Marigold Events – Indian Wedding Inspirations

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.

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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.

Enter Neha 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.”

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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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Imagine trying out Indian designer bridalwear, while hanging out with your girlfriend and sipping on a mimosa on a beautiful summer day at a luxury hotel in Manhattan. This past weekend, Exclusively.In brought this kind of luxurious and pampering wedding shopping experience to New York that no South Asian Bride would ever want to miss!

Black Velvet Saree with Kundan Work by Shyamal and Bhumika

Brides could try out and buy custom fitted made-to-order Sarees, Lenghas, and Anarkalis from the exclusive collections from designers such as Ritu Kumar, Shyamal and Bhumika, Payal Singhal, Satya Paul, Archana Kocchar and more.  For Grooms, there was a very elegant collection of Sherwanis.

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Marigold Events is very excited about the glittering line up of Indian designer labels at Exclusively.In’s Upcoming Bridal Show. The designers will be offering a range of items from their latest wedding collections for a South Asian bride-to-be as well as wedding guests. Here is a guide for you lovely ladies explaining more about the individual style of designers and featuring some of their work.

Indian Bridal Wear

Payal Singhal's Blush Pink Lengha with halter blouse embellished with pearls and crystals

Payal Singhal: Known for her feminine style and fine detailing, Payal creates ultra-chic, eclectic ensembles of embellished crisp crepes and sparkly tulles. Her collection features muted / pastel colors with a touch of shimmer. Read more »

A few months back we had featured the Cherry Blossom engagement session of Aman and Gurdeep. We are so excited to feature their wedding and reception pictures. Thank You Photographick Studios for sharing beautiful photos of the couple with us!

Aman and Gurdeep’s wedding was an intimate affair with close family and friends.

Getting Ready

I absolutely love Aman’s outfit and jewelry. Her kaleeras are my favorite – they perfectly match her outfit.

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Hello Lovely Ladies! Wedding Wednesdays just got more interesting on Marigold Events. We get many questions from brides asking for wedding advice. We will be selecting and answering “Question of the week” every Wednesday on Marigold Events. Ask your question by filling out our contact form on the right.

Q. I am having a small Sikh-American wedding in California. My fiance and I are planning our wedding on a budget and want to keep things simple but beautiful. How can I get Indian outfits in the US without spending an exorbitant amount of money? How should I go about selecting a venue? How can I save money on decor? What do most people do with their centerpieces after their wedding? I have looked at different Indian Wedding Invitation websites – is there a catch to them?

A. Dear Bride-to-be: Congratulations on your engagement! Here are some recommendations on how you can have a simple, and elegant wedding within your budget:

Look for Indian Outfits and Jewelry Online

Making a special trip to India or Indian Clothing and Jewelry Stores in the US for wedding shopping does require a higher budget. There are many Indian clothing and jewelry websites which can assist you here.

Here are some reasonably priced websites to order lehengas, sarees and beautiful Indian costume jewelry from*:

Home India: Bridalwear
Your Designer Wear
Utsav Sarees: Lehenga Section
Utsav Sarees: Jewelry Section

*Please note that Marigold Events is not affiliated with any of these websites.

Venue Selection: Questions to ask

When doing your venue research, it is important to check the following with the venue:

1. Do they allow outside/Indian catering?
Tip: Sometimes venues, like hotels, have Indian catering packages. Ask for them.
2. Can you have an outside decorator? Any special permission needed to install a mandap or for lighting a fire?
3. Does the venue rental cost include event rentals, such as tables, chairs, linen, china, glassware, flatware etc.?
Tip: Event rentals’ costs add up very quickly and will definitely increase your per person cost.
4. Can you bring your own liquor? Will you need a liquor license?
Tip: If your venue does not have arrangements to serve alcohol, and they allow outside alcohol, you can save money on liquor because you pay for what you use. You can always return the unopened bottles and it is not a fixed per person cost. Make sure that your venue does not charge corkage or bottle opening fee.
5. Will you need event insurance?
6. Which vendors will need permits and insurance?
7. Check with the venue if they will provide complimentary cake, centerpieces, votives, champagne toast etc.
Tip: Ask your venue if they will charge a cake-cutting fee.
8. How many hours will you get your venue for? Will that be enough time to do set up and breakdown?
9. If it is an outdoor venue, you should ask about a rain location.

