Indian fashion designers including Narendra Kumar Ahmed, Jaya Misra and Vikram Phadnis showcased their latest wedding collection at Westin, Pune. The highlight of the show was Evelyn Sharma walked the ramp in a magnificent Jaya Misra collection of gold lehenga and orange blouse.
Indian Weddings
Udita Goswami marries film director Mohit Suri
Udita Goswami married her longtime boyfriend film director Mohit Suri in a traditional Punjabi ceremony at Hare Rama Hare Krishna temple in Mumbai. The bride looked radiant in a red and gold lehenga and the groom wore a white sherwani and black vest and a light pink shawl.
Among the Bollywood celebrity guests, Kangana Ranaut came in a simple green sari with a massive gold necklace and Jacqueline Fernandez wore a tiered blue gown. Groom’s cousin Emraan Hashmi attended the wedding with wife and son and Govinda was also there with wife and daughter.
Say ‘I do’, outdoors
By Manisha Dhingra
You’re ready to say ‘I do’. And you want to do it outdoors, amid the beauty and bounty of nature, in style. Well, as you will soon discover, it isn’t all that easy to plan an outdoor wedding…in fact, surprise! It is just as challenging as planning an indoor one! So you got to pick up some wedding planning tips, fast. Which is what we are here for:
Tip 1: Get the permits in place
Only in Bollywood weddings can people simply run off and get married on a beach, in the middle of a street, or the centre of a garden. In real life, you need written permission from cops and from local authorities – everything from cordoning off space to setting up loudspeakers and sound systems is at their mercy. So sort this out first, before you invest time doing anything else.
Tip 2: Inform the attendees
If you expect your guests to sink their toes into wet/ dry sand or walk on damp, squishy earth, they deserve to know what shoes to wear and which clothes to avoid. Put this little detail on your wedding invites, right next to where the venue is listed. Your guests will thank you for it.
Tip 3: Test all equipment in advance
An indoor venue ensures a closed environment where a regular mic system works just fine. Outdoors is a different kind of challenge, though. Insist that your sound & lights people test out their equipment in your presence. This might cost a little bit more but at least you ensure that the people at the back are not saying: “What did they say?” to each other, throughout your ceremony.
Tip 4: Have a backup plan
Yes, we know how important it is to have your big fat Indian wedding work out exactly the way you planned it. But you still need to guard against having the weather gods rain on your parade. “Pick a farmhouse lawn or a beach venue close to a hotel/ resort. If there isn’t anything nearby, you might need to invest in a shamiana or tent which, of course, will increase your overall budget,” cautions Vidya Pawar, who recently tied the knot in Goa, on the lawns of a resort overlooking the beach.
Noted? Good! Now watch out for our upcoming piece on making the most of your beautiful, stunning, outdoor wedding venue! Happy reading!
Make your wedding click!
By Manisha Dhingra
The glittery Bollywood venue is locked in, your makeup artiste selected and trialed, and the wedding trousseau packed and ready to go. What next in your Indian Wedding plan? Selecting the right wedding photographer, of course!
To be honest, getting the right people for various wedding ‘jobs’ needs more than just a bit of luck. And when it is a matter of preserving memories, it takes some persistence to find the perfect photographer who will capture not just those cookie-cutter ‘poses’ but also those candid, subtle moments that make your Big Day so special, so unique.
So, what should you be looking for? Here, from reputed wedding-and-occasions photographer Anamika Singh – ‘The Memory Keeper’ – are a few quick pointers:
From ‘posed’ to ‘candid’
Of late, there has been a sea change in Indian wedding photography, with an increasing emphasis on candid pictures. More and more new-age couples are taking confident decisions for their wedding and every couple aspires to hire the best wedding photographer available.
There is a recent trend to go in for candid photography where photographers do their job discreetly and let the couple enjoy their own wedding, while capturing their big day in the most natural manner.
Let pictures do the talking
My tip for anyone looking for the right photographer for their wedding is to see the photographer’s body of work before finalizing them. Also, choose a photographer who can make even the simplest and ordinary things look beautiful. You spend so much on your wedding…a good photographer should let the pictures do the talking!
Factors that affect wedding photography are: duration of the event, venue and lighting considerations (indoor/ outdoor). So whether you are planning on a traditional Indian wedding or a destination wedding, ensure that you see some prior work in the specific category that your wedding falls into.
Fees & costs
Candid wedding photography is a fairly new concept and indeed an expensive affair. Photographers charge anywhere between Rs. 25,000 to a few lakhs for a day’s work.
Speaking for myself, I charge on an event basis, rather than per-day basis. My charges range from Rs. 30-40 thousand for weddings and Rs. 15-20 thousand for smaller events.
All pictures featured in this article are courtesy of Anamika Singh (left) who is owner and Chief Photographer at ‘Anamika Singh – The Memory Keeper’.