Darin Bahl and Gopal Grandhige
June 27, 2009, Ogunquit, ME

By Laura Pope

The formal, festive, thoroughly distinct wedding of Darin Bahl and Gopal Grandhige in Ogunquit, Maine, emphasized their passion for good food and lively entertainment.

“We wanted to do something different, to think outside the box when it came to our wedding,” says Darin, an experienced event planner. “We wanted to change the way weddings are done for the couple and their guests and I have to say I’ll never be at a better wedding than our own.”

“You don’t realize how the ceremony and the celebration are going to change you until you’re standing there,” echoes Gopal, a surgeon from Georgia who met Darin, originally from Milwaukee, four years ago.

Since this would be a destination wedding, the pair immediately set to work on a website to coordinate all the information for their far-flung guests, including a weekend calendar of events that boasted a Sunday kite-flying Beach Brunch, a list of accommodations, their proposal story and photos.

“We really enjoyed the planning process but it can become an animal of its own,” warns Gopal, “so we started planning a year out. I had new ideas every day, but then Darin instituted a weekly wedding meeting on Sunday mornings when we both presented our ideas and lists and at the end of that meeting we left with things to do. We were able to get things done, we did things together and the planning didn’t take over our lives.”

Personal touches to their celebration included handcrafting of items such as their “lobster bib” save-the-date announcement, rhinestone-and-ribbon-wrapped brunch boxes, embellished escort cards, menu and welcome boxes. With the assistance of a gifted calligrapher, they melded a white-and-black palette and special circus characters – taken from street art purchased in Paris where they became engaged– in the wedding invitations and thank-you notes.

Their year-long planning paid off handsomely. The couple checked into the Honeymoon Suite at White Barn Inn in Kennebunkport on a Wednesday, and prepped guest hotel rooms with a welcome box. The next day, they hosted a groom’s dinner for 35 at MC Perkins Cove Restaurant and on Friday, with photographers in tow, they ventured to York Beach in tuxes for a series of candid photos.

“We walked around York Beach, had ice cream cones, and rode on the carousel, with two photographers snapping photos like we were celebrities,” reminisces Darin. “People observing this came over and gave us their best wishes on our impending marriage. The most touching moment was at the carousel when a woman, with her husband and young daughter, congratulated us. The warmth and good wishes we received were tremendous.”

Darin and Gopal initiated their Saturday wedding day with a morning 90-minute ritual called a Pooja  – an Indian, Hindu  prayer ceremony – on the expansive lawn at Arrows Restaurant, “to make the site auspicious for the 4 p.m. ceremony later in the day.” The benevolent elephant deity statuary, Ganesha (The Remover of Obstacles), and their special ceremony garb were purchased by the couple six months earlier in India when they attended the hair-cutting ceremony of Gopal’s year-old nephew, Vishwanath. An informal brunch at the Hartwell House in Ogunquit followed.

One hundred guests arrived at Arrows for an “intimate” black-tie formal dinner party where they soaked in the elegant surroundings while sipping cocktails and live music by the Con Fuoco String Quartet. During this time, wait staff guided each guest to apple trees at the front of the property – festooned with parasols and miniature black-and-white kites from which hung escort cards. Each card was embellished, in calligraphy, with the name of a guest and contained their table assignment as well as a personal note from Darin or Gopal. Later in the evening, the parasols and kites were illuminated with LED lights.

“The escort cards were acts of devotion, really, and very personal,” states Gopal. “It took a month for both of us to write out personal notes for the cards to our family members. Most couples send out invitations to guests and expect them to show up. When you write your guests a personal note, it brings you a gratitude for every person there and it made us enjoy the gathering more.”

Fifteen minutes before the ceremony, a soft “mystical” mist rolled in over the ceremony site. As the spring quartet played, two toddler-aged rings bearers in tuxedos with short pants, made their way down the aisle, followed by each groom. Darin’s friend and mentor, Bill Eckert, led the ceremony, scripted by the couple, except for a surprise 15-minute section Eckert wrote and delivered. Darin’s sister and Gopal’s sister-in-law gave readings.

“My little nephew, Vishwanath, had to be coaxed down the aisle with a bag of Doritos,” remembers Gopal, laughing. “I can also say that knowing the officiant personally really changes the whole ceremony.”

As the couple and guests made their way inside to the reception (along with Ganesha), background dinner music was provided by the Charles Porter Jazz Quartet. A menu bearing each guest name determined the seating plan, but this was no ordinary menu. Entirely the creation of Arrows chefs, their menu, entitled “A Romantic Journey Along the Silk Route,” tapped a pan-Asian culinary theme which referenced creative vegetarian cuisine and Gopal’s Indian heritage as well as the grooms’ adventurous, festive personalities. Upon finalizing their menu with Chef Clark in the fall, they were informed that rows of produce would be planted in the garden just for this very wedding feast.

Arrows, at the couple’s request, concocted a series of inventive, non-alcoholic drinks, to pair with each of the five courses, including a cucumber and cilantro drink and a pomegranate fizz, for those who did not want alcoholic beverages.

The best was a surprise, saved for last. As the dinner finished, two mimes appeared and amused guests just as two stilt walkers appeared outside the windows. These four characters beckoned to a tent that had been explained to guests as the site for a wedding the next day. Once everyone had been ushered inside, offered maple cotton candy or ice cream cones, and taken their seats, Cirque USA acrobats and performers entertained enthralled guests for nearly an hour.

The next morning, everyone met at the beach to fly kites, throw footballs and Frisbees and dine from brunch boxes brimming with sandwiches, salad and cupcakes from Arrows and very special muffin tops from the pair’s fave breakfast establishment, Amore in Ogunquit.