The Marwar Mega Wedding Show in Mumbai was certainly a hit with grooms-and-brides-to-be as well as for their families what with the plethora of stalls that displayed wedding finery, mehendi artists, jewellery and gift packaging! Further, newly wed couples also had an amazing opportunity to stock up on wonderful products for their new home at the many home stores at this show. And, if anyone happened to be looking out for that big fat Indian wedding gift, they’d surely find it at this very exhibition. Here are some excellent stores that were carefully handpicked by us out of the many home stores at the Marwar mega Wedding Show.

Spazio

This stall certainly caught our eye as you can see from the photograph above. Cushions of all colors, designs and fabrics took center stage at the Spazio stall. Themed cushions that ranged from dull gold Buddhas to funky prints right up to football clubs like Manchester United stood out bright and clear. Ruchit Kapoor, Director of Sales at Spazio mentioned that the company is well known for its customizable cushions that could well be a part of the wedding trousseau.

Divyavastra

Divyavastra is basically a store that offers intricately carved and crafted idols of deities, temple decoration material and other devotional embellishments used in religious activities. However, the main attraction of Divyavastra’s offerings lies in its handcrafted fabric that is made out of Gold and Silver. In fact, Divyavastra has patented this fabric, which is created from 14k, 18k and 22k gold and sterling silver. The Radha-Krishna statuettes definitely make for wonderful wedding gifts for a newly wed Indian couple.

Nyassa

Everybody’s favorite store for handmade, natural body products also had a cute store that was almost always crowded with intrigued onlookers and shoppers.  Interestingly, the word Nyassa has its origins in a Sanskrit word that means healing through touch and by chanting. Yummy products that smelt as good as they looked were displayed in an enchanting way. Along with soaps, Nyassa also does room fresheners, lip balms, bath salts and creams. Their hampers are definitely worth a look and make for wonderful gifts.

Rosenthal meets Versace!

Further down the line, we visited Rosenthal, famous for its contemporary table pieces including dinner sets. One section of the stall really caught our fancy, and that was Rosenthal’s Versace line of home pieces.  Delicately engraved dinnerware with the ubiquitous Versace logo were on display. We think one of these Rosenthal-Versace dinner sets could be a unique yet elegant wedding gift.

Lladro

Right next to Rosenthal was Lladro’s well set up stall. Lladro, a brand synonymous with artistic porcelain creations is well known globally. At this show too they made their mark with Indian themed creations like a well-crafted Radha-Krishna pair of statues. We really loved their bride and groom porcelain figures too!

Stay tuned for more on Indian weddings from your favorite wedding planners in India.

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Every Indian bride-to-be goes all out to look her best on her wedding day. The most typical wedding attire worn by an Indian bride is the sari. For those who aren’t in the know, a sari is a very long strip of cloth, whose length ranges from 4 to 9 meters in length. This is draped around the body in various styles depending on the religion and culture of the wedding couple. Sari draping is an art in itself and there are over a 100 ways that one can experiment with this versatile garment.

 Here, we look at the different ways to drape a sari so that you can look your best at your big fat Indian wedding!

The most common and basic method to drape a sari is to have the sari draped around the waist, with one end (known as the pallu) draped over the shoulder. The upper garment is known as the choli and it usually has short sleeves and is cropped, baring one’s midriff. You can read about it in the latter half of this article. Now for the many ways a bride can choose to drape her sari.

Maharashtrian

Ever seen the ubiquitous Indian men’s dhoti? Well, Maharashtrians usually drape their saris much like a dhoti, with the centre of the sari held lengthwise and placed at the centre back, and the ends are brought forward and tied securely, after which these two ends are wraped around the legs. You will most likely see this style worn by women in Maharashtra and Karnataka in colors like red or bottle green.

North Indian

 Women from North India especially Gujarat drape a sari in the usual way, just that the pallu is draped over the right shoulder instead of the left and more importantly, it is draped back-to-front rather than front-to-back.

Bengali

When draping a sari the Bengali way, one needs to leave 2 large pleats in the front. The pallu is wrapped twice around the top, which means that one needs to take the top border of the sari and place it on the left shoulder. Then, grasp the top border midway between the waist and shoulder and pull the sari out in front until there is enough length to wrap around till your mid back.

Mumtaz Drape

This is a very creative type of sari drape and a lot of women are opting for it today. For this type of drape, the sari is draped around the bride twice. This exudes a very slimming effect. However, it may be really hard to walk with this sari and you may end up feeling like a mermaid!