When doing your venue research, it is important to keep the above questions in mind. Do your budget and cost calculations based on the answers you get.

Decor and Centerpieces on a Budget

If you want to save money on decor and centerpieces, I would suggest that you go for a venue that provides complimentary centerpieces and votives. You can also look into DIY Decor projects. For DIY centerpieces, I would suggest buying flowers from the whole flower stores to save money. Every big city has a wholesale flower market.

You can reuse some of your wedding decor for your reception as well. At the end of your reception, you can ask your florist to wrap your flowers for your guests to take away. Usually the rentals are taken back by the decorator. For example, if they used a big vase in the centerpiece, they will take it back.

Here is a list of Indian Wedding decor items.

Invitations: Online and DIY

The catch to the online wedding invitations is the shipping cost, which ends up being as much as the invitations. Here are some tips to remember when selecting and ordering your wedding invitations.

If you want to save money on your invitations, you can design your own. Here is DIY tutorial for making your own wedding invitations.

When planning a wedding on a budget, it is very important to stay organized and be on top of your budget. Before I sign off, here are two references for you: Indian Wedding Planning Checklist and Indian Wedding Budget. Good Luck with the planning process!

The following post is by our guest blogger, Ruchi Garg Kalra of RGK D’Zines. All the photos of  gorgeous jewelry pieces in this post have been designed by her design studio, that showcases different designers, and can be purchased on her website. Scroll to the bottom of the article for a special offer!

When you think of a wedding you think of love and all that went into bringing those two people together.  Most brides have dreamed of their wedding day since they were little girls.  They are excited not only about what the future holds but also everything that will go into making that day one of the most memorable days in their lives.

Apart from the choosing the wedding dress the bride will wear, the next most important selection is of the gorgeous jewelry she will be wearing.  Most brides today are looking for simple, yet elegant pieces that help make a statement.

Modern South Asian American brides of today are done with their grandmother’s traditional love of big gold necklaces and perfectly matching earrings.  Nowadays if they have statement earrings that have a hint of tradition and a hint of gold they have reached a perfect balance.  They want something more versatile and modern. They are looking for pieces with a unique sense of style and flair.  They are looking for pieces that they can wear more than just on their wedding day.

The modern American glamorous bride is trending away from traditional diamonds to statement chandelier earrings.  Statement earrings not only are bold, but they also add class and style that is timeless. Vintage inspired chandelier earrings in sterling silver with crystals, semi precious stones and fresh water pearls are affordable yet classic.  Statement Chandelier Earrings are a must for any glamorous yet classy bride of today!

RGK D’Zines is one such jewelry design studio that showcases unique pieces.  The pieces are stylish, diverse and add a mystique to your elegance. The inspiration for these pieces dates back to the Victorian and Royal Mogul era in India. Pieces are truly unique and combine the old world traditions with the new world fusion.  Their jewelry has been worn on the red carpet at the Emmys and also has adorned many Hollywood Celebrities.  Check out the collection at www.RGKdzines.com or fan them at www.facebook.com/RGKdzines and also do check out their blog at www.rgkdzines.wordpress.com.

Natasha Alam (True Blood) wearing RGK D'Zines ring at Hollywood Gala, September 2010

Sarah Drew (Grey’s Anatomy) wearing RGK D'Zines Earrings at The Emmy Event

Ali Fedotowsky , bachelorette wearing RGK D'Zines earrings at The Emmy Event

The RGK collection pieces are all either sterling silver or 24K gold vermeil with semi precious stones and fresh water pearls.

Special Offer for Marigold Events Readers – RGK D’Zines is offering 10% off to all our followers! Use the discount code “Marigold” when making purchase on their website.

