Pooja & Asheev
For years, Pooja and Asheev Patel had unspoken crushes on each other. Following college graduation, however, Asheev worked up the nerve to ask out Pooja. That one date turned into many, and he popped the question in the summer of 2020.
While much of the world was hunkering down due to COVID, in January 2021, the wanderlust pair gave up their apartment. They elected to live a nomadic lifestyle, exploring different cities while bunking at Airbnbs.
“We spent the past couple of years traveling and exploring,” says Pooja. “Our relationship culminated in a beautiful wedding on April 16, 2022, at the Delta Hotels Cincinnati by Marriott.”
The couple planned five events, including three traditional pre-wedding Hindu ceremonies. They needed to find a flexible venue to host them all, some of which were happening in tandem.
As they shopped for venues, they considered three essential fac- tors: convenience, ambiance and support.
“In our community, we have a lot of people who are elderly and a lot of people who have little kids,” says Pooja. “A three-day event can be exhausting, so we wanted to choose a venue that would help people feel relaxed yet energized throughout the ex- citing, fun-filled weekend.”
The Marriott conveniently enabled older guests or those with young children to go to their rooms and take a nap or tend to their needs, then come back downstairs when ready.
Pooja and Asheev also sought a calm, relaxed ambiance for their wedding weekend.
“Sometimes at convention centers with back-to-back events, there is too much noise, but that wasn’t the case at the Delta,” says Pooja. “The Marriott offered an elegant, soothing atmosphere.”
Support came from Nidhi Bambino Bedi, Delta’s Director of Sales & Catering.
“She did an incredible job of coordinating everything. She’s very perceptive and detail oriented. We knew that if we missed any detail, she would be on top of it,” says Pooja. “I don’t think anyone out there can provide the service she does — particularly with Indian weddings.”
The staff went above and beyond caring for the wedding cou- ple, asking what they needed and even intuitively supplying it. For instance, the staff reserved a vegetarian plate for Pooja and a meat plate for Asheev so they didn’t need to stand in line for food. They also knew that Asheev liked coffee and Pooja liked chai.
“They’d bring us what we needed before we knew we needed it!” says Pooja. “The way they could read our energy was incredible.”
Asheev was impressed by the staff’s ability to maintain con- trol over the event, given the number of guests in attendance.
“A lot of chaotic energy comes from hosting that many people. It can be easy to lose control of where all the guests are going,” he says. “Nidhi’s staff was well versed in how to navigate that. They knew how to direct people to where they needed to be. They also knew how to take the burden off the families so they could enjoy the weekend.”
The couple repeatedly heard from guests that this was the most organized Indian wedding they had ever attended. Every- thing ran on time, and people loved the delicious, authentic, flavorful food. Plus, there was a performance by the University of Cincinnati’s drumline, an on-site magician, and Dippin’ Dots and Graeter’s Ice Cream.
“It was a really fun weekend,” says Pooja.
Ka’Shira & Neal
Ka’Shira Chandler and Neal Gannon also had a fantastic wedding experience at the Delta Hotels Cincinnati in June.
Soon after the couple got engaged, they drove by Delta and Neal said, “I wonder if they have a conference center. Maybe they do weddings?” They stopped by on a whim and spoke to Nidhi, who dropped what she was doing and gave them a personal tour of the site.
“We immediately fell in love with everything, starting with Nidhi, who was so personable,” says Ka’Shira. The pair wasn’t sure what they wanted aside from a summer ceremony, so Nidhi provided a plethora of ideas.
“She was so resourceful and helpful when we were stressed out and had zero idea what to do,” says Ka’Shira. She was thrilled to see that the hotel’s package included everything they were told they would have to pay for à la carte at other venues, such as chair covers and uplighting.
“We had sticker shock after looking at the first few venues,” she says. “We were planning a big wedding — almost 250 people — but I was getting so stressed and annoyed that I was to the point where I was ready to give up on my big dream wedding. But Nidhi said, ‘Don’t worry. I’ve got you.’ And she did.”
From day one, the communication between the bride and Nidhi was phenomenal. Any question Ka’Shira had for Nidhi was answered within minutes via text or email. She told Nidhi that she wanted to save money on florals, and Nidhi suggested she add some height to some of the centerpieces. Ka’Shira created tall arrangements for six of the 33 tables, which saved a good deal of money.
“Looking back, nobody remembers what our centerpieces looked like, so I would have been mad if I’d spent all that time and money on them,” says Ka’Shira.
The staff handled all the setup, arranging the decorations perfectly. Nidhi also worked seamlessly with the couple’s ven- dors, including handling the cake. “I never had to do any of it,” says Ka’Shira. “She coordinated all of that.”
When the big day arrived, Ka’Shira knew she was in excellent hands as Nidhi helped plan the wedding timeline.
“Having her help with that was a huge relief because there were so many moving parts the day of, and we had so many people coming in and out,” Ka’Shira recalls.
One of the couple’s favorite memories of the day happened dur- ing the father/daughter and mother/son dance.
“Neal and I had prerecorded a message to our parents, and the DJ overlaid that message as we were dancing with our parents,” says Ka’Shira. “Everyone was crying. Nobody expected that. It added a special touch to the night.”
Another great memory was made following the ceremony after the bride and groom took pictures at a local park. Because they were hot and tired, they went to their room at the Delta to freshen up. When they came downstairs, Nidhi asked if they would like to do a “room reveal” and see the Grand Ballroom before everyone else.
“It was really quiet. We got to be by ourselves for a couple of minutes to take it all in, which was nice after a very long day,” says Ka’Shira.
Since the wedding, Ka’Shira has had multiple people tell her that this was the best wedding they had ever attended. People loved the uplighting, the music, the atmosphere and the energy.
“It’s nice to hear that everyone had such a good time because the day is all a blur to me!” she says with a chuckle.
Searching for the perfect venue for your special day? Delta Hotels by Marriott Cincinnati/Sharonville is located at 11320 Chester Rd., Cincinnati, Ohio 45246. For more information, visit marriott.com/cvgde or call 513-552-6369.