Wedding Vogue - Part 2 : Marriage

Hey dearies, how's it going? I've been trying to escape from the continuous wedding pressure at home, and juggling between work and studies and also trying to keep up with the pace here. Anyway, three consecutive years of publishing my wedding fashion series on this blog, and you've shown immense love to each post. Can't thank y'all enough for the great support throughout! Got the last part of this year's series today to show you a brand new marriage party look I created with the help of fashion designer - Aditi Jaggi Rastogi from STRAWBERRY FASHION STUDIO, and a dear friend and professional makeup artist - Simran Taneja.

So shall we get rollin'?! Yes? Great!

I guess it won't be wrong if I say that the most elaborate functions of the Indian wedding series is the wedding or the marriage ceremony itself. Starting from baraat and then the dinner party for the guests, followed by the midnight marriage rituals between the bride and groom; everything is done in the most perfect manner from both sides. Unlike the pre-wedding functions, the wedding day is the most lavish and a magnificent affair! The guest list is extravagant as compared to the attendees of the pre-wedding functions and its actually the day when not only the bride and groom are dressed up from top to toe in grand outfits but the family members and all the guests too. 

Which brings me to say that the entire wedding function calls for splurge. Whether you're the bride, or the bridesmaid, or the sister or the friend, you gotta dress your best and steal the limelight (or just shine as much as you can, eh?). As far as styles among Indian wedding lehengas are concerned, Indian women are generally open to a lot of choices! Considering the fact that wedding day is quite auspicious, lehengas as an element of the modern bride's wedding event trousseau has appeared to be much more stylish and trendy!

lehenga, kurta, dupatta : Strawberry Fashion Studio | all jewelry : Neha Diwan

The marriage ceremony for every bride is the most important, as she gets to dress in her dream outfit, for once in a lifetime! Tons of options to choose from but the quintessential lehenga-choli has always been one of the most favored choices of the Indian brides! It's no secret that a fancy lehenga gives a charming look to the bride as well as represents the Indian dressing aura. So, for my look this time, I picked a pure silk lehenga with mukaish in lemon yellow & white, with multi colored embroidery; paired with a banarsi silk long kurta in pink and gold. I've never worn a heavier lehenga than this one, which pretty much means this one had tons of layers for that beautiful flair when you twirl! Adding a little more grace, I draped the outfit with a floor length, heavy net dupatta with intricate zardozi embroidery on the borders. Undoubtedly It's one of the prettiest wedding outfits I've got my hands on!

I chose to accessorize the look with some traditional Indian jewelry, which included a pearl studded set of broad maang tikka and matching earrings, with a huge finger ring to impart the style of a princess (say from the mughal era?). Keeping it minimal with the styling, I did opt for a dense makeup and queen-curled hairstyle on the other side, which is one of the most essential parts of dressing up for an extravagant marriage ceremony. Simran gave me deep pink eyelids with false lashes and risen brows, making my eyes look bolder; along with bright pink lips and perfect contouring& highlights making my face shine aptly.

The entire outfit looked and felt magical to me. Twirling in it was my favorite part, and I'm not sure about you but if I get to be a bride anytime soon, I'm definitely opting for this piece for my big day!

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We end with this year's wedding fashion series here. I really hope you liked reading both the posts (check out the cocktail look HERE)! Do let me know in the comments below what do you have to say about this look from Strawberry Fashion Studio; if it's princess like or not? 

Also, tons of thanks to designer Aditi Jaggi Rastogi and her entire team for the cooperation, MUA Simran Taneja for making me look gorgeous as ever, and photographer Yash Athwani for capturing the best sides of me! Until next, lots of love.

~xoxo~

Summer Wedding Looks at Tulip Inn Mussoorie

Indian weddings are known for their style, grandeur, tradition and magnificence. You got down on one knee, popped the question and celebrated with a bottle of the best bubbly. Now it’s time for the wedding preparations, and a trend which is really catching on these days is that of planning a destination wedding. Not only are foreigners coming to Indian shores to tie the knot, but Indians themselves are looking for exotic wedding destinations to say ‘I Do’ in style!

Hill-stations are very popular for summer destination weddings, and couples who wish a unique picturesque wedding are exploring these areas for extraordinary experience. The misty cool breeze, the warm sunrise of the lush green valley can be the best bet while choosing among hill-stations to host a destination wedding!

