So here is the wedding we have all been waiting to hear about. Hanisha, daughter of Kalamandir CMD Mr. Prasad Chalavadi got married this April and the wedding was nothing less than a grand festive like celebration. Hanisha is a very friendly and extremely down to earth person she along with her sister Rupamani tell us how they planned her wedding.
Mine was an arranged marriage bestowed by the blessings from both the families. My other half is Barathwaj, who once worked in California and is now put up in Bangalore. New York was the place that ignited our love. With only a verbal communication over the phone a couple of times, we were able to develop a comfort zone within ourselves. Meeting him made things all the more better. I didn’t know what to really expect but I was pleasantly surprised. Our vibes were ethereal. Even though it was the first time, we felt connected. He was this really down to earth person, very friendly and a complete gentleman. So my husband moved to India (for good) in January. He then came to Hyderabad to meet me for a dinner date. That’s when he had initiated a secret plan of proposing to me. I kind of sniffed the scents through multiple sources but kept it low because I knew he put in a lot of effort and time into this. And, I said yes. After that things moved on very quickly. We met in November and we got engaged in January and our wedding was destined to happen in April.
Planning for the entire wedding event is a tiresome task. My family holds major credits for putting in so much effort and making it so beautiful. I must confess that I was an uninvolved bride. I obviously gave my inputs for the décor and the theme but most of it was taken care off. My mother knows jewellery better than me, my sister was an expert at sarees and my uncle, a great planner and hence he took over the décor and the venue.
The entire wedding event was for two weeks which involved a generous dose of fun and frolic. The main events were for three days but there were all these other events at home so that was for a good ten days before the wedding. I expected people to be all teary eyed but everyone was just happy. Hailing from one of the biggest families and being the oldest of them all, my wedding has been a reason for everyone to celebrate after a period of ten years straight. The practice sessions for the Sangeeth, the most fun of them all. It was the first time I had seen my aunties and uncles dancing. To see them put such efforts into learning the steps and making them work, trust me I had the time of my life.
Pink Pagadi, also a known friend to us planned our wedding and executed it. We had Haldi, Penli kuturu function, Sangeeth, Muhurtham and two receptions, one in Hyderabad and the other in Chitoor. The Muhurtham and one of the receptions were in a Thirumal temple, whereas the Sangeeth was based on the theme of Alice in Wonderland.
The Penli kuturu function was theme based. Since it happened during one of the hottest summers, we had a temporary outdoor structure set up. The theme involved every guest who comes would be given tokens and fake money. In turn, people can go to each stall and exchange them for bangles, slippers etc. There was also this parrot reading and games at the end of which winners were given more tokens to get more stuff. The food went well with the vibe of the theme like popcorn, candy and all things icy and smokey. It felt more like we were partying at a fun fare.
Sarees worn by my people at the wedding were custom-made. Nearly about 500 weavers who dwell in and around Kanchipuram contributed to it. We decided to give a traditional touch for my Muhurtham saree and so it was the white colored one usually worn by the Telugu brides but we tried to incorporate as many colours as possible. That was the hard part.
The Sangeeth was a fairy tale themed one. I opted for a gown that would be classy yet subtle. Since most of the designers have an Indian touch we chose Gaurav Gupta who gave me the perfect outfit.
My Haldi was real fun. It involved a lot of water activities with water guns and water balloons. The most special thing about my Haldi water was that it was straight from Varanasi, the spiritual capital of India. I wore my mother’s saree for this since that s was the tradition we followed.
My sister Rupamani who is a designer herself. Her designer studio is R for Rupamani. She was the one behind the designing of outfits for my Pelli kuturu function, mehendi and second reception. The Pelli kuturu function outfit was a floral blouse which was super embellished and very colorful which had a lot of texture to it. And, for mehendi I wore a mid-length skirt and a puff sleeve. A very simple yet elegant one. For the first reception my lehenga was made by The Peacock Bride.
All my jewelry for the wedding was completely taken care off by my mom. She has been buying them for years and years and saving it for my wedding.
For Barath’s outfits we chose a couple of designers in Hyderabad. Raamv for reception, Sameer for the muhurtham and the other outfits were designed by his sister Monica.
Photography was done by @epics-by-avinash# and Rakkesh Soni. These two guys are brilliant and render their best in all their works.
My makeup was done by Makeup Manasa who does professional makeup for major events like IIFA and who also happens to be a celebrity makeup artist. She was there with me for over 15days before the wedding and took care of everything. She was of such great help and gave me the best look I have ever carried. Manasa helped me put everything together while I was getting ready for my big day. She also accompanied us to Bangkok for our wedding shoot and to Chitoor for the second reception.
So I went to Bangkok and came back with a really bad tan. After the trip I religiously did a de tan facial for some time and later shifted to home remedies. We were just desperately trying to fix the situation. So I tried everything and anything that people would tell me. But I guess my go to home remedies would be milk, honey and tomatoes. Not all together but alternative here and there. The most important thing to do is to stay hydrated. Make sure you drink a lot of water and juices.
