Their spectacular wedding has taken over the blog this week – with photographs by Joseph Radhik lending stunning visuals to what was one of the best weddings of 2014. You’re still wondering – What was the Sangeet like? The Wedding? Shonan & Adesh had a dozen pre-wedding functions, and zooming out to give you a taste of the highlights of the rest seemed the right way to conclude their story. This is the last post in the series.
If you haven’t seen the previous posts, go back to them here – first, second, third, fourth and fifth.
Shonan & Adesh’s wedding was not only spectacular, it was also unique – with their thoughtful families and friends coming together to help them celebrate the best day of their lives with a lot of love, fun & creativity! While I heard all the stories the bride and the people involved in organising the wedding were telling me, I started to notice how certain details stood out. Things I’ll never forget – whether it was the awe-struck feeling of seeing an image for the first time, or the realisation of how beauty shines through small acts made out of love. These are 10 of those precious moments, that made their wedding truly unforgettable. Learn a little, appreciate the rest, and be inspired.
A Touch of Her Grandmother’s Bridal Outfit to Her Wedding Lehenga
“My nani had the most wonderful marriage of all I’ve ever known. It allowed her to bring joy not just to the relationship, but also to everyone around her. I wanted some of that magic to be a part of my own,” says Shonan. But it wasn’t easy. Her grandmother’s wedding sari was extremely frail and fragile, and designers were too afraid to touch it. But when Shonan went to Anamika Khanna, the designer took on the challenge and got the sari’s material treated and fused to finally make what turned out to be a stunning wedding lehenga for the bride. Her wish was fulfilled – her Nani’s wedding outfit was forever a part of hers.
The borders of the dupatta are from her grandmother’s sari
The Bride’s Own Baraat
The bridesmaids were in safas, and the bride’s family and friends danced together before she entered – Shonan had her very own Baraat! At first, she was unsure about proposing the idea of safas to her girlfriends, worried they might not be up for it as it would spoil their hairstyles. But her cool friends were more than happy to sport safas! As for the dance, the bridal gang moved to the tune of Shubhaarambh (from the movie – Kai Po Che) down a passageway, busting out moves a few people at a time, right before the bride’s big entry. It sounds, and looks, like it was a lot of fun!
Venue: Turf Club, Mumbai
Customised Sunglasses
Since the wedding started in the late afternoon, Shonan decided to have customised sunglasses made for all her guests. Each of them had the word “Bridesmaid” printed on it, and the tray from which you could pick up sunglasses had a cute sign saying, “Don’t get blinded by our love”! Her friend, Jyoti Lalwani (who runs an event planner service of the same name and had done the decor at her bridal shower), helped her arrange for these.
Her Intricately Designed Mehendi
Shonan’s Mehendi was a work of art. It was all planned out, every little detail of it, by her sister-in-law (Ruchi bhabhi) who got creative with the design. Her arms set the scene with a Mughal prince and princess in their durbars, with the bride shown riding an elephant! And her palms had the varmala scene re-created on the right hand, while musicians played at the wedding on her left hand.
Mehendi by the super talented Daksh Patel & Veena Nagda of Veena Nagda Mehendi (+91-9820421717)
An Authentic Sufi Night
No, not a Sufi night with just Sufi-themed decor. An actual Sufi night, with a real Sufi singer. A relative from Adesh’s family hosted this event for them a few weeks before the wedding. Shonan, who is a fan of this genre of music, explained, “Sufi music started off as a reaction to the culture of fear. Religious and musical discourse at the time was heavily influenced by fear, and Sufism wanted to create a new paradigm of love. The party was at the very beginning of the month we were to get married. It was an apt way to begin the month – where there was no place for fear, only a complete submission to love.” Javed Ali sang at this pre-wedding event, and submerged the guests in love as his voice rang through the night.
Exchanged Vows according to Greek Traditions
A week before their wedding, Adesh’s cousin hosted a Greek-themed party at the nicest roof-top in Mumbai city – Asilo at Palladium Hotel. The men came dressed in linen, and the women in white dresses and wreaths. The bride and groom broke plates and said their vows to each other, according to Greek tradition. Shonan recalls, “I had detailed vows written out after a lot of thinking. I wanted them to be sincere and well thought out. Adesh, on the other hand, had just 2 lines written down!” Boys will be boys, yes? I loved this idea – anyone who wants to hold an intimate wedding ceremony that adds a hint of fun can do this!
Image courtesy: Tushar Pomal
A Brand New Wedding Event! The Brij Holi
Hers is only the third Brij Holi I’ve ever seen at a wedding, and all three have been shot by Joseph Radhik and his team. While Shonan’s decorator, Nazneen Gamadia, mentioned how Brij Holi has been celebrated as part of weddings for a long time, it’s typically done on a small-scale and essentially a part of a puja before the wedding. This is one of those few times, though, that Brij Holi has been celebrated on such a scale, and made a part of the Mehendi. It’s a fascinating new pre-wedding event that I had never heard of before, and that translates into epic wedding photographs. In case you missed it, all the beauty of the Brij Holi is here.
The Cutest Photo Booth Ever!
The colourful frames and pink bicycle that made up the photo booth at her Mehendi killed it!
The Prettiest & Most Thoughtful Bridal Shower
Best. Bridal Shower. Ever. Shonan’s wonderful bridesmaids threw her the nicest, most thoughtful bridal shower. If you missed this post, you have got to see what went behind making it one the best I’ve ever seen.
The Shadowbox Wedding Invite
A laser-cut wedding invite based on the Victorian tradition of shadowboxes. This was English meets Indian at its finest! And it was such a personalised card, what with all of Shonan’s favourite things included in it and the couple’s most memorable moments from their engagement period embedded in it forever. If you’ve been following the series from the beginning, you must’ve seen all the details in the first post.
Images courtesy: Stories by Joseph Radhik
Shinjini Amitabh Chawla 
Hey… Would love it if you could detail out the wedding details more as you have done for the mehendi posts
LikeLike
Pls update me with ur latest pists
LikeLike