Meet our New Bride : Kanaka

Meet our new bride : Kanaka who got married this January. She hails from Bangalore and she had her wedding in Bangalore and reception in Delhi. So lots of tips for brides from Bangalore and Delhi.

It was a small intimate Iyengar wedding with lots of Punjabi Tadka. I had fun talking to her few backs and I am sure you guys will love reading about it too.

How did you guys meet ?

Sameer is doing his PhD in computer science in Barcelona. But we met in Delhi through a common friend in a wedding. We chatted with each other all the time, and he convinced me to come to Barcelona for my masters. The following year that I spent in Spain was by far the best time of my life. Every day was insanely fun, and I realised how much fun I had hanging out with Sameer. Throughout the year we travelled around Europe, ate amazing food, tried (and failed) learning Spanish together, and just had an overall beautiful experience. Eventually we realized that we like other a lot and decided to take the next step 🙂

Tamil Iyengar Bride and Punjabi groom – What was your parent’s reaction when you told them ?

We had met each other’s parents separately. His family was very very sweet and I got along with them very well. And my parents loved Sameer – I think even more than me! So I didn’t really have to deal with any family drama, every one was pretty cool about the whole thing.

What Kind of Wedding – Iyenger or Punjabi ?

Sameer was a sweetheart about the whole thing. He was like – See, I don’t have any dreams of any ideal wedding , so we can go for what you want to do and then mix somethings up. So we decided to go for an Iyengar wedding with a Punjabi tadka 🙂 I had my choora and kalirey. And Sameer was wearing his pagdi all the time during the wedding.

So how long did you get to plan your entire wedding?

I got engaged in October and then I just had 3 months to plan the whole Wedding.

3 Months!!! How did you plan the whole thing in 3 months?

I never wanted a big wedding. I always wanted to have a small wedding with say 100 people.When we started looking for a location, all the banquet halls were booked. And while googling, I stumbled upon this Neemrana Heritage Villa (Villa Pottipati) in the heart of Banglore. It’s a big house with beautiful vintage decor. It doesn’t have a lot of space but it was a perfect choice for a small intimate south indian wedding. And the good thing is they give you basically the entire property for the day. Also, it was available on such short notice because they never really had a big wedding over there and people never considered it as a plausible option for a wedding.

I have to tell you, I love the vintage look of your wedding outfits- classy and elegant. Tell us something about where you got your outfits.

The best part of south indian weddings is it’s all sarees. And my mom has this brilliant collection of Kanjeevarams. So I decided to wear one of my Mom’s kanjeevarams- a bright pink and orange saree for the major part of the wedding. And I changed into a mango yellow and maroon saree – a 9 yard saree (from Nalli’s ) for the Kanyadaan.

For Mehendi, I got a bright red and green patiala suit stitched for my mehendi. It was extremely comfortable for me to manage the suit and sit for hours with mehendi on my feet and hands.

We had a reception, the day before the wedding, for that I wore a classic deep green and red kanjeevaram with a gold palla. I fell in love with it as soon as I laid my eyes on it.

Up to this point it was pretty simple. The actual challenge was to find a befitting outfit for the Punjabi Delhi reception. It was going to be a glamorous evening and I was extremely nervous since I wanted to wear a lehenga but was just so tired of the expensive-but-average designs I had seen in Bangalore.I was googling a lot to find a designer and I accidentally landed upon IFE and I loved their work.

I started a conversation with them and I sent Farha pictures of what I wanted – I always wanted a champagne gold outfit.  Farha called me up all the way from UK and we discussed what I exactly wanted. She and I would discuss every inch of the dress in detail and were on the same page throughout.  And when the lehenga arrived, it was a pleasant surprise as they delivered 3 days before I expected.  The lehenga was extremely beautiful!!! I loved it 🙂

Where did you get your makeup and hair done. I loved it , it was simple and classy!

For the reception and wedding I had this duo Lekha And Meghana do their magic on me. I had gone for trials a month before the functions and they created the exact look and hairstyle I had wanted for both the events, giving me the classy vintage look I wanted.

For the Delhi reception I had booked an appointment with Renuka Pillai. I hadn’t taken any trials but her assistant Pallavi (also her niece) heard me out and gave me her take on the subtle yet glamorous look for my very elegant lehenga. It was brilliant.

Tell us something about your photographer. Also tell us about the Selfie moment.

The mehendi, reception and wedding were shot by Myriad Hues. They were a team of four really nice, friendly guys who built a great rapport with all guests over the wedding weekend and made everyone extremely comfortable with the camera. The shooting for the reception in Delhi was done by Prem Studios, who were very quick in delivering the movie and photos and did a really good job too.

