Jewelry is a big part of South Asian Weddings. A huge sum of the wedding budget is spent on this, as it stays with the bride for her lifetime. The terminology for Indian Wedding Jewelry can get complex. We have put together a crash course or you may consider it a glossary for Indian Wedding Jewelry.
Polki: Uncut diamond, studded in gold along with precious or semi precious stones. Polki if often times enhanced by pearls and stone drops. The reverse side of Polki Jewelry is also decorated with meenakari work.
Kundan: Similar style to polki, but semi precious, as instead of uncut diamond, glass stone is used.
Meenakari: Is a traditional Rajasthani Art, where enameling is done over gold, polki, or kundan jewelry with vivid colors and designs.
Welcome to #FashionFriday on Marigold Events! #FashionFriday posts feature Indian Fashion Designers, talking about how they got started in the industry, and their unique style. Continuing with our series of posts written by Gina Mathew, Founder of Couture Rani, today we will feature Indian Fashion Designer Anamika Khanna, and her claim to fame.
The Designer Anamika Khanna is one of those rare designers whose extraordinary talent makes you wonder why she hasn’t yet become a worldwide phenomenon. But it might be just as well for her die hard fans that her talent has remained on the sub-continent, at least for now. With no formal training in fashion design, her career began after winning the Damania Fashion award in 1995. Shortly after her win she launched the Anamika Khanna label. She’s has received numerous awards for her work including the Exports Council Award, the Kingfisher Designer of the Year Award, MTV Youth Icon Award for Designer of the Year and the Damania Fashion Hall of Fame honor. Read more »
A Hindu Wedding Ceremony has slight variations based on which community or region in India your family belongs to. Today we will focus on the South Indian Wedding Traditions. Fine art wedding photography by Priyanka Sachar.
Mangala Snaanam
As a part of Mangala Snaanam custom, the bride and groom are required to take an auspicious bath, in their respective homes on the day of the wedding, to prepare themselves to perform the sacred rites and rituals.
Pellikuturu or “Making of the Bride”
The bride is adorned by her mother, sisters, aunts, and close friends. In this ceremony, the bride’s relatives help her with her hair, makeup, wedding sari, and jewelry.
Ganapati and Gauri Puja
Ganesha, being the remover of all obstacles, is worshipped to inaugurate the wedding ceremony to keep away all impediments. Gauri Puja is held at the Bride’s residence with the bride herself, and all her family members in presence before they leave for the actual ceremony.
Nandi Devata Puja
Nandi Devatas, or the presiding deities are propitiated by installing a leaf-laden branch of the pipal tree, and an ablution with milk, performed by five Sumangalis or married ladies.
Navagraha Puja
This Puja is performed to invoke the nine (nava) planets (graha) that rule over man’s destiny.
Welcome to #FashionFriday on Marigold Events! #FashionFriday posts feature Indian Fashion Designers, talking about how they got started in the industry, and their unique style. Continuing with our series of posts written by Gina Mathew, Founder of Couture Rani, today we will feature Indian Fashion Designer Duo, Shantanu and Nikhil, and their claim to fame.
The Beginning
Brothers Shantanu and Nikhil Mehra pursued divergent career paths until they decided to come together to form the Shantanu & Nikhil fashion brand. Nikhil pursued his Masters in Fashion from the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandise (FIDM) in Los Angeles while Shantanu completed his MBA in finance from Ohio State University. Nikhil then worked for St. John, an upscale American fashion brand while Shantanu worked in the corporate finance division of General Motors. Shantanu observed the growth of the Indian fashion industry and decided to combine his business knowledge with Nikhil’s design talent to create something different for the Indian market. In 1999, they both returned to India to pursue their dream of launching a fashion brand. Of their partnership they’ve said, “We believe that we are the best combination of art and commerce in the creative world of fashion. This mindset is what prompted us to cross-synergize our respective backgrounds into something worthwhile that could withstand the pressures of the ever-challenging and the ever-evolving fashion industry”. Read more »
Rangoli is a traditional Indian folk art of making colorful and decorative patterns. Today we are featuring numerous Rangoli designs from various Hindu Wedding Ceremonies photographed by Alex Moi.
