Rebecca Sinatra and Jeev Trika were both seeking companionship. Rebecca, a real estate agent with Premier Sotheby’s International Realty, had little interest in online dating platforms. Instead, she opted for the services of a professional matchmaker. After an initial consultation, she passed on retaining the matchmaker’s active services. However, Rebecca was told her profile would be stored and assured she would be contacted if a compatible suitor emerged. Meanwhile, Jeev, a Naples resident originally from India, had commissioned multiple professional matchmaking services to search internationally on his behalf.
Three long years after Rebecca first reached out to the matchmaker, she received surprising news. She and Jeev—who lived a mere 20 minutes from each other—had been paired. The two met in May 2022 and became engaged a year later in Thailand. Recently, they wed at Talis Park alongside approximately 250 guests in a lavish multiday, multicultural celebration that honored Rebecca’s Jewish heritage and Jeev’s Hindu traditions.
While pulling off a two-day wedding that incorporates multiple religions and cultures, seven different wardrobe changes for the bride (and several for the groom), and a helicopter dropping rose petals at the perfect moment is no easy feat, Jeev and Rebecca planned most of the festivities themselves—in about six months.
Neither are friends of inertia. Jeev owns and operates DMA, a digital marketing company; he also manages national and international real estate investments. Rebecca is a busy real estate agent of more than 20 years. Originally from West Bloomfield, Michigan, she maintains a record-holding career in Southwest Florida. Added to their work lives, the pair have seven children between them: Juliana (19), Jelena (17), Jade (16), and Jay (12) Trika and Anthony (15), Sophia (14), and Sidney (12) Sinatra. And, along with their Talis Park residence, they’re currently building two homes—both abroad. It’s no wonder the two passed on bridal showers and bachelor parties, conserving precious time for organizing and coordinating the main affair.
“We spent a lot of time preparing,” relays Rebecca. “When it came to the overall planning of the multicultural events, we knew exactly what we wanted. We did employ a wedding planner, but they weren’t involved until about 60 days leading up to the ceremony.”
Friday’s Festivities
Events commenced on a Friday with neither a Hindu nor Jewish ceremony but a Thai-based meditation. Rebecca and Jeev hosted this at their home to establish a tranquil tenor for the many happenings ahead. Thailand is a place of significance for Jeev. At one time, his father worked for the United Nations, affording their family an opportunity to live outside of India, including in North Korea, Indonesia, and Thailand. He developed an affinity for the latter, so much so it’s the site of one of the couple’s future homes.
“I went to high school in Thailand,” explains Jeev. “Bangkok is like the melting pot of Asia. With the heavy Buddhist influence, there’s an atmosphere of acceptance, and I appreciate the country’s sense of peace and respect for others.”
Culturally, the wedding festivities migrated from Thailand to India next with the haldi ceremony. During this, Jeev and Rebecca sat within separate circular structures as guests applied a turmeric-based paste (called haldi), made and blessed by their family’s Hindu priest, to their skin. This ritual, dating back thousands of years, is meant to cleanse the soul and ward off evil spirits, while the turmeric in the mixture has long been recognized for detoxifying and skin-enhancing properties.
“I wasn’t sure what to expect at the haldi, but at the end of the day, it was a lot of fun,” says Rebecca. “Not only did guests put the paste on Jeev and me, but we got playful with it and ended up putting it on our guests, too.”
The yellowish color of haldi is considered auspicious within Indian culture. For this reason, the bride and groom usually don complementing attire at the event. Like many pieces of their wedding wardrobe, Rebecca’s and Jeev’s coordinating saffron-hued ensembles with touches of colorful embroidery and mirrored glass were designed by them and custom-made in India.
Next up on Friday was the sangeet, a traditional Indian event meant to welcome and bring together family and friends in honor of the soon-to-wed couple. While many—if not most—nuptials taking place throughout the United States concentrate on the union of two people, Hindu weddings also focus on the bonding of the couple’s families.
“At the sangeet, there is music and dancing,” shares Rebecca. “It’s a chance for both families to mingle, get to know one another more, and be joyful ahead of the ceremony.”
Two female guests performed a traditional Indian dance, while Jeev’s brothers surprised him with a choreographed routine. Of course, guests were welcome to dance and partake in the fun, too. In fact, Rebecca and Jeev requested that those invited, if possible, wear traditional Indian clothing or accessories so they could fully immerse themselves in the cultural experience.
Jeev and Rebecca also included mehndi, a traditional art that involves painting hands and feet with a paste made from the henna plant. Centuries old, mehndi has been used for ritualistic and ceremonial purposes across myriad cultures; it has long been thought to bring good luck. The mehndi artist at Jeev and Rebecca’s sangeet adorned guests, primarily female, with delicate designs that would last a few weeks and serve as reminders of the joyous matrimonial occasion.
Mehndi has particular importance for the bride. The bridal mehndi took place for Rebecca and her mother the day before the sangeet (on Thursday). In addition to adding ornamentation and purportedly blessing Rebecca with positive vibes, the time-consuming application of mehndi forces the bride to slow down ahead of the hectic festivities.
