Niveditha, one of the most prettiest and chirpiest of brides, who works in an UK based Investment bank, talks to Shopzters about her beautiful love cum arranged engagement story. The way she portrays every detail with such excitement is definitely worth mentioning.
My fiancé Atul is the CEO of India’s first spin studio, an indoor cycling arena named “Pedal beat”. Being a fitness freak himself, who loves to run, cycle, participates in marathons, plays golf and what not, swept me off my feet when we met at a friend’s wedding. I happen to be his complete opposite where I love to sing, dance, perform in theatres, the term “opposite poles attract” has become true in our case.
Our love story seems like a very cinematic one. When we met at a mutual friend’s wedding, we did not think of marriage at that point. I was working in Bangalore and he was based in Chennai. We became friends very soon over our conversations and right when it sparked we thought we should take it further with the blessings of our families. Both our parents did not have any reason to deny our proposal and in fact both our families liked each other. The only thing Atul requested of me was to wait for 2 years since he was yet to complete his masters.
Our love sprouted through long drives with the burst of Ilayaraja’s music. We tried different cuisines and went for Margazhi katcheris together. Since both of us were into travelling, we talked more about that. We slowly started supporting each other’s career decisions and that’s when we knew we were chosen for each other. The irony is I still haven’t gotten a proper proposal from him yet. I keep asking about that to him but he is clueless.
Our engagement was destined to be on the 27th of August and later the wedding in July. Most of the preparations for the engagement were done by me. I was working till the day before my engagement and I had to multi-task with the time left. I had a very tiring and hectic time for the past 3 to 4 months but it was totally worth it. I exactly knew what I wanted and so I wanted everything to be on point. Right from decors, accessories and my outfits, I had them selected on my own. My husband, parents and brothers were my major support systems.
Decorations were done by a person called Chandrasekar and his team. I was very skeptical at first but they did a great job replicating my idea. They were very open to all my suggestions and gave me complete freedom in choosing what I like. Everyone believed in me and that was a boost in working out things on time. Everybody complimented on the stage setup and mentioned that it looked brilliant.
Nyanambika catered for my engagement. The food spreads were selected by both our parents. They had a variety of unusual food items and they were very tasty.
The blue saree that I wore was given to me by my dad and it was from @rmkv#. The second saree that was given by my mother-in-law was from Kanchipuram. It was specially woven for me by a weaver called Balakrishnan who has been acquainted with Atul’s family for a very long time.
My purple blouse was designed by @sruthi-kannath#. Everyone loved her intricate designs and art works. She did a fabulous job making that very difficult design in a week’s time. My second blouse was by Sangeetha. She is a very down to earth person who listened to what I wanted and made it as perfect as I imagined it to be.
My makeup was done by @makeup-shabas# and hair was styled by Gopinath. I wanted something very subtle and both the artists went beyond my expectations. They both did amazing jobs even without any trials. I must thank Shopzters for having introduced these two artists to me.
The engagement photography was taken over by @ashokarsh-photography#. Hands down, he is one of the best photographers in town. He is so patient and understood all my needs and did a great job. I felt so comfortable working with him as for me the comfort level is what is more important and the quality of all the pictures are beyond comparison.
My mehendi was done Susheela who is into this business for over 40 years now. Her daughter Harsha accompanied her. They were referred by my mother-in-law. We had a small mehendi event with just our family and friends and all their designs were great and my relatives loved it.
The invite was done by Madhumitha, one of Athul’s cousin. I worked out and gave her the plan, design and content. She is a freelancer who did an amazing job with the output. I wanted something traditional and unique. We also incorporated a small piece of our love story in the invite. Both of us sat down for a week and worked out the invites.
I got most of my gold ornaments and accessories from GRT. Others were from Utharikaa and @queens-jewel-emporium#. The nethi chutti and hip chains were custom-made by Sujatha aunty from @queens-jewel-emporium# and she listened to every one of my needs and did what she promised even at the neck of the moment.
Athul’s outfits were designed by tailors at Fort St.George, a studio in Pondy bazaar. This place was referred by Athul’s dad. The tailors did a fantastic job. The fitting was too good. We took inspirations from Naga Chaitanya’s costumes and tweaked it a bit. Our engagement was a very traditional event and both our outfits were in accordance.
My dad put in so much effort in planning for the seer thattus that has to be kept on stage. He suggested we have a small chariot made out of cardboards to bring in the groom’s clothes. They were designed by Bhavani from RB3 Creations.
The lotus flower garlands that we wore were done by Yoganathan. They seemed very subtle and we loved it. The flower designs on my jadai were done by Suganya Karthikeyan. She had also done a pretty great job.
We had also ordered a cake which was customised by Krithika from Bakeman Begins. The theme was Athul is super busy with his cycling and golfing and I am pulling his legs away.
Athul and I had also arranged an after party for our friends in Boat club and he surprised me by making me open a champagne bottle. It was such a fun night and I would definitely say that it was the most memorable moment of the day.
I actually worked out a lot before my engagement. Even with the little time I had, I invested in working out. To be fit was my goal. I did a lot of running, cycling and it sure gave results. My motto was to eat all I wanted and to work out later.
Not trying to boast but I felt very satisfied after knowing that everything came out so well. A special note of thanks for my parents and my fiancé. The whole event wouldn’t have turned out the way it did if not for them and their constant support and encouragement.
