the photoshoot led the way for their baraat. Each had an extravagantly decorated white horse that they rode down Wall Street, filling the street with music and dancing.
Image: Clane Gessel
The big fat Indian-American wedding
The ceremonies kicked off as they proceeded up the steps of the wedding venue, Cipriani Wall Street, so the priest could perform his initial blessing. This led directly into the Hindu ceremony followed by a short cocktail hour and the Christian ceremony. Fulton’s 11-year-old niece, Julia was the junior maid of honour, while his seven-year-old nephew, Maxwell was the junior best man.
Image: Clane Gessel
During the Christian ceremony (presided by Fulton’s great aunt Kit), his family got up to speak about memories of him when he was growing up—a pleasant surprise and touching moment for both Fulton and Patel. After the Christian ceremony, there was another cocktail hour followed by the reception. The reception saw some speeches from family and friends along with a wide array of dishes, drinks and dancing.
Image: Clane Gessel
“The room was enveloped in love, it was an unbelievably magical feeling. We were both emotional during the events. It was the culmination of years of hearing, planning and dreams that actually came true,” concludes Fulton.
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