During the bangalore reception, everyone left by 10. So after everyone left, we were just chilling with friends and clicking pictures of each other. That was the time we clicked that selfie.

Any advice you want to all the readers out there?

My advice would be to just chill out on your wedding day! I know it’s easier said than done, but all the running around you’ve done leading up to that day will speak for itself. If something goes wrong, do not panic! There are loads of friends and relatives around you who will take care of it. Enjoy your big day and be happy!

Photography: Myriad Hues and Prem Studio| Wedding 9 Yard Saree: Nalli| Make-up Artist: Lekha And Meghana and Renuka Pillai | Reception Lehenga : IFE | Wedding Venue : Neemrana Heritage Villa

Pre Wedding Triathlon ( Mehendi + Aai Budo Bhaat + Sangeet ) – Part 1

 I spent four best years of my life in Bhubaneswar, never realizing for a moment that I will have such a deep connection with this city in future. When we left, we promised each other that we will come back for a reunion. But not for a moment I thought that destiny would bring me back here again – that too for my wedding!  And here I was in one of the Mayfair’s banquet room in Bhubaneswar for my Mehendi – a place where my best friend and I would spend our evenings eating barbecue chicken pizza.

Having the wedding in Bhubaneswar almost seemed like having a destination wedding. Most of the guests from our side came from distant cities, and we all stayed at the same hotel. It almost felt as if we were on a vacation with our entire extended family.

As most of my friends and relatives were arriving the day before my wedding day, I had planned to finish all my pre-wedding events in one day. It was going to be a Pre-Wedding triathlon starting with the Mehendi, followed by my Aai Budo Bhaat and Sangeet in the evening.

When I reached the venue that day, most of my friends had already reached. Mehendi guys asked us to select designs from this Big Book of Designs. He really wanted me to choose a pattern with a bride/groom motif. I was really not keen on that one and chose something with peacocks and mangoes.

Mehendi ceremony felt like a girls day out in Spa.. instead of having manicure/pedicure, here we were all getting our Mehendi done and we were having a really great time chatting with each other. Only difference- with Mehendi, you could not move for couple of hours. As long as you have company, it’s all good. Oh btw,  The Wedding Talkies team had recorded the entire conversation I had with my friends. They did not include it in the movie (thank God!) but they did give us the raw videos. And when I saw those videos, I couldn’t believe myself – how much can we girls talk! There’s no end to it. [poor mehendi wala :P]

Mehendi Ceremony Begins …

I did the mistake of going for a full arm Mehendi!

Patiently waiting for Mehendi wala to finish

We were supposed to have my Aai Budo Bhaat right after the Mehendi  was done. Aai Budo Bhaat is a Bengali tradition where bride eats her last lunch with her family as a bachelorette. A last chance to have lunch with your family as a little girl.

Once the Mehendi walas were finished, we started the Aai Budo Bhaat ceremony after a small break. A huge plate of food was brought specially for me – it had all sorts of bengali delicacies that you can name. And I was supposed to finish everything! Were they kidding me! My mom spoon fed the entire meal for me, as I had Mehendi all over my arms. And that made the ceremony really special for me. It brought back the memories of me in pigtails and mom feeding me so that I am not late for school. At that moment, I just wanted to go back in time and relive the carefree childhood days. Maybe play one last game of Ludo with my Dad before I enter the new phase of my life ..

Mom feeding me for Aai Budo Bhaat

With my Aai Budo Bhaat done, I was all set to get ready for the big day.

Oh wait !!! We have a party to attend before that day comes 🙂 You will have to wait a little more to know all about my Sangeet .. Promise I will be back soon with then next post this time… Until then Ciao 🙂

Makeup and Hair – My friend did the makeup for me. I went for something very subtle.

Photography – Ranvir Deb

Cinematography – The Wedding Talkies

Mehendi Lehenga – DIY Mehendi Lehenga

Venue – Mayfair Bhubaneswar

Flashback : Engagement Photo Shoot

My engagement photoshoot happened in Mid-Dec. It was one of the coldest days in New York. I was literally shivering during the entire shoot. I remember my photographer asking me if I ever plan to remove my jacket. I just replied saying that I want to live to see my wedding 😛 . And then I saw some 16 year old girls- all having their sweet 16 photo-op in dresses with bare shoulders. God bless their enthusiasm. I guess , I am just getting old 😛

Me and my husband , we both are really not very comfortable with public display of affection. That’s why this photo-shoot turned into a laugh riot for both of us. Instead of being romantic, we just ended up having a lot of fun. When I think back, I just remember both of us just laughing during the entire shoot, which is apparent in all the pictures 🙂 . We really had a good time that day.

