Couture jeweller Raj Mahtani on acing the jewel story

Be creative and experimental. Look different; be a bespoke bride. Be individualist, have an identity of your own which is really your own so no one can say ‘oh I have seen that before’. This is one time of your life when you can actually go all out.

This season is about the hair. The matha patti has made a major comeback because more and more people want to go traditional on their wedding. Think A Midsummer Night’s Dream in an Indian way — tempestuous, seductive and sexy. Mix flowers with jewels. Most accessories can be put on the hair very creatively. It’s a bit like Lego, be versatile. Bring on the traditional feel in a modern way.

If you are wearing a heavy necklace, then you play down the earrings, almost like they are there but not there.

The nath must complement your face, it must fit very well and it must make your nose look better. If it doesn’t suit you, it’s perfectly all right to skip it. An oversized nath can make or break it. A medium-sized ensures you can have fun with the other areas without it being all about the nath.

Incorporate some family jewellery and make a statement out of it. Knick-knacks from your grandmother, or even a major piece from your mother. It’s sentimental. You can transform it into something new yet old.

Co-ordinating your outfit and jewellery is essential. If you want to show off your heavy jewels, then it is important to wear a light lehnga that doesn’t have too much work. Slip on a cummerbund, have fun with the drape, explore the clean canvas! It’s all about being playful, going out and doing it but doing it with restraint.

Balance beautifully. If you are wearing a big brooch on your blouse, keep the rest of that arm free. Make sure the embellished portion of your outfit doesn’t clash with the jewels. Remember that two beautiful pieces put together don’t necessarily look as beautiful. Individually they may look beautiful but together it may not tell a beautiful story. It’s important to choose pieces that come together, complement each other and not fight.

If you are a free-spirit bride, then bring everyone on board well before D-day. Most elders have a preconceived idea of what the bride should look like and this is often a huge block for an experimental bride. Explain to them that the Indian bride has the potential to look not only traditional but also international. Getting a bride ready is a collaboration, like a joint venture, and everyone needs to be in sync. From the make-up artist to the stylist and, of course, all family members.

Grooms should not pile on the jewels. Achkan buttons, turban and ornament, emeralds, embroidered sherwani… there are a lot of elements already, so it’s best to avoid a lot of colour and go with a nude palette. Let the colour come in from your bride. Also, avoid shades that contrast very starkly. That shows no communication. But please, please don’t match your bride!

Finally, ask yourself are you overdoing it? Close your eyes for a second. Open them and look into the mirror. Do you feel stunning or do you feel overdone and slightly older? Your answer is right there.

Menswear designer Ratul Sood on groom gear

A modern tuxedo with a two-tone bowtie

Linen bandhgala in a trendy wine

Say yay to linen. Linen suits in pastel colours like lemon yellow and baby pink, linen pants with casual shirts or white linen shirts with super bright cotton trousers.

Nehru jacket + short kurta + breeches or Patialas is a great look for the Mehndi lunch. Keep the waistcoat vibrant and either do a matchy-matchy kurta and jodhpurs or colour-block three-way. Wear with strap-on sandals.

Sporty, deconstructed safari jackets with jeans are trending at bachelor parties. Classic three-piece suits are big for cocktails. If your style is more casual, the look of the moment is a navy blazer with metal buttons worn with a white shirt, thin tie and upturned jeans. The shoe story is dominated with Converse and Tod’s driving shoes.

The Sangeet is full on Indian. Forget navy blue and think fashion colours like electric blue, wine and taupe. Pathan suits and waistcoats are big and if it’s a kurta-pyjama it has to be heavily embroidered. Bandhgalas look fabulous but of course, stay away from velvet! An all-time classic look is the black achkan with white churidar.

Finally, for the wedding, less is more. Think tone-on-tone thread work, colours like pista, red and cream. The bling comes from the stole, cummerbund and sapha. And your bride!

 

Beauty pro Priscilla Corner on counting down to D-day

Pick a reputed salon and consult with the head beauty therapist to design a package that is suited to your skin and hair type. Choose one that offers holistic organic treatments. If you are too close to D-day, ask for a fast-track beauty boost!

Indulge in glow facials, detox scrubs, anti-cellulite or destress massages, hair treatments, pedi-spas and mani-spas alongside waxing (chocolate/ aloe vera/sugar) and eyebrow grooming.

Deal with any pigmentation problems or dark circles in advance. Avoid harsh bleach since it can cause long-lasting pigmentation.

A first-time tryst with a bikini wax on the day of the nuptials can lead to a disaster that can hamper all honeymoon plans! Make sure that you have a trial run at least twice before the final one (a day before D-day) to determine if you are prone to rashes.

Take care of your nails. Shabby nails look terrible on camera. And there is nothing as delightful as a ring being slipped on to a well-groomed finger.

Make-up pointers by Abhijit Chanda

Know what suits you. D-day is not the day to experiment or follow trends.

Hairstyles need not revolve around a tight updo. Casual, almost careless, braids suit most faces. Play around with fresh flowers and hair ornaments.

Great skincare, matte primers, non-oil-based foundations are the basics for the summer bride. Colour correctors are the answer to pigmentation problems.

Get your make-up done in light closest to the ceremony. Get ready in daylight for a morning wedding.

Keep a lipstick (matte since gloss vanishes fast), compact, kajal and tissue in your clutch for the much-needed touch-ups.

A picture speaks a thousand words. Really. Photographer Rajesh Gupta of The Lensocrat on wedding photography:

A pre-wedding romantic photo shoot and fun video based on the couple’s story is trending big.