A wedding planner once told me, “Your wedding invitation is the first impression of your wedding.”That thought has stuck with me, and I truly believe, that your wedding invitation should be put together with great thought, and be a reflect what your wedding will be like. The trends in wedding invitations change every year, and it can be hard to keep up with them. One of the hottest wedding trends these days are luxury boxed invitations. Marigold Events (ME) had the opportunity to talk to Puneet Gupta (PG), who designs these kind of boxed couture wedding invitations.
ME: What is your background? How did you get started with designing wedding invitations?
PG: I am a NIFT graduate and have had a love for design since my childhood. After having worked as a design consultant for various Indian & International brands in the lifestyle and fashion industries, I finally decided to use my design capabilities, technical expertise and love for beauty to launch a luxury line of bespoke wedding invitations and favors. Since then, there has been no looking back and with every wedding invitation we produce, this passion for designing has grown stronger and my love for print novelties is getting deeper. Read more »
Welcome to #FashionFriday on Marigold Events! #FashionFriday posts feature an Indian Fashion Designer, talking about how they got started in the industry, and their unique style. Continuing with our series of posts written by Gina Mathew, Founder of Couture Rani, today we will feature Indian Fashion Designer Duo, Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla, and their claim to fame.
Early Life
Abu Jani was born Mumbai in an affluent Muslim family. Like most creative individuals he knew from an early age that he wanted to be involved in an artistic career. He began his career working with Xerxes Bhartena, a costume designers for films where he worked for five years and assisted him in designing costumes for a number of films. This was followed by a job in a garment export house, where he gained experience in designing and embroidery. He then began working as a freelance designer and began making clothes for private clients. His popularity began to grow and just as he was deciding on whether or not to open his own boutique he met Sandeep Khosla.
Sandeep Khosla was born in from Kapurthala, Punjab. He was always drawn to the arts and while in school explored painting, drawing, carpentry, and batik designs. Early in his career he worked in his family’s leather business where he specialized in carving on leather and dying techniques. He then moved on to working in fabric exports where he learned about fabrics and garment manufacturing. He then moved to Mumbai where he joined designer Xerxes Bhartena and began learning the art of designing. He was the same designer who years earlier, had given Abu Jani his first break as a fashion designer.
The Beginning
A chance meeting in August of 1986 led to the creation of “Mata Hari” a clothing boutique in Juhu, Mumbai. They realized they has similar goals and dreams and set out together to fulfill it. Jani explains of their meeting: “We met at a mutual friend’s home and decided within 48 hours to go into partnership. We had no formal training in fashion and precious few resources. Our families lent us a couple of lakhs to put together a collection. And that was it.”
The Abu-Sandeep Woman
According to Abu Jani, “the Abu Sandeep Woman is her own person. She is discerning, au fait with luxe, a stylista rather than a fashion junkie. Classically elegant, exquisitely feminine, her clothes are a reflection of her. We design for ourselves but our muse is always a woman.”
Design Philosophy
“Be true to your own aesthetics. We do not design with commercial considerations, international trends or competitors in mind. We never compromise our sense of aesthetics or quality in order to make a profit or be in vogue. Set the bar; don’t try to clamber over an existing one.” -Anokhi Magazine (Nov. 2010)
Career Highlights
The Abu Jani and Sandeep Kohsla label were the first to retail internationally with a range of exclusive shawls for Harrods and Harvey Nichols in London and Neiman Marcus in the United States
Dressed Bond Girl Sophie Marceau in The World is Not Enough
Dressed Dame Judi Dench at six Oscar and BAFTA award ceremonies
Hosted their own talk show called “First Ladies” on NDTV
Won the National Award for designing the costumes for Madhuri Dixit and Shah Rukh Khan in the 2002 Hindi film Devdas
August 2011 marks the 25th anniversary of their design partnership
In the last post we featured Sabrina and Ranvijay’s MoghulMujrathemed Sangeet. In this post we will talk about the details of their decor and entertainment.