If you remember, a few months back (during the winter season), I shared a wedding destination post on this blog about a beautiful resort hotel - Tulip Inn Green n Breeze in Barlowganj, and hotel Tulip Inn Green Castle at Mall Road, in Mussoorie. So many of you loved the locations, and I thought I should shoot for you a few images related to typical wedding fashion, showing you how differently pretty both destinations look when thought to plan a summer wedding there!

I collaborated with the hotel once again last month, and landed there to surround myself with a surreal view of the Himalayan sunset, beautiful Doon valley surrounded by tree-covered hills, and the clear night sky with countless twinkling stars. I shot for two different looks at both the properties, and you can check it all out below..

LOOK 1 - Shot at Tulip Inn Green n Breeze

My first look included a bright green lehenga set designed in brocade full-length skirt and cut-sleeve blouse with net dupatta, bordered too with brocade! The Indian design print with golden on both the blouse and lehenga make it a traditional wear apt for a daytime function. I love how the lehenga fitted me on the waist perfectly, giving it a shape with a flair below and the blouse fits apt on the shoulders too. I chose to keep the dupatta on one side, and show off my ethnic jewelry matched perfectly in green and golden to keep it summery and elementary! Finished of my look with subtle makeup on the face and green stilettos in feet.

Lehenga by : Arushi Mehta (Aarna Designs)  |  Jewelry by : Silvette.Com

Tulip Inn Green n Breeze is a ravishing resort hotel spread over 4 floors, with 35 luxurious guest rooms, nestled at Barlowganj, just 5 kms away from the hustle bustle of Mussoorie city. It has 24x7 hospitality support that takes care of you from the time you check in till you leave! With that, some of the most attractive facilities include :  Kids Corner, Table Tennis and Gym Area, Spa/Massage and Jogging Track.

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Look 2 - Shot at Tulip Inn Green Castle

The second look that I created is for the main wedding function, where I opted for a heavy lehenga set designed in black and golden, looking nothing less than a dreamy outfit (could be even worn by a bride who doesn't believe in not-wearing-black-for-wedding). I absolutely am swayed by the gorgeous set that includes a heavy net skirt with glitter patches on it, a black crop top with full sleeves and a net dupatta bordered with glitter as well! Since the entire ensemble was pretty jazzy, I chose to add a little more sparkle with my stunning jewelry, keeping it traditional and royal at the same time. Put on a 3 layer swanky neckpiece along with dangling earrings, rhine-stone maang tikka and gold glitter heels along with classy makeup to complete my look! 

Lehenga by : Arushi Mehta (Aarna Designs)  |  Jewelry by : Auhna Creations

This second property by Tulip Inn is named as Hotel Green Castle, which rests at Mall Road, girded by cedar forests on the edge of the Himalayan hillside, amidst many majestic places that have an array of sights to see! The facilities at this hotel remains similar to those at the Barlowganj resort with just a few more recreations surrounding like the Kempty Falls, Horse Riding, Company Garden, St. George Cottage, Local Shopping Market, Street Food Joints, etc..

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Mussoorie is a splendid place for an out-of-the-box wedding. This hill station is full of ravishing vintage architecture and best hotels (2 of those that I mentioned above) with alluring surroundings that make sure that ceremonies become nothing less than heavenly for you, and are great for a pre-wedding photoshoots too! The summer months of April to June are warm in the day and cool at night, most suited for destination weddings, and if you are planning to tie the knot sometime soon, starting from now to mid-June is the best time to host the ceremonies.


PS : Read everything in detail about the two Tulip Inn hotels in Mussoorie, in my other post HERE, and feel free to contact me for any other considerations. Also, do let me know which of the two looks from this post is your your favorite. I'd love to read your feedback!

PPS : Tons of thanks to Hera Fatima Naqvi for travelling with me all the way to the queen of hills, and gifting me these amazing photographs. JSYK, she's my best friend from the school time and I feel I can never thank her enough for helping me with work, and not just being a shoulder to cry on for all my problems!

