Bride of the month - December'14!

16000 guests, 2000 workers, 40 contractors, 4 photography companies, 2 wedding halls and a splash of opulence right from the bridal wear to the decor and return gifts! If you are wondering what I am talking about, let me tell you, it's about an extremely grand wedding in Erode which became the talk of the town. Happy to feature Sindhu, the bride who had a fairytale wedding, as the Bride of the Month :)

Hello everyone! I am Sindhu from Coimbatore. I feel so good to be a part of Shopzters and I am delighted at this opportunity to share all my sparkling moments with you all.It was entirely an arranged marriage. Prabu and I met in april 2014 in a temple at Coimbatore. The first meeting we had, the first words we spoke and the first hand shake we had, have all left an indelible mark in my mind.

It was a wonderful beginning and thats when our love story started.

We got married on September 7, 2014 in Erode. We had to combine Parimalam Mahal and Guruswamy Gounder Thirumana Mandabam to accomodate around 16,000 guests. Our wedding had all the elements of fun, emotion and grandeur! Starting from the pre-wedding festivities to the vidai, everything was planned to perfection and executed well!

I chose to wear lehenga for my reception because Prabu was very specific about the fact that I should try out different things. We decided to go with the designer studio Roasted Sands owned by Mr.Rajesh from Coimbatore.  My lehenga was designed by Neel rajesh, his wife. We had opted for a "Traditional Raja Rani" theme for the wedding with the background in gold and red. So, we chose blue colour for my lehenga and it came out really well in a short period of time, considering the fact that we had just a month's time.

The main highlight of the wedding shopping is the muhurtham saree, which was specially designed based on our theme in Arani by 3 weavers joined together and handloomed in one and half months.  The design concept was given by Karthick of E.Selvam silks, Arani and us. The texture of the thread and colour was selected by me while the groom's costume was done by the same weavers with the same colour and texture as the base.

I did all my jewellery shopping in Coimbatore only. Most of my gold jewellery was from @karpagam-jewellersjewelrywatches#, Coimbatore. I have been a great fan of their antique collections. Diamond jewellery shopping was crucial and Vishwa and Devji gave me the best diamonds.

Designing your costume for the wedding is the real task! My task was made simple with the help of Lakshiya Designers and Mrs. Neel Rajesh. Right from the lehenga to all my bridal blouses, these designers got it completely customised for me.

After hearing loads of reviews from my friends, I chose Angel Beauty Parlour from Erode. My mehendi was done by Ayesha Gulshan, one of my best friend and that was really awesome.

Just like any other bride, I wanted a fairytale wedding and so we came up with the idea of "Raja Rani" themed wedding. More than 40 contractors and 2000 people worked to create this massive traditional wedding decor which accommodated more than 16000 visitors. Prabu and I chose Shiga Petals, Erode for the decor and they did a brilliant job.

We executed the essence of Raja Rani theme. Before the reception, Prabu went to Thindal temple and from there, he started his Maplai Azhaippu procession on a chariot. He was accompanied by our relatives and friends, who walked on the road, alongside the chariot.

After Prabu arrived at the venue, I was carried on a Pallaakku like a Princess to the stage by artists who had dressed up in the vintage style. We wanted to have this kind of bridal entry according to the theme and also, this is what I used to dream of.

Regarding the caterers, we chose Lakshmi catering (Madhampatti Rangaraj) and the main supplier was Thirunavakarasu Dept Stores, Coimbatore who looked after the complete food department.

Artists from different fields gave their performances like Bharathanatyam, Oyilattam, Puliyattam, Silambattam,  Poikkal Kuthirai etc..We felt exultant that we brought back our good old culture for the crowd to enjoy.

Totally 4 companies shared their work in the process of capturing the best moments. @smiles-and-dreams# did a complete package of both traditional and candid photography and also the videos. Srinivas did a wonderful job and the pics you see here show the amount of incredible work he does.  Sriram Photography(Chennai) also took care of Candid photography while the traditional photography was done by Image Photography(Erode) and Shooting Spot (Coimbatore).

Prabu and I wanted a special event to share some memorable moments with our friends and arranged a Pre-wedding party, the day before the wedding. We had games, puzzles and music to engage everyone! Those 2 hours of unlimited fun we had with our friends will be one of the most memorable moments!

As Return gifts for the reception, we gave each guest a plant, a handmade clay fridge magnet and a book about the complete process and proceedings of the traditional marriage. For the wedding, we gave each guest a handmade clay Kuthu vilakku along with handmade Kumkum and Manjal pots and some sweets.

After all the planning and shopping, it is only natural for the bride to look tired and stressed. Be relaxed and don't forget your beauty sleep. Also, have lots of fruits and fresh juices like carrot and beetroot juice.