A happy bride is always a pretty bride! Meet Pratyusha, a very happy bride who married her best friend! She had a beautiful Tam Brahm wedding that was filled with love, happiness and fun! Here you go!
This is Pratyusha, currently in California – hailing from Chennai. So, dating back to 2005, which was when I actually met my husband Ashwin – We met in undergrad and we gradually started off with SMS and ended up as BFFs. Slowly, after undergrad we moved to different places.
In fact, I was pretty sure I was going to have an arranged marriage, when my parents coaxed me into talking to a couple of guys picked from the ever famous ‘Bharat matrimony’ website.
When my besties tried convincing me that Ashwin was the guy for me, I didn’t really feel convinced, until Ashwin came on a vacation to Chennai for 3 weeks. We met every single day and sparks flew when things turned gradually from BFFs to more than that. That’s when Ashwin had to tell me that he had loved me from the day 1 he saw me (Filmy, rite? :D). So that’s how the 9 year long friendship and love ended in marriage in 2014. In short, destiny and magic – that’s how I would summarize this! ?
What did I do the minute my wedding date was fixed? Oh yes, shopping! For a shopaholic like me, it was all I could ask for. We had a typical Iyer wedding. So I had to buy sarees for the main functions like vratham, nichyathartham, reception, oonjal, wedding and nalangu.
Shopping – I was sure that I wanted different sarees in different colors. For my wedding 9 yards, I didn’t want the traditional red one. I ended up getting a rusty orange one with green border. Here’s the list of sarees with details on where I purchased them –
Vratham: What – Patola silk Where – Tulsi silks, Chennai
Nichyathartham: What – Soft silk Where – Manmandir, Chennai
Oonjal: What – Kanchipuram silk Where – Kalanikethan, Chennai
Wedding: What – 9 yards pure silk Where – Pothys, Chennai
Nalangu: What – Simple Kerala style saree Where – (not sure – from the in laws)
Reception: What – gown Where – MANA Design Studio (Aarthi and Vanitha), Chennai
I thoroughly enjoyed all the shopping. Sarees were purchased in a jiffy, no time spent. My reception gown was a made-to order one. Deciding on the gown was the most time-consuming task. I would have made at least 5 trips to 10 different shops and I was not convinced one bit. I was very particular about what I wanted and I was not ready to compromise on any deviation.
I came across @mana-design-studioclothing# on Facebook and thought of giving it a try. They promised to give me the gown two days before the reception and I couldn’t stop myself from worrying about it till then. But the minute I got it, whoa! They did an amazing job – all thanks to them for exactly replicating what I wanted in every minute way. I must say, I was glad I got it customized – well worth the wait!
Jewellery: I was not a great fan of gold. But as usual out of parent’s compulsion, I ended up getting gold from Khazana Jewellery and GRT Jewellers. My bangles were from T.Nagar. Reception set from Sowcarpet.
Venue: I left the venue and catering to my parents. They booked Mani Mahal in Saligramam, Chennai. My dad was very keen on booking only Mookambigai caterers (Chennai). They were amazing. Everyone loved the food and service!
Make up: I was not a make-up person at all. After a lot of research and trials, I chose Noor for my make up for reception and wedding. I did my own makeup for vratham and nichyathartham.
Photographer: The best for the last always! I would have probably done the most research on each and every photographer (I have an entire list on my excel now)! My parents gave up on me and were ready to book someone and all this was three weeks before the wedding. Too late, but nevertheless got one of the best photographers in Chennai when I met Ashok two weeks before the wedding and finalized on @aa-photography# the same day. He did an amazing job – he got his entire whole team and more number of people than promised and exceeded our expectations.
Everyone we met raved about our photographs even after a month; he tried to capture so many moments and all our friends and family in so many different ways from make-up sessions to couple shoots. He had teams for candid, traditional and wedding cinema. What remain after the event are memories and one needs a good photographer to give you ultimate products to revive and cherish every moment. I recommend these guys strongly. Totally satisfying. Well worth the wait!
Honeymoon: We had to travel to SFO a week after our wedding. So, after all the temple trips and family visits, we went to Kumarakom for a couple of days and stayed in this amazing private pool villa in Taj Vivanta.
Moments The best moments I can think of are the surprises in the reception and the wedding. My uncle, brother and close friends threw surprises throughout the reception. To mention a few, as soon as we got on the stage, these guys made us pull a string hanging from the ceiling which showered us totally with flowers.
We had a small cake cutting and these guys made a beautiful caricature of me and Ashwin including a copy each for the families. They had friends and families talk about us during the reception – overall a lot of fun and emotions!
Quick tips: Plan ahead. It’s always good to finish everything early to avoid the last minute rush - relax, peace of mind helps. Don’t get tensed at all – a cool bride is a happy bride! Ultimately, it’s your wedding and no matter how the minute things work out, it won’t matter on the day.
They say get good sleep and eat healthy – but being a foodie that I was I never did anything different. Take care of your skin – I didn’t spend on pre bridal packages in parlors. I got home remedies from my good old mom.
Try to explore and bring in more colors and variety when you choose your sarees and jewellery. You don’t want to look the same in all the functions. What to plan ahead – sarees, blouses, venue, catering, photography.
