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Welcome to #FashionFriday on Marigold Events! Today we are continuing our series of posts written by Gina Mathew, Founder of Couture Rani. These posts feature an Indian Fashion Designer, talking about how they got started in the industry, and their unique style. This week’s Featured Fashion Designer is Manish Malhotra.

Early Years

Manish Malhotra’s entry into the Indian fashion industry was very different from those of his designer peers. Although interested in fashion from a young age, he didn’t learn his craft in school. In fact, he began his career on the other side of the fashion business, as a model while still a student in college in Mumbai. Following graduation, he put his modeling career aside to start working at a small fashion boutique where he learned all aspects of design, production, sales and the ins and outs of the fashion business. As a huge fan of Hindi films, Malhotra always had Bollywood ambitions and his dream was to one day design clothes for Bollywood movies. Read more »

When shopping for your wedding outfit, knowing your style, colors and budget is very helpful in making the right choices. That, along with the understanding of different fabrics and embroidery can help you make the best decision.

Shopping for your bridal outfit can often be the most frustrating, nerve wracking and emotional part of the wedding planning process. To help manage your sanity and budget, we are here to give some tips on what to do before you start shopping for your wedding outfits.

Read more about choosing your perfect wedding outfit on Couture Rani’s Blog.

While Somya and Sanam’s wedding has all the elements of being royal, I can tell that the couple is really in love. In this post we are featuring their Reception which had a Pakeeza Theme.

Somya and Sanam’s Reception would take you back to the Mughal era. Imagine Kathak Dance Performances, Live Ghazal and Qawali singers, and lounge style seating.

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The wedding of Somya and Sanam was a royal affair. I would imagine that this is how the wedding of Indian Royalty would look back in the day. In the last post we featured Somya and Sanam’s Teeka, Godh Bharai, and Sangeet Ceremony.

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Continuing with our post on Agarwal Wedding Tradtions, today we will feature an Agarwal Wedding Celebration. The details of this wedding are spectacular, and the bridalwear and jewelry are absolutely stunning.

The wedding of Somya and Sanam was a royal affair. I would imagine that this is how the wedding of Indian Royalty would look back in the day.

All auspicious events begin with worshipping God. Similarly, the wedding celebrations of Sanam and Somya began with a Bhajan Sandhya, where close friends and family came together for a puja and a musical bhajan evening.

On the following day, the Teeka, Godh Bharai, and Sangeet ceremonies were held at an outdoor venue. I love the red and black/ Asian fusion theme.

Both, Somya and Sanam’s outfits were designed by JJ Valaya.

Somya looked gorgeous in her polki necklace and earrings. All her wedding jewelry is a combination of designer and heirloom pieces.

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A Hindu Wedding Ceremony has slight variations based on which community or region in India your family belongs to. This week we will focus on the Agarwal Wedding Traditions. Yesterday we talked about the Pre-Wedding Agarwal Ceremonies. Today’s post is on the Wedding Day Ceremonies.

Baraat

This ceremonial procession begins with the groom’s family blessing the groom and putting the turban on his head. This is known as Sehra Bandhi, and after this the groom mounts a decorated white mare. Along with his rejoicing friends and family, the entire Baraat proceeds to the wedding venue. The entire procession is very lively celebration full of music and dance.

Baraat Swaagat

The Baraat is welcomed by the bride’s family at the venue entrance. Typically the male members on bride’s side greet their counterparts in the groom’s family by welcoming them with garlands and embracing them. This is also known as Milni.

Toran

Meanwhile, the groom is escorted by members of the bride’s family. The entrance of the wedding venue is decorated with a toran or flower decorations. The groom hits the toran with a stick before he steps inside the venue.

Bateri Puja

Following the Toran, a welcome prayer or Bateri Puja is conducted, where the groom is showered with blessings and gifts by the father of the bride. The groom gives his word to the father of the bride that he will perform all the sacred rites of marriage according to his prescribed religious duty.

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A Hindu Wedding Ceremony has slight variations based on which community or region in India your family belongs to. This week we will focus on the Agarwal Wedding Traditions. Today’s post is on Pre-wedding Agarwal Ceremonies.

Agarwals are one of the most enterprising and influential communities hailing from Northern States of India. Agrawals or Agarwals (also known as Baniyas) have significant presence in business, government and private service, agriculture, education and politics. Some of the common Agarwal Last Names are Gupta, Jindal, Mittal etc.

Mehendi

The Formal Engagement or Rokna

The tradition of a Rokna Ceremony is to symbolize coming together of the two families of the couple. Rokna literally meaning to stop in Hindi. It symbolizes that the search of the families or the individuals for their soulmate has stopped.

