Today, we bring you a love story that survived distance across different time zones. Shiv and Sowmia give us a new definition for ‘couple goals,’ their wedding speaks loads about the bride’s creativity and the couple’s attachment to their cute little dog who made appearances in the pictures. Here we have the bride talk about her magical journey that made their love stronger.
Hi, I’m Sowmia, Shiv and my family had known each other for a long time but I met only Shiv three years ago when I was visiting my sister in London. We knew instantly that we were meant to be.
However, I went on to complete my masters in Singapore, so ours was a long distance relationship for most part and even through the time difference we watched movies together, ate meals together - all through skype.
The distance made us value what little time we had together. Finally our wedding was fixed and the engagement date was set for December 2015 and the wedding in February 2016.
For the engagement, I wore a lehenga first. This was by designer Astha Narang who has stores in Delhi and Ahmedabad. I researched her clothes online and I placed my order through WhatsApp, so I never actually saw the dress until 2 days before my engagement.
The second dress was a red Kanchipuram saree from Sarangi in Chennai. For the lehenga, I bought my jewellery from PMJ Jewellers Hyderabad and my footwear from Angasutra, also in Hyderabad. '
For the red saree, I bought the long chain from Shree Raj Jewellers in Hyderabad.I also bought my wedding Jewellery from there. I had visited their stall in an exhibition in Coimbatore and I really loved their patterns, which is why I went to Hyderabad to buy my jewellery and it was completely worth it.
For the pre-wedding, I wore a blue ShyamaI & Bhumika saree. I ordered this through WhatsApp as well and the sales rep in touch with me was highly professional and the blouse had an impeccable fit. I got material and borders from Nalli and made bridesmaid sarees for my friends.
For the wedding, Shiv wanted me to wear orange, and @mahaveers-the-silk-peopleclothing# custom made a saree for me with Vana Sringara design. Thanks to Paras uncle, I was able to design the saree - border, pallu, colour and the ply count for the zari to my liking. I chose to keep my blouse plain with a high neck at the back so that the saree will stand out.
I did most of Shiv's shopping too, so I was able to co-ordinate our clothes. I really recommend going to exhibitions and looking at what different shops have to offer, because when it comes to wedding shopping it really helped me have a better picture of what I wanted and where I could find it. Also try to follow different designers online and for brides on a budget, there are many local tailors who will help you achieve a similar dress without ripping you off.
My blouses for the engagement, wedding and my Mehndi lehenga were made by Flair Designer, RS Puram, Coimbatore. She has made my blouses since my first blouse for my farewell in school and I love her fit and tasteful work.
I was not particular about Mehendi, but since you get married only once I decided to go for it. I looked for inspirations online and incorporated tower bridge and the London Eye into the design as I was going away to live in London.
For the engagement, the decorator was Backdrop Events from Ramnagar Coimbatore. Aparnaa Nagaraj made sure that the stage was exactly what I wanted right to the tiniest details- right from the Ivy to the light bulbs. I went to the hall at 6 in the morning on the day of my engagement and I was blown away by the stage.
The wedding was in a village called Thabbacombai near Kotagiri in the groom's house. Shiv's family has been so liberal with me and they even let me design the stage for the wedding. I was inspired by my in-laws’ wedding. There is a picture of their wedding reception sitting outside their house in the village, and I wanted a similar backdrop for the wedding. Seeraj from Ooty helped put my vision to form.
Together we sourced old doors with the frame, windows and roof tiles to create a village house. We even added a light bulb and flower garlands above the door to make it realistic. If you are from Ooty, Seeraj is the person to call. He is reasonable, wants to try new things and always up to the challenge.
For my makeup, I contacted Jaanmoni Das from Kochi. She did my make up for the engagement as well as the wedding. She's a pro and my only worry was about getting her date. For the photography, I always knew that @the-memory-writers# will be the ones capturing all the beautiful moments at my wedding.
We had a small Mehndi function at home in Kotagiri with close friends and family, 2 days before the wedding. I wore a floral lehenga made for me by Flair Designer, RS Puram, Coimbatore.
My dog Buddhi is my lifeline and a part of my family and we tried to include him as much as possible in the celebrations. As with any Badaga wedding, there was plenty of dancing, and we had tribal music band playing for us. The pictures tell the story of the amount of fun we had.
I recommend joining dance or aerobics before the wedding as the exercise really gives you a glow. Also, I have found that not eating after 6 in the evening makes you look fresh and prevents puffy eyes even if you stay up late.
For our honeymoon, we went to Marrakech, Morocco couple of months after our wedding. We stayed at the Riad