Tip for all the bride-to-be’s – A pre-wedding shoot 4 weeks prior to the wedding can be a real stress buster. It helps take your mind off the wedding and it gives you some nice memorable moments with your partner, which you cherish for rest of the life.

Here are some pictures from that photo-shoot 🙂  Hope you enjoy them.

Courtesy: Joseph Lin Photography

The Mad One Turns into A Bengali Bride …

When I started this blog, I wrote a post on The Look of A Bengali Bride. And here I am, writing about how did I turn into one.

1. She wears a headdress called as Mukut. [Check]

 

2. She applies artistically designed white and red dots  on her forehead with a big red bindi in the center. [Check]

 

3. She usually wears banarasi saree and gold jewellery [Check]

4. She wears Alta on her palms. [Check] 

Well I cheated here .. and wore Mehendi 😛

 

5. And finally Shankha Pola and Loha. Something without which bengali wedding is never complete. [Check]

And Here’s the First Look of me as A Bengali Bride 🙂

 

“Two hours that changed my whole life” – Dikshita Sona

Destiny plays a very important role in our life. A random conversation with a stranger can land you to your new job. A chance meeting can lead you to finding your soulmate or your next best friend. And a 2 hour meeting changed our next bride’s life completely. Meet Dikshita Sona, who had a candid conversation with me about her fairytale wedding.

How did you guys meet?

It was the last day of my exams. And I was all set to party the next day. But my mom calls up and insists me to take the next flight to meet this guy, as she thought that he would be perfect for me. I was in Dubai. And he had come from the US for just a week and my only chance to meet him was if I took the next flight out. But seriously, that was not how I wanted to celebrate the end of my exams. Anyway, being the obedient girl I am, I listened to her. [Did you really believe that was true! LOL She used lot of emotional blackmail to convince me .. 😀 ]

I met Nipun amidst all our relatives. Perfect setting for any movie by Sooraj Barjatya :P. Do you remember the scene from Vivaah – where shy Amrita Rao meets the outgoing Shahid Kapoor, and she could hardly utter a word. Well .. it was nothing like that. It was 2 hours of continuous talking and smiling. We really connected well and we really liked each other’s company. And our parents had to finally call us back 😛

Wow .. that’s an amazing start. What happened next? Who proposed ?

Well, I had to fly back to Dubai the same evening. And he had to leave for the US. So we met just for 2 hours that day. And after that day, we talked on phone for hours. And we really loved talking. I was always on phone. My friends thought that there was something wrong with me as I would always be on the phone. But we just loved talking to each other.

“If you have to know more about me , You have to marry me!”

And one fine day, he asks me – So what else do you want to know about me.  And then Nipun goes – If you want to know more about me , You will have to marry me. I was like – Are you serious? Are we taking the next step ?

And then we told everything to our parents and they were really excited to know that we finally decided to get married. Everyone in the family, his and mine, had been waiting for this. He proposed me sometime around Holi and we got engaged in April 😀

What happened after engagement? How did you do your wedding planning? 

Our wedding planning was an international affair which involved lot of multi way conferences. My twin sister Nikita lives in London. My mom and me were in Mumbai. My dad is in Shanghai. So all of our planning happened over skype and facetime calls. My sister used to setup agenda for each meeting and we used to have at least 3 or 4 people involved in a skype session.

[ Editor’s tip to all NRI brides. If you have family scattered all over the world, you can use skype/facetime/whatsapp  to plan your entire wedding. You can use these skype/facetime sessions even for your sangeet practice. A little difficult but manageable ]

My mom did most of my wedding shopping. She is a designer herself and has a really good taste of clothes. My main wedding day outfit was from Aza which is a multi designer store. They usually keep collections from most of the well known designers. There, I saw a Sabyasachi outfit , tried it and just fell in love with it. I did not want a red outfit and was looking for something different. So I chose a yellow lehenga and paired it with a blue blouse. And the dupatta was pink. So it was a unique mix of colors.

Let’s talk about the different wedding events. And which one was your favorite.

Mehendi

I had a hard time sitting still during the entire time. Mehendi Wala was like – “Madam aap mat hiliye”. But I could not stop myself and I had to get up and dance with everyone. And Mehendi became even more special because Nipun visited me and sat with me while I was getting my mehendi done 🙂

[ I love her phoolon ka maang tikka ] 

Haldi

Haldi was a fun event. I caught hold of all my friends and we were literally playing Holi with each other 🙂

Sangeet 

It was the first formal function of the wedding. The venue was superb, there were flowers everywhere. The decoration was really pretty. It was the highlight of the entire wedding. Everyone danced , including his parents and my parents. We had lot of performances. I performed on Bahara Bahara 🙂 Even my sister did a performance who usually never dances. It was a really special event.

