Seema Amin and Deval Patel

Seema Amin, 31, graduated from Shawnee Mission Northwest and the University of Kansas with a degree in psychology and a minor in business. She then attended InterAmerican University of Puerto Rico School of Optometry and is now a practicing optometrist in New York City.

Deval Patel, 30, graduated from Middlesex County Academy then went on to University of the Sciences in Philadelphia and is now a practicing pharmacist at Jersey City Medical Center in the Emergency Department.

“Like many New Yorkers, Deval and I met online and for our first date we went to a jazz club,” Seema smiles. “Deval asked me if I wanted to go to a concert. I thought he was asking me on a second date when he meant that night. “We met a couple of his friends at an underground pop-up show and saw Cole Ramstad and the Chinatown All Stars, who are an incredible jazz/funk band. Needless to say, it was our last first date ever.”

For the proposal, Deval had a friend invite the couple to a “gala” in Central Park. “The morning of the gala, he told me that there happened to be a Harry Potter-themed geocache also happening that weekend in Central Park,” she relates. “We arrived at the park where Deval led me up a hill where there was a pile of red roses, and on top of the roses was Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. When I opened the book, he had cut out the book to reveal the chapter ‘The Unbreakable Vow.’ Inside was a ring box; at that point Deval proposed. I was then surprised by my brother, who had flown in from KC, and all my friends and we spent the evening dancing on a rooftop in NYC.”

The blissful couple tied the knot July 28, 2018. Seema and Deval had a welcome dinner the evening before at Boulevard Brewing Company catered by Chuys, during which friends and family came together for an evening filled with music and mingling. “Our wedding day started early,” Seema says. We had first-look pictures that were outside, just the two of us. During the wedding we had pistachio ice cream from Baskin Robbins passed around; who doesn’t want ice cream at 10 am!? After our traditional Hindu ceremony, we went to Taco Bell, one of our favorites, and did a photo shoot there. We then changed out of our wedding outfits and into our reception outfits for more pictures. That was followed by cocktail hour and a reception that never seemed to end. It was truly a magical day.”

Seema and Deval spent three weeks honeymooning in South Africa and Zambia, where they went hiking, whiskey tasting, wine tasting, ate incredible food, took a helicopter tour of Victoria Falls, and watched elephants cross the Zambezi River from the hotel pool. ■

Bridal Gown
Leharr Collection, Indo American Apparel

Bridesmaids’ Gowns
Leharr Collection

Groom’s Suit/Tux
Leharr Collection

Groomsmen’s Suit’s/Tuxes
Leharr Collection

Hair and Makeup
Sarah Rodriguez

Florist
Studio Dan Meiners

DJ
Volcanik Entertainment

Caterer
Chuys, Godavari and BAPS
Swaminaryan Mandir

Cake
Sweet Dreams Cake Company

Venue
Boulevard Brewing Company, Embassy Suites Olathe

Videography
Bryan Engel

Jeweler
Leharr Collection

Stationery
Kayla Heckman

Henna
Jayna Pate