I love shopping in Delhi! When I got married, I did all my shopping from there and really enjoyed my experience. The amazing choices, affordable prices, and VIP treatment are just a few reasons why you would go there for your wedding shopping. In this blog post, I will talk about the various shopping districts in Delhi and some of my favorite stores shopping for wedding trousseau.

• South Extension (Part I and II): Conveniently located in South Delhi, South Extension is a shopping area full of big stores:

1. Ushnak Mal: Great for Lehengas, Salwar Kameez and Chudidars. Highly recommended!
2. Nalli – Famous for South Indian Saris, especially Silk Kanjeevarams.
3. Regal: Wedding Shoes, purses and accessories. Comes recommended!
4. BG’s – Purses, clutch bags, bindis, and accessories. Very stylish!
5. Wedding Weaves – Men’s sherwanis. Amazing designs – Highly recommended!
6. Big Joes - Accessories
7. Jass Jewelers: Great for silver jewelry, accessories and gift items. Pricey, but recommended!

Shoes by Regal

Greater Kailash I: This area is also located in South Delhi, but comes with a big price tag. Worth checking out though.

1. Laffaire: Nice sarees, but a little pricey.
2. Street Hawkers: Check out the hawkers on the side of this shopping area for amazing accessories.
3. Champalal Jewellery: Beautiful diamond, and polki jewelry. Highly recommended!
4. Hazoorilal & Sons Jewellers: Nice jewelry, but a little pricey.

Diamond Jewelry by Champalal

Hauz Khas Village: This shopping area, located in South Delhi, is full of small and unique boutiques.

1. Rewaz Boutique: Amazing collection of sarees! I bought three gorgeous sarees from here for my wedding.
2. Ogaan: This is a fairly new boutique for Indian outfits.

Crescent Mall: This mall is full of designer labels and is located on Mehrauli Road. Very exclusive collections by Manish Malhotra et al!

Lajpat Nagar: Located in South Delhi, this area is full of big and small stores. Don’t forget to check out the street hawkers for some amazing accessories.

1. Roshan’s: I love the stuff here! They have the most amazing suits and lehengas at great prices. I bought my reception lehenga from here. Highly recommended!
2. Shakuntalam: Very stylish lehengas and suits.

My Reception Outfit by Roshan's

Karol Bagh: Karol Bagh is another major and oldest shopping district located in West Delhi.

1. PP Jewellers
2. Hari Shankar Sunil Kumar Jewelers
3. Beli Ram: Silver accessories and gift items. Highly recommended!
4. Janak’s: Great men’s traditional outfits as well as suits.
5. Wedding Weaves: Same as the one in South Extension.

Chandni Chowk: Chandni Chowk is the oldest shopping area in Delhi. Located in North Delhi (Very close to Lal Quila), it has a charm to it. Got to be careful of “eve-teasers” and the traffic, but otherwise if you are looking for great prices – it’s a must check out!

1. Surya Sarees: Amazing collection of sarees, and lehengas. I bought my wedding lehenga from here. Very unique and amazing prices. Highly recommended!
2. Champalal Jewellers: Same as the one in South Extension. Again highly recommended!
3. Rati Ram Ram Vinod: Lehenga and Sarees.

Rajouri Garden: This area is located in East Delhi and has big and small boutiques and stores.

1. Meena Bazaar: Good collection of suits.
2. Shakuntalam: Same as the one in Lajpat Nagar.

Other Places worth a mention:

1. Shapur Jat: Great for kurtis and tunics. Nice little shops for shoes as well.
2. CTC Plaza: Its a huge mall selling traditional Indian clothing and accessories.
3. Dilli Haat: If you are looking for favors and stationary – this is a great place to visit.
4. Janpath: Awesome and highly recommended, if you want custom table linen, favors etc. for your wedding reception.
5. Chawri Bazaar: Invitations and Stationary – great prices! Close to Chandni Chowk.

