THE REGISTRY ER
ALISON ANNE ZAK & VISHVODHAY THUMMALAPALLY WHEELING | 5.16.19
alison, a native of tampa, florida, and vishu, originally from hyderabad, india, met on a dating app in the fall of 2016. Two years later he proposed on Alison’s 30th birthday with the help of their dog, Meeko. She said yes, and the couple began planning not one, but two ceremonies. They chose Oglebay as the venue because the bride’s mother is a native of Wheeling, and the bride had dreamed of a wedding there since she was 12 years old. They had a Hindu ceremony honoring Vishu’s Indian heritage in the Pine Room at Oglebay on a Thursday. In it, the couple applied a traditional mixture of rice, cumin, and palm sugar on top of each other’s heads. They wore traditional Indian wedding garments, and the ceremony lasted about two hours. A brief American ceremony took place two days later on the West Spa patio at Oglebay. The bride wrote the script for the ceremony, and the couple wrote their own vows. The ceremony reflected the couple’s love of nature, featuring Meeko as an attendant with the ring bearers. Tables were assigned animals rather than numbers, and the bride folded more than 100 origami birds used in the decor. For the ceremonies, the bride wore a Ludlow gown with a handmade flower hairpiece and purple heels. She carried a bouquet of baby’s breath and greenery. The couple had two wedding cakes, one decorated in an Indian style and an Appalachian cake of layers baked by friends and family members and assembled by the bride’s brother. That cake was topped with a crocheted version of the couple, also made by the bride. Following a honeymoon to India, the couple returned home to Fairfax, Virginia, where Alison works as an environmental educator and Vishu as a web developer.
BRIDE’S PARENTS Susan & John Zak
GROOM’S PARENTS Sunitha & Ravinder Reddy Thummalapally
PHOTOGRAPHED BY Caitlin’s Living Photography
116 | WV WEDDINGS Spring/Summer 2020
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