Indian Wedding Fashion : Part 1 - Engagement

Hello my gorgeous readers! It feels so good to be back at work, writing my first post for the last month of this year. 2016 has been a great journey so far and I hope I make the last days of it worthwhile for you all on this blog as well!

Last night I released a teaser video on facebook telling you all about the wedding ceremonial looks that I'll be sharing here under the wedding series like I'd put last year! You all loved it even then and I was adamant on continuing it this time too, so bringing in something new I've collaborated with a celebrity designer and makeup-artist, Mrs. Jyotika Mirpuri Aroura, who has been working for more than 6 years in the industry now. Having her roots in Lucknow, she decided to return to her hometown from Mumbai, and start her label giving some glam back to the city. JMA MAKEUP & FASHION STUDIO in Lucknow is located at Gokhale Marg past 2 years and Lucknowites are crazy over JMA's excellent work!

I feel so glad to have gotten an opportunity to be styled by Jyotika and with no further delay let's scroll down to check out a few pictures from the Engagement look we've created and some details about it!  

outfit : JMA Fashion Studio | rings, handcuff : Auhna Creations

makeup & hair : JMA Makeup Studio

An engagement party is such a fun time. You get to dressup whatever way you want, without the traditional rituals, you can make new traditions and wear the most beautiful dresses. If you're a bride-to-be and looking for something unconventional, a full length gown will help you make a statement and show off your personality. Imbibing the indo-western concept, these days most of Indian engagement parties are incomplete without an add-on cocktail party and you definitely want to wear something that looks perfect for the entire affair!

The glam gown that I'm wearing suits the engagement-cocktail occasion amazingly. Made of raw silk in azure blue color, this A-line outfit is layered with a hard net jacket embroidered fully with silver and gold. I love how the full sleeve net covers the cut sleeve of the gown inside and makes the whole look appear so classy. Opting for a gown at your engagement has many pluses that appeal to the Indian woman. It hides figure imperfections, can be worn long, or short, and most importantly, free-flowing gowns are perfect for women with a heavy bottom, since they hide flab. Its a breakaway from the lehenga-choli ensemble and here it was, both put together as a silhouette, in one easy-to-wear piece. So now you know, wearing a gown is much more than a fashion statement!

Coming to my makeup for this look, I wanted to go in for natural shades because heavy bridal makeup is a no-no for me, and who better than you guys would know it! Jyotika being the pro gave me a fresh face with light foundation covering, little blush, coral lips and smokey eyes, Let me tell you I tried false eyelashes for the first time very hesitantly but I love how it accentuated my eyelids and the filled in brows created a perfect illusion of a subtle face! For my hair she gave me a curly pony and a poofy rose bun on the back to enhance the entire hair section and we accessorized the complete look with a ring and handcuff and that's it!

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I hope you all liked reading this first post of this year's wedding collaboration series. I'll be sharing 2 more posts in this week itself so that I don't have to keep you waiting for long, so stay tuned for those as well. As of now, let me know in the comments below what do you think of this engagement look. If you love it, share it across and spread some love! 

Photographed by : Zeeshan Khan  |  Location : Skybar at Renaissance Lucknow Hotel

~xoxo~

Wedding Vibes : Part 1 - Engagement

Hey everyone! Hope y'all are enjoying the wedding music, especially that old school ochestra! If not, go peep outta your window and come back to read further. JK!

If you're following me on social media (especially facebook & instagram) you surely know that this post is the first one out of the 3 collaborations I'll be up with 3 different bloggers in my city, to tell you about our favorite ethnic wear designs, for 3 different ceremonies in this wedding season! We all know Indian weddings are grand, traditional and an exciting affair. It brings in joy and happiness with loads of enthusiasm and celebration, but a series of special occasions during a wedding raises a demand for a new wardrobe, not only for the bride and groom but for us too, being their friends or relatives! Engagement ceremony, being the first official function for the family where the to-be-bride & to-be-groom exchange rings, and both the families officially get together, calls for extra planning and preparations. Somehow, we girls know how difficult it becomes when deciding what to wear for that exclusive show!

So, the first ceremonial outfit we're gonna talk about today is for the engagement parties. I've got with me a blogger who's style I adore for Indian wear the most. Shishta Maurya from the Vineyard Passage blog, is a close friend and a super fashion blogger. Being a wedding photographer too, she herself has seen a lot of ethnicity in the big fat Indian weddings! Now, engagement ceremonies, especially in the family, demands a simple look without going OTT. Where on one hand the bride and groom are dressed in similar color palette from top to toe, you definitely do not want to carry that somber appearance! Today, Shishta and I decided to go comfy and stylish in our first ceremonial Indian attire, the famous Anarkali Suits, which has actually become a craze amongst ladies; as this is the most gorgeous style designed by merging the traditional look with an essence of modern trend. 