Planning an Indian Wedding just got easier! When I was planning my wedding, I hunted and hunted for a wedding planning website for South Asians. I was looking for a resource, where the wedding planning tools and forums were customized for Indian brides. Well guess what – now that resource is here. It’s called Indian American Weddings, and has been launched by Neha, owner of Marigold Events & Launching Frog (that’s me!) and Payal, owner of Intell Marketing.

Indian American Weddings began as a vision aspiring to make an Indian Bride’s wedding planning experience easy and enjoyable. The inspiration and ideas have stemmed from Payal and my personal experiences, when we were planning our own weddings and discovered a lack of planning resources for Indian Weddings in the US. We envision brides benefiting from a social network that would enable them to share thoughts and ideas with each other and communicate interactively with vendors.

Indian American Weddings is a unique wedding planning community for engaged couples and their families. It is the first interactive site to enable brides to network with other brides and vendors all over the country. It is, in essence, a virtual wedding expo, where brides can virtually see vendors’ products and services, communicate with them, and network with other brides – all without shelling the expenses of travel or time to a wedding expo.

In addition to the social networking aspect, the website offers to brides and couples all the tools and resources needed to help design, organize and plan the perfect unique Indian Wedding. The word “Indian” is the key – not only do we help you customize your planning to include all the Indian glamor and nuances of an Indian wedding ceremony, but we can also help you customize any other Indian event you may want to include like Engagement Party, Mehendi, Sangeet, etc.

Website’s Highlights for brides:

• Your Personal Profile Page with Photogallery: Create a detailed personalized profile of yourself and your upcoming wedding. Upload photos, and write about yourself. The wedding planning tools are linked to your profile. Your wedding planning research can be accessed by you through your username and secure password from any computer.
• Planning Checklist: Manage your wedding planning tasks and track the important details so you don’t miss a single step.
• Create your Budget: Set up your wedding budget and track all your spending to keep your wedding expenses in line.
• Create your Guestlist: It’s a Guest Database! Manage Guests, input their addresses, track Guest info (invitations, RSVPs, gifts, seating, thank you’s) – all with our Guest List Manager.
• Appointment Book: A handy tool to record all your appointments and reminders so you are perfectly scheduled for each day of your wedding planning
• Create Events and Invitations: Send out your save the dates for each of your wedding events with a click of the button and manage the RSVP’s from here.
• Planning Calendar: Your wedding planning is a calendar view and organizes all your appointments, upcoming events and due checklist items in one place.
• Research Binder: Your Wedding Planning Notebook where you can save notes, links, images of products and services you are considering but haven’t yet finalized.
• Guestbook: Post on your buddies’ walls and keep them up to date with your wedding planning. Post on a vendors wall to make inquiries or contacts.
• Get advice from other brides on the forum: Network with other brides, share tips and ideas, post questions. It’s amazing how much you can learn and share with others just like you.
• Add buddies: Friend other members of the site and them to your buddylist. See where other brides are in their planning process. Look at the profiles of your bride and vendor friends, check out their photogallery and write on their guestbooks.

There is a plethora of Indian vendors offering products and services to meet the Indian wedding market needs, however, they have always competed with families traveling to India to fulfill these needs. To these vendors, we offer a revolutionary new channel to market their products and services to a targeted customer base and form affiliations with other vendors in the business.

Website’s Highlights for Vendors:

• Free Business Page and Listing: Design your personalized business page highlighting your products & services and offering exclusive promotions and sales.
• Guestbook: Post on your buddies’ walls and keep them up to date with your services.
• Photogallery: A picture is worth a thousand words. Showcase your products and services with a collection of photos and images.
• Appointment Book: A handy calendar with customer appointments and reminders so you are perfectly scheduled for each day.
• Planning Calendar: View all your appointments in a calendar view.
• Manage Clients: A client database that manages client names, profiles, addresses, interests.
• Interact with other brides on forum: An Online vendor expo – interact with brides interested in your products and services. Make customer contact online!