The photo shoots are very experimental. Some popular themes are The Soulmates, PS I Love you, Ticket to Paradise and Perfect Two. The shoot is also used as a creative way to send out save-the-date invites. Props are story-based but there are also some common ones like funky hats, supersized sunglasses, miniature chalk boards with the wedding date scribbled on them, balloons, bicycles, picnic bags... the list goes on. Popular city locations include Ganga Kutir, villas in Vedic Village, gardens, Prinsep Ghat and streets. Sometimes people also head to destinations like Jaipur and Thailand.

You can never have enough pictures of your wedding. Ditch the less-is-more strategy and employ plenty of cameramen for your wedding functions. So many more candid shots and mood pictures to choose from!

Stolen moments are majorly in demand since couples prefer natural pictures to posed ones. These photos are heavily focused on the sharpness, clarity and framing in order to convey the right emotions and mood — happy, sad, funny or even awkward.

Photo booths at wedding parties is also a big trend. Funky frames with random props are given to the guests to strike a pose.

Less is always more when you are attending a wedding

Founder-director of Veydaa Events, Yuvraj Singh Johar enlists what’s hot in the venue and entertainment circuit:

Newer and more adventurous destinations. Bhutan, Cambodia, Bintan in Indonesia, Kota Kina Balu in Malaysia...

No longer just a cocktail, pre-wedding parties are all about themes. The Badtameez dil setting and The Great Gatsby are most in demand. An evergreen theme is Flower Power with ’60s setting and Elvis music.

The Sangeet is no longer restricted to dance performances by family members. Music artistes like RDB (UK-based bhangra pop band), Mika, Arijit Singh, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy and Vishal Shekhar are in huge demand; Manasi Scott and Raghav are also gaining popularity in this part of the country. But celebrity DJs are not preferred by Calcuttans.

From Vegas to Thailand, the groom and his gang are partying it up Hangover-style. Girls wanna have fun too! If a weeklong getaway is not an option for the bride and her brigade, there are many ways to say bye to singledom in the city. Bachelorette sleepover, dancing all night, cocktails at home... here are some ideas for Team Bride:

Give her a list of dares. Make her ask that hot stranger at the bar what time it is. Challenge her to dance with the geek.

Prop her up. A bride-to-be sash for her and (topped up) shot glasses for the entourage.

Don’t forget the provocative gifts that the blushing bride has to unwrap. In front of her friends and the strangers around her table!

The penis cake could well be named the mascot of bachelorette parties!

Want to crank up the kinky quotient? Think male stripper services!

Floral artist Baisakhi Ghosh on beautiful blooms:

Flowers cannot be considered in isolation. Pick your floral decor as per the overall mood of the wedding. Keep the palette very pastel and pretty. It’s soothing when the temperature soars.

It’s all about the combination. Some favourite colours at the moment are apple green and peach. Both look beautiful when combined with white. Also think baby pink chiffon with white or pink tulips. Another classic combination is white + gold.

Shola is trending beyond Bengal. The light airy feel is a big hit in summer.

A pure flower mandap looks the best. Keep away from overwhelming structures and shapes.

Hybrid flowers like pink lilies and mauve carnations are trending. And of course, few things match the beauty of bela, champa and juhi.

Wedding wardrobe consultant and stylist Nisha Kundnani of Bridelan on how to attend a wedding in style:

Less is more because it’s not your wedding! Being overdressed is just as uncomfortable as being underdressed. It’s not nice to outshine the bride or groom. Let them have their special moment.

Just because you’ve bought a lot of jewellery over the years doesn’t mean you go looking like a jewellery box. Young girls read this. A heavily-bejewelled look with a pasa, mangtika, nath and layered necklaces is a no-no. Wear one statement piece because it is a wedding, not a costume party.

Wearing extremely low necklines or low-back blouses will call for unwanted attention.

Follow the dress code. Dress as per any special theme or colour story. Is the wedding taking place at night or morning? Is it in a temple or outdoors? A Mehndi by the pool gives you the liberty of wearing a lighter flowy kurta with palazzo pants. A cocktail party at a lounge calls for a trendy dress, not a heavy lehnga. A temple wedding suggests traditional attire. A grand reception requires sophistication, not your sporty sneakers and sweatshirt. Even if you’re the local politician’s cousin, don’t be in an embarrassing situation by being mistaken for a wedding crasher.

Namrata Soni on getting made up for your BFF’s wedding:

The world is yours, do what you want. However, you don’t want to outdo the bride!

Keep your make-up neutral and play up your look with strong smokey eyes.

Why don’t you...

Write your own wedding vows?

Be your own wedding planner?

Buy special gifts for all your near and dear ones. Even if it’s just a token.

Break into your wedding shoes before D-day.

Carry around a designated Wedding Book. Put down your thoughts and attach any inspiring quotes of photos, like a scrap book. Think of it is as your Pinterest on the go.

Stop being a bridezilla. Everyone will love you more. Much. More.

Start a subscription to a bunch of bridal magazines. You never know what catches your eye.

Wear something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.

Explore the world of wedding apps. We like http://www.mineforeverapp.com' http://www.mineforeverapp.com

Chef Sharad Dewan, area director, food production, The Park on food that is fashionable:

Oriental and Mediterranean cuisine.

Bid bye-bye to done-to-death Mongolian counters and Thai curries, and say hello to dim sums.

North Indian and elaborate barbecues are out for summer weddings. It’s too hot for kebabs and heavy gravy food.

Live soup station serving different types of soups like Japanese Donburi or Ramen soup. People like action on the table, even if that means consuming a lot of space! Even something like biryani is preferred as a Khurchan Biryani where it can be finished and rolled off a tawa.

People want to indulge in the best. If it’s a chocolate dessert, it must be made from a single-origin Ghana chocolate or from Spain. Indian sweets are creatively converted into a Halwa Crumble Bar or a brulee. A couple of sugar-free options are also incorporated.