Basically, Anarkali suits refer to the flowing salwaar kameezes that are quite long and are designed like frocks or umbrellas without any type of slit at the side. These dresses generally include a kameez that falls below the knee, a churidaar that has folds near the ankle and a dupatta to add the ethnicity! The fashion of Anarkalis is not new, but what's definitely upgrading are the various new styles added under the name, from simple to flashy and much more, and we have got 2 different designs for you today, so keep reading.....

She's wearing - anarkali suit : Craftsvilla.com | footwear : Inc.5

earcuffs, ring : ApparelsShoesBagsNMore (on instagram)

I'm wearing - anarkali suit : Craftsvilla.com | footwear : Jabong | earrings, rings : Flipkart

The most important and fun, yet most annoying part during the wedding season is to go out shopping! Like, who's got so much of time to roam about in 50 stores across the city finding out that one perfect dress for the occasion. Well, hardly an of us, right? And then comes Online Shopping to our rescue, and my favorite website for ethnic wear has to be Craftsvilla.com! This site has a wide range of suits and ethnic dresses. To specifically mention the Anarkalis, the collection is so vast that we couldn't even reach the last page. From different fabrics like soft cotton, organza, velvet, net, silk, lace, chiffon, georgette and crepe; to different designs like weaving patterns, embellishments, sequin work and colors, intricate embroidery work for different occasions like for parties, family functions, festivals, daily wear/shopping, or for work; the list seems never ending!

Being bloggers, both Shishta and I have a good experience about what and how to order stuff online and we actually put it to use when we bought these two outfits for ourselves to rock at an engagement party we both had to go to together. Ofcourse, our tastes are very different from each other and you can see that above in the pictures already! Like, Shishta bought a pink suit for herself, which has a satin and chiffon lining inside and the upper layer consisting of georgette. The churidar is made of cotton and the dupatta is made of net! The front suit appears minimalistic as the embroidery is restricted to the neckline, the front button area and at the hem of the frock kurta all around in a row. The colors blue and gold of the zari embroidery are complimenting the bright pink color of the suit very well! And, she chose a 14 pleats kurta to keep the suit less heavy and the whole appearance raging, since Anarkalis mostly come with the full sleeves attached to give an appearance of structured body, because the fall of the suit is quite long too. The back of her suit is plain too but the catch is the round cut hole in the center attached to the neck that gives a graceful look! Where unlike Shishta, I went in for an extremely heavy and a different style of Anarkali that came in 4 pieces rather than 3. My suit included an independent kameez made of zari, a churidar of cotton, a kurta made of net, embellished with stones, embroidery with velvet & shining threads, and a dupatta made of net too! I went in for a light purple (mauve) color with green and pink highlights. The white stones embellished on the outer kurta makes the front and back look a little stylish & glamorous. Its a deep neck at the back with strings attached to secure the fall. I went for a bust-fitted suit with 18 pleats to flaunt my feminine style and curb my short height. The cinched waist of the Anarkali is the most magical part because it automatically makes you look slim while giving a flare from the umbrella hem, and we both loved it in our suits! Certainly one thing we did same was that we kept our dupattas on one shoulder side and not drape like the regular wear! Also, we all know how important is to accessorize at Indian functions. But, if you're wearing heavy suits, we suggest you to go minimal like us. Where you can see Shishta put on her gold earcuffs studded with white stones and went in for a white pearl ring to go with her simple kolhapuris studded with pearls as her footwear. And as for me, single looped earrings, a pair of green and purple stone rings worked best, with matching green heels to pump up my short height. To talk about the make-up, we both kept it quite subtle with natural pink lipshades and simple eye make-up with kajal and mascara. Also, we just left our hair lose open because flaunting that mane is what we girls love, right?! So yeah that's pretty much it about our outfits for the engagement party!

Anarkalis are known to bring out the utmost elegance and feminine appeal of women kind. In today’s time, Anarkali dresses are liked by women of all age groups that have knowledge of fashion trends. These beautiful dresses look attractive on every woman, without differentiating them on the basis of their figure, complexion or other factors. Anarkali dresses look equally beautiful on the ladies having a full figure as well as zero figure. Women towards the bulkier side can opt Anarkali suit with a large flare starting from the bodice area. They should avoid the Anarkali kurtas that have flare starting from the hips. Women with slender body structure should wear these dresses with average flare. Anarkalis look extremely awesome on tall ladies and equally fantastic on short ladies too. One should remember that deciding upon what to wear for the engagement should be taken into account with extra time and should not be decided in haste! So, if you're eager to buy these Anarkali Suits, there are several high quality online stores that have a great collection to choose but we'll recommend you to head to Craftsvilla.com right away because they have an exclusive range of styles in abundance with a lot of offers running at this time. So, go check out the website now!

Photographed by : Shubham Bhasin

~xoxo~