The website has been beta launched, and we would really appreciate your feedback!

Don’t ignore those beautiful hands when buying accessories and jewelry for your wedding! Your hands will be a focus of all your wedding pictures, especially when you are performing the wedding ceremony, cutting the cake or making champagne toasts. So why not spend some money on accessorizing those beautiful hands with jewelry? Here are some ideas on how to adorn those beautiful hands.

• Bangles and Bracelets: This is a no brainer! Bangles/Bracelets are a must. You can’t go wrong with a nice gold bangle set worn with a heavy bracelet worn in the front. There are a ton of fancy styles to choose from, where the sets have a combination of different kinds of bangles.

Intricately designed beautiful diamond bangles

Amazing Combination - Beautiful kundan kada (bangle) with bracelet

Kundan Kada (Bangle) with Meenakari work

Pink Tourmaline and White Sapphire Kundan Bracelet

Silver Bangles Set

Gold Bangles Set

Green Bangle Set

Blue Bangle Set with droplets

• Hathphool: These are bracelets with rings and look absolutely stunning! They enhance the beauty of your hands and also look great with your henna. This hand ornament has a flower or medallion in the center and have chains attached to them on both sides. One side the chain becomes a bracelet which goes around your wrist and on the other end they become rings which go on your fingers. There can be one to five chains. I am obsessed with kundan and polki hathphool!

Polki Haathphool with green tourmalines

Adorning the colors of henna - Kundan Haath Phool

• Cocktail Rings: These look beautiful as well and can be worn on any finger or thumb. For weddings, the most traditional is polki or kundan.

Cocktail Ring - Green Onyx, White Sapphire and Kundan



Cocktail Ring worn on thumb along with Hathphool

Indian Weddings are known to be elaborate affairs, where families spend a lot of money to entertain their guests and celebrate. No matter how big of an amount you are spending on the wedding, there is always a budget. So how do you come up with a budget for your wedding? Start by compiling a list of finance sources, which could be you (the bride), the groom,both sets of parents, as well as other generous family members or friends.

In this article, we will go through all the steps to decide how to plan your wedding budget. So start with coming up with a realistic figure.

Enter total budget: ________________

Once you have a realistic figure for your budget, we will divide that amount into various categories.

Image Courtesy: Flickr (soo12)

Ceremony: 5%

• Cost of the venue
• All transportation like horse carriage for Baraat, limos etc. for guests, family and bridal party to and from the hotel/house of the bride and groom to the ceremony site.
• Enter Ceremony Budget: ______________

(Multiply total budget by 0.05)

Reception: 40%

Your Wedding Reception will take up the bulk of your wedding budget. The budget for your reception will include:

• Cost of the venue
• Event Rentals (Chairs, Tables, Flatware, Glassware, China)
• Catering and Servers (including taxes and tips)
• Bar and non-alcoholic beverages
• Wedding Cake
• Valet parking, if applicable
• All transportation like shuttle service, limos etc. for guests, family and bridal party to and from the ceremony site to the reception venue.
• Enter Reception Budget: ______________

(Multiply total budget by 0.4)

Music and Entertainment: 5%

This includes:

• Baraat and Ceremony Music – Dhol, DJ
• Cocktail hour – DJ, Live Performers
• Reception Entertainment and Music – DJ, Dancers, Live Performers
• Enter Music Budget: _______________

(Multiply total budget by 0.05)

Decor: 15%

In an Indian Wedding, decor takes up a good chunk of your budget, especially because there are so many elements that go into it. This includes:

• Mandap and Ceremony decoration
• Chair Covers/ Sashes
• Overlays/ Table Linen
• Bride and Bridesmaid’s bouquets (if applicable)
• Boutonnière’s for Groom, Groomsmen, Ring Bearer and both Fathers (if applicable)
• Flowers for both the Bride and Groom’s Mother (if applicable)
• Flowers to decorate the Flower Girl’s basket and petals to toss
• Reception centerpieces and decorations
• Flowers for the Wedding cake (if applicable)
• Sweet heart table/ head table
• Enter Flower Budget: _______________