“In total, my bridal mehndi took about four hours,” says Rebecca. “It was a wonderful way to spend time with my mother before things got busy.”
A Significant Saturday
Rebecca’s heritage is Italian and Jewish. Her mother converted to Judaism before marrying her father, and growing up, Rebecca attended a private Hebrew school in Michigan. “Though I celebrated Christmas and Easter with my mom’s side of the family, Judaism has had a huge influence on my life,” explains Rebecca. “I wanted to honor that at our wedding.”
Before the Jewish ceremony, which took place early afternoon on Saturday, Jeev and Rebecca signed the ketubah, a formal Jewish marriage contract. This document contained personalized vows they had penned to each other. Artfully designed and framed in gold, it was later displayed at the wedding for guests to observe. Rebecca donned a traditional white wedding dress and tiara, while Jeev sported a dapper blue tuxedo.
So that guests felt a part of the ceremony, they were offered kippahs—known also as yamakas—small hats worn by followers of Judaism (customarily males) during times of prayer and celebration. Jeev and Rebecca provided guests a program of the Jewish ceremony, outlining the details of the event, much of which was conducted in Hebrew.
A large part of the Jewish marriage involved the couple standing alongside the rabbi under the chuppah, a large fabric canopy. This signifies the sanctuary of the home to be created throughout the bride and groom’s union. Under the chuppah, Jeev and Rebecca recited vows and exchanged rings; nuptials concluded with the ceremonial breaking of the glass. While symbolism can vary, for Rebecca, this custom served as a reminder of the Temple of Jerusalem’s destruction around 2000 years ago, the fragility of human relationships, and the importance of appreciating the present. Following the pop of the glass and before returning to Hindu-based ceremonials, guests enjoyed a kosher meal catered by a Miami-based deli.
Three important events prefaced the Hindu wedding: the sehra bandi, the baraat, and the milni. For the first, the sehra bandi, Jeev’s male family members and close friends adorned him with his wedding regalia, including a turban and the sehra (a beaded veil). The baraat, also involving the groom, is a procession from his home to the wedding venue. For Jeev’s baraat, guests accompanied him over a bridge at Talis Park, dancing and cheering as music played and—cue the helicopter—rose petals fell from the sky. Once Jeev arrived at the venue, the milni took place. As part of this, the parents of the bride and groom (and other close family members) exchanged greetings, blessings, and garlands—emblematic of the two families coming together.
At the start of the Hindu ceremony, Rebecca entered wearing a Champagne-colored traditional wedding garment (called a lehenga). She also wore bangles, called keleera, and a tikka, a headpiece. She was presented with a carriage held by their children Jade, Jay, and Anthony, as well as Jaden Schwartz (Rebecca’s nephew). Jeev was waiting for Rebecca at the altar (known as the mandap), as were his parents, Rebecca’s mother, and the Hindu priest. Though Rebecca’s father passed away, he was represented by a framed photo. The ceremony lasted over an hour and included a series of sacred rites, commencing with the bride and groom playfully exchanging ornate garlands. Especially significant was the saat phere, the part of the ceremony when Jeev and Rebecca encircled a consecrated fire, taking seven sacred steps representative of their unified path forward.
While the ceremony was conducted in Sanskrit, the Hindu priest at Jeev and Rebecca’s ceremony offered helpful explanations and insights in English so that all guests could follow along. “The priest did a wonderful job of explaining the different parts of the wedding,” says Courtney Morlock, a Bonita Springs resident and friend of Rebecca’s who attended the wedding with her daughter. “It was beautiful and interesting to learn what they were doing and why.”
After the Hindu ceremony, guests moved to the reception area to celebrate the newlyweds. At one point, Jeev and Rebecca performed a choreographed dance to “Hero” by Enrique Iglesias. This was Rebecca’s favorite part of the night. “We took professional dance lessons ahead of time,” she says. “We love to dance and have talked about doing more of it.”
The reception featured entertainment from a DJ, fireworks, and food that was even more diverse than the customs celebrated at the nuptials. “We decided to offer live food stations that included our favorite cuisines: Italian, Thai, Mexican, and Indian,” says Rebecca. “For dessert, we had a seven-tiered wedding cake, carrot cake from Truluck’s, and a Norman Love Confections chocolate bar.”
For Jeev, the best part of the wedding was its overall uniqueness. “A two-day wedding that fuses cultures is not a common occurrence,” he says. “We were able to take vows not just once but twice.”
The emotion on display between the bride and groom was palpable. “Even though this was an involved, culturally driven series of events, [Jeev and Rebecca] know how to celebrate each other,” says Morlock. “You could tell when he welcomed her on the dance floor that they genuinely care about each other and genuinely love each other.”
Story Credits:
Wedding design and planning by Cece Baschieri, So Eventful, SWFL
Shot on location at Talis Park, Naples
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