During the actual ceremony, the bride-to-be’s father or an older male member of the family puts a tilak on the groom’s forehead. This is a gesture to accept and welcome the groom into the family. The groom is given some gifts and fed with laddoo, which is the favorite dessert of Lord Ganesha. Following this, the groom-to-be’s family presents the bride-to-be with gifts.

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Welcome to #FashionFriday on Marigold Events! This summer we will bring a series of posts written by Gina Mathew, Founder of Couture Rani. These posts will feature an Indian Fashion Designer, talking about how they got started in the industry, and their unique style. This week’s Featured Fashion Designer is Rohit Bal.

With his tousled, blond hair and penchant for button down shirts and white blazers it would be easy to mistake designer Rohit Bal for a suave Italian expat. He is, however, one of the most formidable fashion talents in India.

Bal, who hails from Kashmir, was always interested in design and began his fashion career after earning a degree from the National Institute of Fashion Technology in New Delhi. Encouraged by his mentor, Rohit Khosla, Bal launched his label in 1990 with a traditional men’s wear line and then slowly, added a woman’s wear collection which now includes bridal, couture and ready-to-wear. As a designer, Bal is known for his meticulous attention to detail. His pieces are intricately crafted and often incorporates the traditional embroidery techniques and textiles of his native Kashmir. Bal refers to his style as ‘understated opulence’ and true to that aesthetic his designs are free of rhinestones, crystals, sequins and any other extraneous “filler” embellishments. He prefers instead, to experiment with textures, shapes and volume, elements which are most evident in his couture collections.

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As part of our #WeddingWednesday Series, Marigold Events (ME) interviewed Nathan Delack of Delack Media Group (DMG) about the Indian Wedding Cinematography. We asked Nathan about how Indian Wedding Videos have evolved over the years, and what the latest trends are. Delack Media Group is a boutique cinematography studio providing the latest in modern wedding films.

ME: How do you feel videography/ cinematography has evolved for Indian Weddings in the past few years?

DMG: In the past, couples were looking for their wedding day to be captured on video from start to finish. That usually meant an extremely long, and often times, boring wedding video.

Nowadays, more and more couples are looking for a studio that can film their wedding day and turn it into a movie. It makes the film more exciting, fun, and emotional for everyone to watch.

ME: How is filming an Indian Wedding different than other weddings?

DMG: Indian weddings have so many different cultural aspects than other weddings we’ve filmed. The multi-day events offer so much color, music and tradition that make the wedding film so interesting and beautiful.

The emotional aspect of the vidai is something you don’t see in any other but Indian weddings. We’ve had fans of our work tell us that they cry when watching that part of the video, and they don’t even know the bride!

The Baraat is also something that is the perfect backdrop for a great wedding film. The music and anticipation of the groom entering the venue makes for extremely captivating video.

ME: How can Indian brides keep themselves updated about the latest video technology?

DMG: Brides who are interested in the technical aspects of video should just give their cinematography studio a call.

We use DSLR cameras, like the Canon 5d Mark ii, which give us a High Definition image.  We can also use cinematic tools like the Steadicam, camera crane, and aerial footage to simulate camera movements you might see in big budget movies.

Every studio uses different cameras, and most of us use varying editing equipment. It’s really not about what the cinematographer is using to capture your wedding with, it’s how he or she uses it. Expertise, creativity and experience are more important than what camera is used.

ME: What are some of the new video editing styles that are emerging?

DMG: You’re going to be seeing a lot more short form wedding films.  Gone are the days of the 2-4 hour wedding video.  That’s the old style of videotaping weddings.  Now, wedding videos are wedding films.  The duration of your wedding film can vary (usually anywhere from 5-30 minutes in length-depending on how much material your cinematographer has to work with).  Also, a lot of studios are now offering movie-style trailers.  They’re usually a 2-4 minute recap of your wedding events (similar to a movie trailer) posted online or uploaded to your mobile device.

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Welcome to #FashionFriday on Marigold Events! This summer we will bring a series of posts written by Gina Mathew, Founder of Couture Rani. These posts will feature an Indian Fashion Designer, talking about how they got started in the industry, and their unique style. This week’s Featured Fashion Designer is JJ Valaya.

If the maharajas of India were still ruling the country today, JJ Valaya would be their star couturier. His design aesthetic is regal, royal and so utterly decadent that anyone in possession of his clothes would feel like a modern day rani or rajah.