(Multiply total budget by 0.15)

Wedding Attire and Jewelry: 15%

• This includes:
• Bridal Saris/ Lehengas for the Ceremony and Reception
• Bride’s lingerie
• Bride’s jewelry for Ceremony and Reception
• Wedding Bands
• Bride’s shoes
• Hair and makeup (including Mehendi)
• Groom’s Sherwani/ Tuxedo and Shoes for the Ceremony and Reception
• Enter Wedding Attire Budget: _______________

(Multiply total budget by 0.15)

Photography: 10%

This will include:

• Photography
• Videography
• CDs or other digital media with all the photos
• DVD of the Wedding Video
• Engagement portraits
• Ceremony and Reception – album package
• Additional albums / photographs for gifts

Enter Photography Budget: _____________

(Multiply total budget by 0.1)

Stationery: 4%

This includes:

• Invitations and enclosures (R.S.V.P. cards & envelopes, maps, etc.)
• Announcements
• Thank – you notes
• Postage
• Wedding Programs
• Enter Stationery Budget: _____________

(Multiply total budget by 0.04)

Miscellaneous: 6%

This is where all those random “little” items add up. Make sure you have an extra cushion for all those extra expenses.

• Gifts for the bridal party (if applicable)
• Wedding gifts for each other (if you choose to do so)
• Favors for the guests
• Welcome baskets for out-of-town guests
• Hotel room / “Honeymoon Suite” for the wedding night
• Marriage and other licenses
• Dakshina/ Fee for the Priest
• Enter Miscellaneous Budget: _____________

(Multiply total budget by 0.06)

I hope this worksheet gave you a good idea on how to plan your wedding budget and will be helpful.

Marigold Events interviewed Nazuk Aggarwal, who is a renowned Delhi-based jewelry designer and a gemology expert. We talked to her about latest trends in jewelry, the latest stone cuts, how to select an engagement ring and Nazuk’s personal design style.

Latest Trends and Cuts

The lyrics from Carol Channing’s song, “Diamonds are a girl’s best friend“, is perfect illustration of how Diamonds never go out of fashion. Nazuk says that Diamond jewelry is evergreen and is something that is always trendy. Elaborating on the current style of diamond jewelry, Nazuk said that many fancy shapes and cuts of diamonds, like Marquise (leaf shaped) and pear/tear drops are very much in.

Check out this beautiful Marquise Cut Diamond Bracelet

Beautiful Pear Cut Engagement Ring

The different cuts combined with colored diamonds is an upcoming trend. There are many to choose from: blue, yellow – which tend to be most common, and pink/purple – which tend to be very expensive. Colored diamonds can be natural, which are very expensive, and treated, which are more economical. Colored diamonds will definitely add an extra oomph to your piece of jewelry!

Check out this gorgeous necklace with yellow colored diamonds

Then there are also colored sapphires, which are available in almost all the colors ranging from blue, orange, yellow, pink etc. Colored sapphires are cheaper than colored diamonds. Another option can be tourmaline, which are semi precious stones, and are an economical option. They are much more cheaper compared to colored diamonds, sapphires, rubies, and emeralds. These definitely add a great style and color to your diamond jewelry.

Nazuk mentioned that another way to make your jewelry stylish is to use carved emeralds, coral and turquoise along with diamonds. She says that flower shaped coral or turquoise or cabochon cut colored stones with diamonds (stone that is shaped and polished as opposed to faceted) look exquisite!

Check out these beautiful pair of turquoise (flower shaped) and diamond chandelier earrings with pear shaped Quartz drops, designed by Nazuk:

Diamond Chandelier Earrings Designed by Nazuk Aggarwal

Nazuk says that chunky and bold jewelry is in. For your cocktail or engagement party you can wear a bold bracelet with chandelier earrings or a cocktail ring with a heavy necklace.

