Nicole Rivera, the Director of Global Marketing for Clinique, and Sumit Khatod met during their first month of business school. “He is incredibly funny and charming (he was a writer for our school’s comedy show Follies), and I found that I loved being around him,” Nicole says. After dating for five years (some of that long distance between San Francisco and New York), he got down on one knee during a summer picnic at the Montauk Lighthouse.
For their #NicoleConqueredTheSumit wedding, they wanted to celebrate their different backgrounds. They chose Vizcaya Museum & Gardens in Miami as their venue, since it was a good meeting point for guests flying in from India, Puerto Rico, Mexico, the U.K., and other places. To help plan their two-day-long festivities, they hired Masi Events, and to capture all of the beautiful imagery, they hired Erika Delgado Photography.
On Friday night, the couple hosted a traditional Indian Sangeet and Hindu ceremony in the Wynwood neighborhood. “All the colors of this artsy area made for an incredible backdrop for the vibrant Indian-inspired décor,” Nicole explains. “Sumit was born and raised in Atlanta, but his family is from India, so it was important that we had a traditional Hindu ceremony.”
To find her outfit, Nicole took a trip to India with Sumit’s mother, sisters, and her mom. “After taking a walk in the Delhi Emporio Mall, I quickly realized that Anita Dongre was the right designer for me. She is known for her gota-patti work—a traditional Rajasthani embroidery technique that’s been popular since the Mughal era and uses small pieces of ribbon made from fine gold and silver threads. Her designs are inspired by Rajasthan—the area of India where Sumit’s family is from,” the bride says.
For Saturday’s ceremony, Nicole knew she wanted to wear something light-weight and romantic. Mark Ingram Atelier was having a Mira Zwillinger trunk show the day she visited, and a strapless, hand-beaded, A-line tulle gown immediately caught her eye. “It was simple yet had just enough hand-stitched details to make it feel special. I grew up figure skating through college, and this reminded me of that aesthetic,” the bride says. For the after-party, she bought a Johanna Ortiz one-shoulder ruffled dress on sale and paired it with a Magic Midnight traditional Colombian headpiece.
The groom wore a bespoke classic black tuxedo from Sebastian Grey, and the lining was a Mexican Day of the Dead skull print because Nicole’s birthday is on that holiday. “It was a lovely tribute to me because, although I am not Mexican, I spent a formative period of my childhood living there,” she says.
At Vizcaya, the couple had their Latin fusion, garden party ceremony. “I really wanted to have something that represented my Latin roots. I am Puerto Rican, spent a considerable part of my childhood in Mexico, and finished high school in Miami,” Nicole explains. After the couple shared their vows, a mariachi band guided guests into the cocktail reception space, and the newlyweds kicked off the party with a fun salsa first dance to Marc Anthony’s “Tu Amor Me Hace Bien.”