Tuck Drape

This too is quite a common style of draping. Basically, you drape the sari as you would a normal sari and keep the pallu from back to front like the Gujarati style of draping a sari. The only difference is that the edge of the pallu is then tucked in the front to give a wavy effect. It is perfect if there’s a nip in the air.

Tamil Pinkosu

 Pinkosu means “Pleats at the back”. Now this type of sari can be seen in places like Tamil Nadu. One does not need to wear a petticoat, making this style a cool way to beat the heat. You begin draping the material one and a half times around the body, and the open spot on the left hip can be hidden with the pleat or even the pallu draped across the front and into the back of the waist. This type of sari draping is also known as the Dravidian style of draping.

Karnataka

In Karnataka, the sari is gathered at the woman’s waistline, while the pallu is held on the left shoulder. In Coorg especially, the sari is draped with pleats held at the backside, while the front section is puckered around the waistline. The remaining length of the sari is then draped around the breast which is then held on the right shoulder.

Kerala

In Kerala, a sari is usually seen in a light cream color with a delicate gold Zari border. The choli is usually in green or red. This style of a sari is different in the sense that it consists of 2 pieces of cream cloth, one of which is draped around the waistline, while the other is draped on the shoulder.

Cholis

 The choli of a sari can be half sleeves, short sleeves, sleeveless or even full sleeves. Nowadays, cap sleeves and puffed sleeves are quite a trend. Or, if you want you could go in for a corset-style choli, an open back choli or even an off shoulders variety. A sari is indeed very basic attire worn by a majority of Indian woman on a daily basis. These are mostly seen in cotton due to the heat and humidity of India. It is such an eternal form of attire that it can also be worn on a night out and is customary at weddings in materials such as silk, Kanjeevaram and crepe. So go on and get as creative as you can with your wedding sari.

Your wedding planner will be able to assist you in choosing the best wedding oufits that suit your style & personality.

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It’s only two more months to your big fat Indian wedding. Everything seems to be in place right from sending off your wedding invitations to purchasing wedding favors to rentals for cutlery, seating and transportation to hair stylists and Mehndi artists right up to selecting your wedding cake! So, what’s left to be done? Not much! There are a lot of small little things that need to be checked on. But, don’t worry! The major part of putting your wedding together has already been completed. Now, to just check on and confirm a couple of things we all tend to look past.

1. Now’s a good time to meet with your pastor, priest or pandit to decide on the program of your wedding ceremony. You’ll have to discuss the flow of events so that you and your spouse are not left dumb-founded during the rituals and ceremony.
2. It is time for your spouse to be and yourself to write down your wedding vows! This will take time and may see you drained out at the end of it all, trying to come up with those perfect words. But, if you happen to be a natural wordsmith, writing wedding vows and expressing your love will simply be a breeze!
3. You may want to schedule your marriage in court during this time. After all, the days leading up to your wedding will be very hectic. So plan ahead for a good date. You may also want to keep your attire, also known as a ROM dress (Registry of Marriage dress) ready for your court marriage.
4. Meet with your hairstylist to experiment with potential hairstyles for your wedding ceremony, reception and any other pre- or post-parties.
5. Now’s the time to set a date for your wedding rehearsal and dinner.
6. Visit your bridal studio and schedule your wedding dress trial; the final one will be left for the month of the wedding. Plus, the bridesmaids and the mother-of-the-bride who will be accompanying you can also have a fitting of their respective dresses.
7. Purchase your wedding guest book if you want to have one. Your partner and you will forever be able to sit back and enjoy this for years to come.
8. Continue with your beauty therapies and pampering. You are going to be a beautiful bride in less than 2 months now!
9. Get yourself a trial make-up run with your makeup artist. You don’t want to be clueless or disappointed on your wedding day after all!
10. If you have the time to spare, you may want to start shopping for your trousseau along with the help of your friends and family.

See! There are no major tasks to be completed just two months away from your wedding day. All that is required is an alert state of mind, so that you don’t forget to make confirmations and check on other minor but vital details. If you happen to be on track with the wedding planning you may find yourself looking out and shopping for furnishings for your new house! The approach to your wedding can be a very exciting time. So, now that most of the work has been done, it’s time you relax a bit more and catch up with your bridesmaids and friends over movies, coffee or a relaxing brunch!

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