Hello there, darlings! What a pleasure to have you back! For this second installment, we'll be taking a look at a romantic photoshoot leading to Shaza & Shivam's reception party held at The Marigold. Both Shaza & Shivam attended this photoshoot looking elegantly and fashionably, and we cannot stretch how much we love seeing these two together! To achieve the ultimate dream look, Maharani Shaza trusted her fashion needs to Marium right after having spent some time with Kinza Amer, and Priyanka Babariya, who designed a flawless hairstyle and makeup for her! For the footwear department, she went for a stylish pair of shoes from Jimmy Choo's collection, and oh boy, we loved the final look! Raja Shivam did not stay behind and followed the line of elegance set by his now-wife, and wore a navy blue suit from Suit Supply, very well complemented with elegant Gucci shoes. Every single image of this photoshoot is a cornucopia of beauty and elegance captured by none other than the talented team from Priyanca Rao Photography! And we bet you want to see more of this couple! So, don't miss our Best of 2019 Magazine as its pages overflow with all the beauty of this sweet couple's wedding festivities! We've also put together this fantastic gallery! So, go check it out!
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How did you meet your Groom and when did you know he was "the one"?
Senior year of high school, a friend of mine was at my house in mid March. We were 17 and thinking about prom. Who we wanted to go with, what color we would wear, when is the earliest we could go shopping for a dress. That same day, my friend used my phone to call her friend Shivam. He had gotten into a minor car accident earlier that day.
The next day (now having his phone number), I decided to text and check up on him. From that moment on, we didn’t stop talking. And nearly 12 years later here we are!
Tell us how you went about planning your wedding, and your overall experience with the Venues, Hair & Makeup, Outfits, Decor Theme, and all of the other important details.
This may sound crazy, but in hindsight, I planned our wedding around the three layer pearl and gold necklace I wore on my wedding day. My Nana Jaan (maternal grandfather) gifted it to my mother and she wore it on her wedding day. From the moment I saw it, I could see myself walking towards my future husband wearing something that is so special to me. Because of the style of the necklace, I knew I wanted our wedding to be very traditional, classy, and slightly Mughal.
I’m shocked at how everything fell into place so perfectly. We picked the Marigold as our wedding venue exactly six months before the reception date and the mehndi venue just three months before the event date. Then came my clothes.
For my makeup, I had reached out to Mona Chebli and Priyanka Babariya. Mona has done nearly all my friends wedding makeups in the past, and Priyanka has done my makeup for a photo shoot years ago so I knew I could trust them both. One thing I am happy about is choosing two different makeup and hair stylists. Mona loves a very glowy, shimmery, ethereal look which worked out perfectly for my mehndi hair and makeup, while Priyanka knew exactly what I wanted when all I told her was “dark brown smoked out sultry eyes and a neutral lip”. Kinza Amer is another person I blindly trusted to do my reception hair. I showed her just one picture five minutes before getting started and I couldn’t have asked for a better look.
Lastly, our decor was done by Partyland Sajawat. It is run by a mother-daughter team. Sachi is the extremely creative daughter. She's all about new concepts and not reusing old designs. We wanted the three arches and she had them custom made for us exactly how we wanted. Sachi did the most elaborate work compared to other decorators and she actually took the time to sketch out our vision, whereas the others just scrolled through their photo albums to show us what they've done in the past. Our decor was 100% customized by us and Sachi.
Our overall experience was not so bad considering we chose to plan three big events in just six months and we proudly did it all on our own, without a planner. We are lucky to have amazing friends and family who helped with so many of the little details that helped in a tremendous way.
How did you select your bridal lengha or wedding dress? Did you have a favorite color in mind?
For the mehndi lehnga, I chose to go with Mohsin Naveed Ranjha. I chose each of the three pieces separately and the end result was simply stunning. My earrings were from BlossomBox which had arrived just the morning of the event! And the matha patti and jade ring were borrowed from my childhood friend and maid of honor.
My reception gown was much harder to select. I had seen a beautiful mauve pink shade that I loved and knew that it would look beautiful as a fitted gown with a long train, covered in silver bead work. After rummaging through countless websites, Instagrams and Facebook pages of designers, I reached out to Marium from @theluxurious786. I was a little apprehensive to trust someone with my reception gown, but Marium came with rave reviews. I sent Marium the style I wanted along with the mauve shade and from that minute on I blindly trusted her to work her magic. The gown was exactly what I had hoped for and the intricate beadwork was exquisite.
Both my mehndi lehnga and reception gown came on the Wednesday before the weekend of our events, which could be quite stressful, but I know in the end everything works out if it’s meant to, and in this case it did!
What was the most enjoyable part of the planning process, and why?
Customizing absolutely everything! When does one ever get a chance to have a 450 person event where every detail is created by them? I grew up drawing and painting and I now create custom cakes as a creative outlet. From making mehndi thaalis to sketching my wedding gown, every detail of our wedding screamed Shaza & Shivam. Working together to create the wedding of our dreams was an incredible process.
Do you have any words of wisdom for Brides-To-Be?
Take a second during your wedding to step back from the friends and family and photographs and take it all in. All those months of planning go by in the blink of an eye. Don’t sweat the little details, and give people the benefit of the doubt when you think they’re not stepping up to help you.
Get ready to have some fun at the upcoming wedding reception!