Photography by : Hera Fatima Naqvi

~xoxo~

Indian Wedding Fashion : Part 3 - Marriage

Hey stunners, hope you all are enjoying attending all the weddings and its pre and post ceremonies! Many of you who follow me on social media, already know that I recently attended my brothers wedding and enjoyed being a part of all the related functions as well. It won't be wrong if I say, Indian weddings are gala affairs replete with pomp, show and colour, and to prove that I posted two different outfits for two different pre-wedding ceremonies on this blog recently. You can check out the Engagement look HERE and the Tilak/Sangeet look HERE.

To close this year's wedding collaboration series with Jyotika Mirpuri Aroura, today I'm here to share with you the last part of the series being the ultimate Marriage ceremony look! We all dream of looking our best at a family or friend's wedding and the season of glitz and glamour demands you to look your best and bring out the best outfits from your wardrobe. 

Scroll down below to take a look at my outfit pick for a family wedding and how beautiful the team at JMA MAKEUP & FASHION STUDIO in Lucknow made me look with their makeup skills!

outfit : JMA Fashion Studio | heels : Steve Madden | maang tika : Aetee Designs

 makeup : JMA Makeup Studio 

Wedding season in India is no less than a festival with so many events to attend, but the marriage ceremony being the most important, we all want to don some red-carpet worthy styles. Whether you are the blushing sister, doting sister-in-law or a happy bridesmaid, you are allowed to dress up extravagantly but without overshadowing the bride! Many of us tend to wear heavy lehengas and lavish anarkalis at weddings because they form a regular style. But as wedding fashion keeps on changing every now and then, one shouldn't fear experimenting!

For a recent wedding I attended, I opted for a straight fit, body hugging Indian suit comprising of a long brocade kurta in creamish-gold color with yellow silk-lycra churidaar bottoms. The spoof buttoned kurta comprised of long sleeves that helped accentuate my arms under the cut sleeve black velvet jacket with prepossessing zardozi embroidery on its high neck collar and front. The jacket looked quite artistic with its design and ankle length cut that helped me look taller than usual, though along with the smashing glittery heels I wore in my feet! Also, if you notice in the pictures above, at the back neck of the jacket there are tassels (latkan) hanging which make it more decorative. And, similar tassles were added to the yellow net dupatta that came along with the suit with the same embroidery as on the jacket as well. The whole designer suit set looks magnificent and helped me look graceful!

Since this was a wedding look, I wanted something spunky and exquisite, and Jyotika just gave me the most magical makeup and hair do with heavy foundation, smokey black eyes with dark lining and false lashes, along with pink blush on the cheeks and rosewood pink lips. For my hair, she separated my hair on the front and rolled them up on either sides while creating a bun on the side and a queen's pouf on the rear part of my head, attaching hair pins to avoid fall off. We also opted for a statement maang tika and a bindi on the forehead to complete the look and I must mention, I could've never imagined myself look so pretty if I were not dressed my best by Jyotika!

With this, we come to the end of the wedding fashion series for year 2016. I would like to thank Jyotika and her entire team at JMA Makeup & Fashion Studio for making me look stunning as ever in her creative, designer outfits and the amazing makeup on my face and different hairstyles every single time! I would also like to extend my gratitude to the very kind hospitality team at Renaissance Lucknow Hotel for allowing me to shoot at their venue and help me with everything that was needed. Last but not the least, a big thanks my friend Zeeshan Khan for the super gorgeous pictures he clicked for me and made this series attention worthy!

PS : Like I mentioned last year too, I might or might not come up with a new series next year but will keep posting different outfit looks at different occasions, so keep following me here and on social media! Until next time, lots of love and best wishes.

~xoxo~

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 3 - Marriage

Hello, my most gorgeous ladies! Hope y'all are having a great time!

Let me just start this post by thanking all of you for the amazing response you guys have given to my last two posts featuring outfits for the Engagement & Tilak/Sangeet ceremonies with my co-bloggers Shishta and Sumbul. I didn't know you all liked seeing us in Indian wear so much! Thanks a ton for showering so much of love. I truly feel blessed to have all of you in my life as my readers, viewers and friends! And for all those who don't know what I'm talking about, check out post 1 HERE & post 2 HERE!

