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I get excited about all the weddings we have on Maharani, but I have a big crush on today's featured Indian wedding.  Our bride, Deepa, is a traditional Maharani at heart, but her modern sense of style is what made this wedding a slam dunk. I am totally drooling over these bridesmaid’s saris. The color combination is absolute perfection, and with rose petal pink and lavender to choose from, how could you ever go wrong?  Classic set in a modern way…just like her bezel set engagement ring.  From start to finish this wedding has a very, very, very personal touch. 

I am super pumped about today’s Indian wedding reception because from start to finish the one word I would use to describe its style is modern.  Clean lines and fresh concepts just about everywhere you can imagine even down to the bride’s lengha.  The color is lovely, the work is delicate, but what I keep ogling is her strapless style blouse. In a time where it is all about the “long sleeve” sari blouses, I just can’t help but love this chic choice. It is the perfect east meets west look that will look fabulous in wedding photographs for years to come. 

 

 

 

So, if you are thinking about having Indian food served family style you absolutely must use these serving trays.  They are easy to use because they stack, and they also rotate like a lazy Susan, so none of your guests have to be responsible for picking up and moving the contraption when serving a bit more saag to their date.  This elegant choice sure beats waiting in long lines at a buffet!

Happy Friday everyone! I have a hot, fashion idea for all my Indian brides to be today that is sure to make heads turn at your Indian wedding.  Every time I visit India, I always say to myself I am going to learn to tie a sari in modern, new ways, but I never get around to it.  Honestly, I am too busy shopping for gorgeous saris to spend time learning to tie them!  But, the best way to give one of your oldie-but-goodies saris a fresh new look is to tie it in one of these five fashionable ways.  

I spoke with sari tying expert, Anju Pathak, and here are her 5 tips for Maharani readers to tie your sari flawlessly.

From Anju : The sari is such a versatile garment for the South Asian bride.  It can be wrapped, draped and arranged in over 100 different ways – letting each bride create her own unique look and style.  And nowadays, there is such a wide range of stylish blouses too: corset, halter, bustier, tube top, thin straps etc.   The right blouse can really make a huge difference with your sari style and look.

Understand the fabric – It’s important to know the fabric of your saree.  Thick fabrics hold their shape really well, while thinner fabrics such as crepe, georgette and chiffon tend to be “very loose”, and typically work better utilizing very thin and gathered pleats.  Since these materials are also very loose, they can also work to create a very slimming look for the bride.

Iron out the wrinkles – I know it can be daunting to iron out 5-6 meters of cloth, but trust me it will be worth it!  Wrinkle-free sarees work much better when styling.

Always do a trial run – I always recommend meeting with brides ahead of time to see their sarees / lenghas, and to really understand the material of their dress. Playing around with different styles ahead of time gives you an idea of how things will look on the wedding day, so there are not unexpected surprises. 

Lots and lots of pins – Thank goodness for safety pins!!  The more creative sari styles certainly do require a lot of pinning, but the trick is to make sure your pins are secured and hidden, so your look stays in place all day long.

Accessorize for style – It’s always nice to add a little extra color, flower, bow, pin, feather, etc to compliment your look.  A really fun hair or saree accessory can add new life to even a traditional look.

My favorite of the looks above is the floral brooch style sari that is black & white.  I think if Carrie Bradshaw had to go to an Indian wedding, this is the way she would rock her sari. Here is how to tie your sari in this hip, stylish way:

From Anju : Though there can be numerous ways of draping a sari, the most common style involves wrapping a sari once around the waist, creating several pleats at the navel, and draping the loose end (pallu) over the left shoulder, thereby covering the chest.  The “floral brooch style” is a modern twist on this common style, and works best with lighter / thinner sari materials.

First, wrap the sari once around the waist counter-clockwise and leave it (don’t create the navel pleats yet).

Then, take the other end (pallu), hold it up and make very thin pleats all the way across (about 2 inches wide). While holding onto those pleats tight, pin them up all together about 4 inches away from the top end of the sari.  This way we can secure the floral in and of itself first.  After pinning these pleats together, once you let go, you’ll see that this end of your sari will open up into a floral. 

Next, pin this whole floral to the front, left side of your blouse.

Then, go back around to your navel, and start making pleats that should be tucked into the front part of your petticoat.  Create just enough pleats so that the front part of your sari stemming from the floral and covering the chest is loose and flowy.  

Viola! There you have it! Sex and the City meets Bollywood dream wedding! 

So this is the final reminder to get your contest entries in by Sunday for our DIY contest where you can win a fabulous gift basket of thank you cards from 3 Bees Paperie.  Happy Weekend everyone!

From Sachi : I approach each bride differently, and create something different for each wedding.  I think that the day I can’t come up with new designs, is the day I will have to retire as a designer because a good designer always comes up with something unique each time.

The inspiration for this wedding was Nature. When Meg came to me every opinion she voiced was in regard to having her decor feel as though it was bringing the outdoors in, she wanted a natural sky like mandap that felt like it was in south beach, she wanted natural sun like flowers, she wanted green flowers on each table feeling bringing in the feeling of vines, and grapes, and grass indoors. The South Beach Mandap was inspired by something I saw on the Maharani Weddings website.

Click here to see the The Lemon Yellow and South Beach Blue Board that inspired this wedding!

I am just floored to see our inspiration board come to life in this wedding.  Back tomorrow with their reception and more of Partyland’s KILLER designs.

We have had a bright and colorful week of weddings, and today’s reception will definitely not disappoint.  It is filled with tons of goodies and fun little surprises. I know that I am going to sound a bit like a wedding craher today, but that is because I am a little obsessed with this wedding. My excitement starts with the modern color palette. I love how the traditional wedding maroon is updated with turquoise for a bold, vibrant look. And, when I say that this color palette was everywhere, it was EVERYWHERE.  From the bridesmaid’s reception saris, to the matching champagne glasses, to the dessert station.  There wasn’t any detail left to chance.