I wore an outfit by Anamika Khanna – a fluorescent pink and lime green outfit. I loved the outfit as it was so light and I could dance freely.

Wedding

My wedding started at 1 am in the morning. Before it started, we had a small reception, where I wore the Sabyasachi Lehenga. For the actual pheras , I changed into a yellow saree paired with the dupatta by Sabyasachi. And we had the bidaai at 4am in the morning. I had to change into a red saree which was given to me by the groom’s side.

Wow that’s lot of outfits for one night. Here’s a glimpse at each of the outfits. Love every single one of them. 

Now that you are married. How has been the life so far.

It’s an experience. Every day I discover something new about Nipun.  It’s like getting surprised everyday. And good thing is it has been good surprises so far ..And I look forward to many more of them 🙂

Thank you Dikshita for sharing your wedding moments with our readers.  We wish you a very beautiful life and an amazing  journey with Nipun.

 

Photography Courtesy : Photo Daaku

 

Show some love!

Anyone who follows my blog know that I spent a good part of last year planning for my wedding. And I could not have done it without the help of my fellow bloggers. These blogs kept me inspired and motivated me enough to start my own blog. And today, I would like to show some love to my fellow bloggers and create a pinterest board of my favorite blogs!

If you are like me and you feel your day is not complete till you have gone through all the latest posts of your favorite blogs, show some love to your fellow bloggers.

How do you do that?

1. Create a blog post about your favorite blogs.

2. Create a pinterest board of your favorite blogs.

3. Create a twitter list of your favorite bloggers.

4. Or come up with some other creative idea and let us all know about it 🙂

After you are finished with any of the above steps, do let us know by tweeting the link to me (@thebengalibride) with hashtag #showsomelove or by dropping a comment here. Looking forward to your tweets /comments 🙂 Enjoy!

Here’s my pinterest board of my favorite blogs.

Summer Weddings 2013 by Shyamal and Bhumika

Long Weekend + Showcase of Couture Wedding Collection – a dream for all brides! And it came true last Friday, when Shyamal and Bhumika presented their Summer Wedding Collection here in NYC and NJ. It was a perfect opportunity for all brides to explore their beautiful collection and get some advice from the designer himself.

And I took this chance to bring to you some great pictures of this newest collection. Hope you enjoy them.

Some awesome lehenga options for your sangeet/reception.

A perfect Sangeet outfit!

I would definitely wear this at my Cousin/Friend’s wedding. Something different for your trousseau.

Hot Pink is my favorite! I love the mix of colors with rich embroidery in this lehenga. If you don’t like over embellished outfits and want to opt for something unique for your wedding, this can certainly be a very good option.

Love the gold blouse and the plain simple gold border. A perfect example of tradition meets modernity, which reflects in most of their designs.

 

Friday Fotowala – Wedding Photographers in Bengaluru

We are back with a new post on Wedding Photographers this week. It’s Bengaluru this time. The Silicon Valley of India is now becoming a major hub of Candid Photographers of our country. I wouldn’t be surprised if 1 out of every 5 engineers own a photography page in facebook. What do you do when you have so many options ? You get confused 😛 Hopefully, this series will help you in making your decision and choosing the right photographer for your wedding. So here we go, presenting candid wedding photographers from Bengaluru …

Mahesh Shantaram Photography

Mahesh quit his job in 2005 to study photography in Paris. And since then, he has never looked back. Along with his wife Vidya, he has achieved world wide recognition in wedding photography because of the way they tell their visual stories.

His Style : Shoot wide. Take it all in. Get close—really close—to the action. He tries to capture the fleeting moments o -funny, silly, dramatic—to tell the story of the couple’s big day. Nothing too posed or cheesy. No text-book tricks or outrageous effects. The focus is on the story told through moments of surprise, drama, emotion, and intrigue.

He was awarded the Better Photography – Wedding Photographer of the Year in 2010 ( Couples Portraiture ).  He has also been an active member of Wedding Photojournalist Association since 2009.

You can find more information about him here.