Cocktail Ring with pink stone and diamonds

Bold and Beautiful - Diamond Necklace

Gorgeous Diamond Bracelet

A few styles that are also in fashion today are Victorian style Jewelry (which was worn in Victorian era – half silver, half gold with flat diamonds) and Rose Cut Jewelry in open setting (where diamond is cut such that the top looks like a mountain).

Check out this Victorian style estate diamond brooch/pendant

Check out this Rose Cut Diamond Pendant

For weddings, traditional jewelry, especially polki (uncut diamond) looks gorgeous! Polki jewelry is from Mughal Era and is very much in fashion. Many variations of polki are available. One such variation is polki combined with diamonds. It gives a very full look when worn on your wedding day. These days bigger size polki with designs around it is the latest trend. Matha Patti or Maang teeka with Jhoomar with a nice nath, haath phool, amulet, necklace and earrings/jhumkas make a beautiful set and looks absolutely stunning. Big polki rings worn on the thumb also look really nice. Polki jewelry can also be worn for Mehendi.

Check out the gorgeous polki sets that Aishwarya wore for Jodha Akbar:

Aishwarya Rai in Jodhaa Akbar - Beautiful polki set complete with Matha Patti, Jhumkas, Necklace and Nath

Aishwarya Rai in Jodhaa Akbar- Beautiful Big Polki Set with Amulets

Aishwarya Rai in Jodhaa Akbar - Another beautiful Rajasthani Style Polki Necklace. Check out the beautiful rings.

Aishwarya Rai in Umrao Jaan - Check out the beautiful Maang Teeka and Jhoomar work on the side

If you are on a budget, then imitation polki and diamond jewelry is also available, which looks very nice too.

How to select an Engagement Ring

Nazuk says that the approach to select the engagement ring should be practical. Nazuk advises, “You don’t want it to go out of fashion!” She mentioned that something that is going to be worn on a daily basis throughout your life, should be comfortable and elegant. Nazuk asserts, “It is advisable to buy a quality stone and certified pieces as they are a good investment.”

So how do you select a quality and certified diamond?

Nazuk says that diamond certification provided by HRD, GIA, and IGI labs is recognized throughout. She specifically says not to get a jeweler’s inhouse certification (as they don’t hold any value) and insist on getting it by one of the labs listed.

Selecting a quality stone requires research. It is important to know the 4 C’s of diamond:

Cut: Cut refers to the shape and proportions of diamond. The cutting of diamond and the finish determines it’s brilliance and fire. The more number of facets a diamond has, more will be the brilliance it is going to have. Round cut is evergreen and has the maximum brilliance and fire, and hence, it is also the most expensive cut. Other well known cuts are: Oval, Princess, Heartshaped, Emerald or Step Cut, Asher Cut, Radiant Cut and Lily Cut.

Clarity: Clarity refers to how free the stone is from inclusions or dark/black specks. On one end of the scale is flawless and on the lower end is included, where flawless is most expensive, and included is least expensive.

Color: Colors range from the letters D to Z, where D is colorless and most valuable.

Carat: 1 carat is equal to 100 equal parts or points. It weighs 200 metric grams. The price of diamond goes up exponentially with the carat weight. What that means is that the price of a 2 carat ring will not be double the cost of a 1 carat ring, but will be much more.

For a great tutorial and more details for selecting a diamond, click here.

A little bit about Nazuk and her style

Nazuk studied Jewelry Design and Manufacturing  from Jewellery Design and Technology Institute (JDTI), and Gemology from Gemological Institute of America (GIA). She is the founder and owner of Bijoux (New Delhi), where she hand selects the stones, designs and manufactures handcrafted fine diamond jewelry. She holds private exhibitions, and designs customized and classic jewelry according to her client’s budget, tastes and the occasion. Nazuk’s jewelry is contemporary, elegant, high end and fashionable, where she keeps global trends in mind. She primarily uses diamonds, along with colored and semi precious stones. To schedule an appointment with Nazuk, you can email her at nazukaggarwal@gmail.com.