Royal India is a recurring theme in Valaya’s life and work. Maybe growing up amid the palaces and forts in the princely state of Jodhpur, Rajasthan had something to do with it. Or perhaps, he feels a sense of nostalgia for a time when clothes were not just utilitarian garments but rather the work of master weavers, artisans and skilled craftsman.
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A South Asian Bride spends anywhere from 6 months to a year planning her wedding, where she has all the tasks lined up for the big day. However, when it comes to packing the things for the day of her wedding, she may be spending just a couple hours. Marigold Events has put together a list of things that every bride must have in her wedding day luggage.

Check out my guest post on Couture Rani to read more about the list of things every bride should have on her wedding day.

Image credit: Ben Rassmussen

One of the things that I was dreading while planning my wedding was creating the guest seating chart. I have talked to numerous South Asian Brides, and it seems like that’s a running theme for all. Now imagine a tool that lets you create your guest list and seating chart, while making the experience fun and easy.

Enter Social Tables. Social Tables is an online tool that simplifies the task of managing your wedding guest list and seating. What is great about this tool is that you can collaborate with your fiance and both families to create your guest list and seating chart from day one. I was delighted to meet Dan Berger and Matt Tendler, Co-founders of Social Tables and ask them more about their entrepreneurial venture and how South Asian Brides can use it for their weddings.

Features of Social Tables:

Guestlist Management: You can create a guest list from scratch or upload it from Gmail, Facebook, Excel Spreadsheet, The Knot or WeddingWire. You can also tag your guests, for example, you might want to tag your guests by their relation, or even their meal preference. Example of a tag: Mom’s Older Sister, Vegetarian. You can sort guests by these tags, or you may call it groupings.

Create your own Seating Chart: Use Drag and Drop to assign your confirmed guests to tables. You can print your seating chart once created.

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Welcome to #FashionFriday on Marigold Events! This summer we will bring a series of posts written by Gina Mathew, Founder of Couture Rani. These posts will feature an Indian Fashion Designer, talking about how they got started in the industry, and their unique style. This week’s Featured Fashion Designer is Ritu Kumar.

Given the breadth, depth and history of India’s crafts and textiles, it’s hard to imagine that India’s fashion industry, as it exists today, is only a little more than a decade old. But if there was a pioneer in this field who saw an opportunity to merge India’s unique design skills and textiles and turn it into a bona fide trade, it was Ritu Kumar.

Ritu Kumar's most recent Bridal Collection: Falaknuma showcased in February, 2011

Humble Beginnings

Her start in the industry was as humble as it was enterprising. Before she became known as one of India’s leading fashion designers, she began working in textile design setting up shop with four hand block printers in a small stall in Calcutta. At the time, hand block printing was a dying art, with many of its artisans out of work.

An Indian Designer Label is Born

It was the ‘60s and printed chiffon saris from European mills were all the rage but Ritu saw an opportunity to showcase Indian prints on the trendy fabric. Given her background in art history, Ritu spent almost two years researching the various methods of Indian hand block printing before launching a small collection of saris. The saris were a hit and thus a designer brand was born.

As her collection expanded to include other Indian garments, Ritu opened a small boutique in Delhi, establishing the first designer retail store in India. Although a formal fashion industry did not yet exist in the country, Ritu laid the ground work to establish fashion design as an independent trade apart from the mass produced, commercial apparel being churned out by the various factories and mills in India.

Ritu Kumar's Lengha with Zardozi embroidered paisley and floral designs with sequin embellishments

Ritu Kumar’s Style

Following her success with block printing, which continues to be an important element in her collections, Ritu turned her attention to the revival of India’s other vanishing arts like handloom and embroidery. Zardozi, a type of gold coil thread embroidery, had essentially disappeared as a trade before Ritu revitalized the craft and made it fashionable by using it in her designs. It’s impossible now to imagine a bridal sari or lehenga without various types of intricate zardozi work.

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According to Hinduism, Marriage or Vivaha is a sacrament and not a contract. The ceremony itself is beautiful and each tradition in the ceremony has significance behind it. For a Hindu Marriage to be considered complete, there are thirteen essential traditions or steps that are necessary. Following is the basic outline for a Hindu Wedding Ceremony:

1. Var Satkar: The official reception of the groom by the bride’s family. Mother of the bride typically blesses the groom with Aarti and acknowledges him as being part of the family.

2. Madhu Parka: Father of the bride walks the groom to the altar and feeds him Panchamrita (mixture of yogurt, honey, sugar, ghee, and milk) before the ceremonies commence.

3. Kanyadan: In this ritual, parents of the bride give away their daughter to the groom amidst chanting of mantras.

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