Now, since you all must have got the hint of today's post by the title, its about two outfits that me and my co-blogger are going to share with you for the grand wedding party! And for the grand post, I had to collaborate with someone as grand as none other than Sonakshi Agarwal from SonaCloset. Let me tell you, Sonakshi is not just a blogger but a fabulous designer too. Well, the interesting part is that she herself has designed both the outfits for this post and I feel so honoured to have worked with such a creative person that she is! She has worked as an assistant designer at Lakme Fashion Week and many more such events to be named while she was pursuing her design course in Mumbai. So, since you're all pumped up to checkout the creations and our looks, why don't you scroll down to read all of it? Let's scroll....

She's wearing - dress : Sonakshi Agarwal | footwear : Catwalk | bangles : Romoch Fashions

maang tika, ring : Amrapali Jewels 

I'm wearing - dress : Sonakshi Agarwal | footwear : Steve Madden | bangles : Shopnineteen

maang tika, rings : Amrapali Jewels | earcuffs : Romoch Fashions

Makeup by : Kratika Raj

As rightly said, girls always have a dilemma while planning on their outfits for any occasion for that matter, and if we talk about the wedding function, we mostly think of traditional Indian wears comprising of lehengas, sarees or salwar kameez. But girls, today I've got you some really pretty indo-western outfits to rock this year's wedding parties in high-style! While searching for a perfect outfit for my cousin's wedding, I Googled ideas and came across a one-piece style that most models flaunted at the Bridal Fashion Week this year. I went ahead and told my designer friend Sonakshi what I wanted exactly like and she being as super creative as she is, made this pink gown for me (that you can see in the pictures above). Its an exemplary design of hers and absolutely exclusive, with 4 layers from the top to core made of net, zari-chiffon, satin and cotton fabrics. Leaving the inner linings aside, the most unique design of the gown can be seen in the 2nd and the top most layers that are sheer! The 2nd one is designed to give the fish-cut look to the gown that fits appropriate on my body, and the top most layer made of net is the one to give the much need flare and shape to the outfit! The embroidery work on the chest is so sexy that I couldn't resist looking at it for days! Though I had an option of attaching net sleeves to the gown, I preferred keeping it sleeveless and adding the pink net dupatta instead to give it a more Indian feel, just like Sonakshi being my co-blogger for this post has carried with her outfit! After designing my dress, she designed one for herself too following the same style but giving it a different zing! She made a bright red gown for herself with more flare and bounce using fabrics like satin, silk, net, chiffon and cotton. She kept the embroidery restricted to only mirrors on the front neck, waist band, the deep back corners, and the sleeve cuffs, to make the outfit appear artistry! The front part of her dress is divided into two portions where the upper part (the chest) is made of net and the grey bottom part of a satin-silk material on which she gave a pretty floral print and the sleeves a quarter length. I must say I really like how graceful both the outfits turned out to be!

Now, wedding day is the right time when girls do some elaborate make-up, put on hi-fi accessories, just like both me and Sonakshi did. I put on a huge, traditional maang tika, a pair of peppy ear cuffs, 2 stone rings and a few bangles in my hand and gold heels to match my dress! Where as Sonakshi just added the maang tika from Amrapali Jewels inspired by Deepika's look in Raam Leela on her forehead, a few rings in her fingers, some colorful bangles in her hand and her heels to complete her look. Also, our make-up artist for this post who actually does my make-up for most functions is Kratika Raj. She is a freelancer and is an expert in whatever she does! So, as you may see, we look like princesses in in our outfits already and thanks to Kratika for making us appear so beautiful, by putting on the primer, the base, foundation and for doing our eye make-up, lips and even hair. I really like to dress up lavishly for wedding functions and I hope all you girls reading this too like doing so!

So guys, this was the last post of the Wedding Collaboration series this year. Do tell me in the comments below, which out of the three posts you like the most - the Engagement outfits, the Tilak/Sangeet outfits or today's Wedding outfits! Also, I really want to thank my co-bloggers and photographers for taking out time from their busy schedules and teaming up with me for this special line of posts. I had an absolute great time working with all my team members! BTW, I might or might not come up with the series next year, but you can follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, and ask questions or clear doubts if you have any! And yes, some food posts are coming up super soon, so stay tuned for that. Until then, much love and warm hugs!

Photographed by : Saumya Kumar

~xoxo~