Pradeep Sanyal Photography

Pradeep Sanyal combines photojournalism with a little bit of directed photography: which creates images that not only record the special moments of the wedding day as they happen but also capture formal shots as and where requested. His discreet style enables him to create a ‘storyboard’ of the wedding day, highlighting both moments you remember and maybe the ones you don’t. His main is  focus on the relationships between people, capturing their expressions and emotions, often taking the picture without anyone knowing. While his approach is of a photojournalistic nature he also mixes this with a more contemporary style.

He has won many accolades in his career and has been the winner of  Better Photography Wedding Photographer of the Year in 2011 (Bridal Portraiture). Visit his facebook page to know more about him.

 
Anup K. Jat

He picked up his first camera in 2008, but his work looks really promising. He enjoys the happiness around the weddings and tries to capture the candid elements from it. It clearly reflects from his work how much he enjoys weddings. The pictures look fresh, fun and vibrant. To know more about him, check out his facebook page.

Amulya Nagaraj Photography

For Amulya Nagaraj, the bride is the focus point of a wedding and she works closely with the bride from Day 1 to ensure she has photographs of all the important moments of the entire wedding process. Being an woman photographer, she understands a bride and how important this day is for a woman. This reflects in her work. You can find more information about her at Snapkot.

 
Anbu Jawhar Photography

Anbu took to full-time photography in 2010, deciding to focus on weddings and portraiture. Given that he is very social and yet can be an unobtrusive presence, he is able to participate in as well as capture the fleeting moments in a wedding ceremony that make for wonderful memories. He also loves to bring romance into his work both in terms of subjects as well as treatment, and works with the couples to bring this aspect to the fore.

Check out his facebook page to find out more information.

Alma Wedding Photography

Alma Weddings is a creative insight to wedding photography. “Alma” derives from the Spanish language which means `soul’. The team at Alma has consistently worked to create magical memories through photographs.

Alma weddings – is growing as the new generation wedding photo agency in India, with the work stations in New Delhi and Bengaluru, it is widely recognized for excellence in the wedding industry. Neil Kartik from Alma Weddings has won the Sony World Photography Student Award in 2009.

Check out their facebook page to find out more.

Sunitha Nadig Photography

Sunitha Nadig is a freelancer photographer who specializes in Fashion,Weddings , Family and Couple photoshoots. She started photography just as a hobby and gradually converted it to her profession. She loves capturing moments and memories for her clients which will last a lifetime and treasured for generations to come. Check out her facebook page to find out more info.

Embedded Eyes by Nishant Ratnakar

Nishant Ratnakar is a self-taught photographer based in Bangalore, India. He left a career in the IT industry, in pursuit of photography. Since then he has worked with several publications in India including Times group and DNA.

Embedded Eyes, an initiative by Nishant Ratnakar, originates from the idea- Embedded Photojournalism. It is about moving away from being a passive observer and getting into the heart of matter.To embed into peoples lives and bring out perspectives which otherwise never get to be seen. In an interview for Ritz Magazine, he says – “I embed myself into the situation, stay unobtrusive and become a part of the scene. Just like a photojournalist, people will not even realize I am there documenting the whole thing.”

Nishant is also very particular about the brief before the wedding. He sits with his clients to get the complete story so that he can be prepared. He also spends time with his clients so that they can be comfortable with his presence.

Find out more information about his wedding packages here.

The Appam Song

Watch the lovely bride and groom share their love story and dance to the tune of Appam Song 🙂

Courtesy: WeddingTalkies

Ideas for Sangeet/Engagement Outfits

I was browsing through the internet and found some interesting lehenga options for sangeet. Sharing them with you all…

A fusion lehenga by Shyamal and Bhumika

This lehenga has been doing rounds on the internet for quite some time. This Hot Pink Lehenga by Anita Dongre will quite a charm to an Engagement event.

I love everything by Sabyasachi. This one with a jeweled blouse would be a great option for a sangeet. A bride will have no trouble dancing with this light banarasi skirt. 

If your engagement is a cocktail style event, you can totally opt for a Shantanu-Nikhil Lehenga.

 

Your engagement/sangeet will be the only event where you will be able to incorporate white in your outfits. You might want to look for something like this one from the Kashmir Heritage Collection by Manish Malhotra. 

 

Love the combination of peach, gold and white …

Or maybe you can incorporate traditional embroidery by opting for a phulkari jacket in your sangeet outfit

I love everything pink. Half my trousseau saris were pink. My wedding outfit was pink. Even my sangeet lehenga was pink. So I am bound to like this pink lehenga from Payal and Mayank show 🙂          

 

If you want to be bold, you can also opt for a corset lehenga for your Sangeet!

And if you want to keep it simple and opt for a saree for your Engagement, you might go for something fun like this olive pink lehenga saree by Bhairavi Jaikishan