The venue was converted into a luxurious lounge with low, pillow-style Moghul seating.
The decor was lush floral and the ambience, very romantic. Beautiful candelabras and candle walls added dramatic light to the opulent Ballroom.
For the Sangeet, the State and Grand Ballroom at the Palmer House had a very palatial, antique, and Moghul feel to it.
The live entertainment lineup at Sabrina and Ranvijay’s Sangeet was phenomenal! They had the Bellytwins come in from California to perform mujras to Bollywood classics dressed in eleborate and colorful costumes.
Ambika Raazdan’s dance group were performing mujras on the balcony as guests were entering into the ballroom. Munni Begam, an acclaimed qawwali artist, performed with her group to international hits such as “Jhoom Barabar Jhoom“.
The event was planned by Sabrina Hans herself, and Nisar Naimi of Sabrina Hans Events.
Welcome to #FashionFriday on Marigold Events! #FashionFriday posts feature an Indian Fashion Designer, talking about how they got started in the industry, and their unique style. Continuing with our series of posts written by Gina Mathew, Founder of Couture Rani, today we will feature Indian Fashion Designer, Suneet Varma, and his claim to fame.
Early Years
Suneet Varma was born into a family of bankers and lawyers but knew from a very young age that he wanted to pursue a career in the creative arts. He graduated from the London School of Fashion in 1986 and worked with Nicole Farhi in London and Yves Saint Laurent before launching his own label in India.
Design Aesthetic
Varma describes his style as elegant, glitzy, and super glamourous. His signature is his ability to create ensembles in silhouettes close to the body with minimal use of fabrics, although he loves to embellish his designs with appliques, sequins and crystals. In fact, his generous use of crystals on his garments led Swarovski to name Varma “the largest consumer of crystals in India in recent years”. Of this, Varma said, “If somebody wants shine and glamour and the innovative use of crystals, then they should come to me.”
An Indian Wedding Planning Checklist can be a really long one, especially if you are having a multiple day celebration. While it is imperative to be organized, it is also important to relax and keep your cool throughout the process. Brides can sometimes get overwhelmed with all the various details they have to handle in order to make their big day memorable: from venue, caterer, decor, cake, to invitations, bridal wear, and jewelry; throw in keeping up with the latest trends.
Image Copyright: Rani By Neha Mahajan
While your wedding planner can take care of your venue, caterer, decor, cake, photo, video, and day of coordination; how does one get her wedding shopping done? Should you go to India, or should you look for clothing and jewelry vendors locally? If shopping in India, It is overwhelming to get all the shopping done, while trying to maneuver through a new city, and especially if you do not have family in the city you are visiting.
EnterNeha Rani Mahajan. Neha offers a wonderful personal shopping experience to South Asians based abroad in Delhi, India. Born, and raised in Cherry Hill, NJ, Neha spent many summers in India while growing up. A graduate of Penn State, Neha moved to New Delhi in 2007 after getting married. She planned her own wedding in Delhi while she was in the US, and has many years of first hand experience shopping in India. Not only does she keep up with the latest trends, she also understands what an Indian American bride is looking for. She says, “When Indians from abroad come to Delhi, they have a long shopping list and a very limited time. Throw in the mix: haggling with the vendors, communicating in Hindi, and an unfamiliar Indian business culture. My goal is to give the South Asian brides abroad, a stress free, and relaxing shopping experience.”
When my sister asked me to be the Matron of Honor for her wedding, I was super excited! One of the major tasks of MOH and Bridesmaids is to plan the bride’s Bachelorette Party. I decided to go all out and do a Damask theme – Black and Fuchsia DIY invitations for her Girls Night Out. In this blog post I will teach how to make your own DIY Invitations for a Bachelorette Party.
