Washingtonians have a Baraat ceremony WIth Elephant & Horse

Washington Business Journal - May 1, 2009 /washington/stories/2009/04/27/daily95.html

Friday, May 1, 2009, 1:10pm EDT | Modified: Friday, May 1, 2009, 1:41pm

D.C. wedding involves elephant, street closure

Washington Business Journal - by Tierney Plumb Staff Reporter

An unlikely scene is planned for DeSales Street Friday afternoon when an elephant and white horse make their way to a wedding at theRenaissance Mayflower Hotel on Connecticut Avenue NW.

The animals are part of a traditional Indian marriage taking place at the Renaissance Mayflower Hotel.

Washingtonians Shilpa Maheshwari and Neil Agarwal will have a traditional Baraat ceremony -- which requires the groom to arrive on an elephant.

The extravagant entrance required parade and public space permits.

DeSales Street will be closed, between Connecticut Avenue and 17th Street, starting at 4 p.m. to prepare for the procession, which is scheduled for 4:45 p.m.

Agarwal and his family will proceed from the corner of DeSales Street and Connecticut Avenue to meet the bride’s family at the hotel’s 17th Street driveway.

The elephant, which has Hindu religious significance, came from a New York company called All Tame Animals.

The father of the bride put in his fair share of wedding work, filing the pile of paperwork needed to legally put on the production.

He worked directly with the Department of Homeland Security and seven other agencies to close the streets and got permits from the Department of Health and Department of Consumer Affairs.