IIM Batchmates To Entrepreneurs To Soul Mates

Dhivya and Ravi met at IIM Lucknow. Their love marriage had all the ceremonies performed, just like any other arranged marriage. Here is the story of their wedding as told by Dhivya.

Every girl would have tons of dreams about how her wedding functions should be. I am no exception. Yes, I have always dreamt of a fascinating wedding and my dreams came true!

Our marriage was a love cum arranged one. Like many love stories, we had our fair share of ups and down and finally overcame them together! We were batch mates in Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow and post which we turned into Entrepreneurs which actually paved way for consent from both the families. Though ours was a love marriage, we had all the ceremonies performed, just like any other arranged marriage.

To start with we had an “Urudhi Vaarthai” function on September 5, 2016. It is a traditional function where the families formally meet each other amidst friends & families and finalise the wedding dates. We had 2 ceremonies, one at my home in Trichy in the morning and the second one at his home in Erode. 4 hours of travel between the places on the same day would have been hectic but for our happiness overcame those. And more importantly, me being a jovial person (chatterbox to be precise) instantly won everyone’s heart (which I came to know later through him) especially my mother – in – law’s. The functions were attended by more than 250 members and turned out to be grander than expected. For both the functions, I had selected sarees from @varamahalakshmi-silks# and Angadi Silks both in Bangalore. Blouses for both the occasions were wonderfully designed by Kaarigiri Boutique in Bangalore. For the jewellery, I had used my Mom’s collections over the years.

We were destined to be life partners on February 16, 2017. As soon as the wedding dates were fixed, the first thing we did was to book the halls both in Erode and Trichy. We had 2 functions in Erode and 1 in Trichy. Lakshmi Duraisamy Mahal in Erode and Sowbhagya Mahal in Trichy were our undoubted choice. Though we had more than 4 months for our wedding, our busy schedule as new Entrepreneurs gave us some tough times. But we somehow managed to pull off time and get things done meticulously.

To start with is the invitation. Our wedding card was specifically designed by Creative Wedding Cards in Chrompet and everyone loved the “Cadbury Bourneville wedding card”.

Our marriage turned out to be the most sought after function in both the families. Ravi and I had many cousin sisters and everyone started preparing for our wedding (just like they were the bride).It was a reunion of the entire family after many years. Our marriage was a “4 velai Kalyanam” which is more common in Erode. 

Now on to the wedding shopping…I being a shopaholic and a perfectionist gave importance to even the tiniest of things in our wedding checklist. From sarees to jewels to flowers to decorations everything was both of our choice. He has a good taste and it helped me a lot (we girls do get confused a lot: P) in selecting everything.

To begin with, are the wedding dresses, I decided to wear sarees for all the functions as I am a sarees lover and always loved the traditional look. My engagement & wedding sarees were from @a-s-babu-sah#, Kancheepuram. My engagement saree is a combination of Blue and Purple with large Mangoes in the border. For wedding I decided to go with a golden saree with shades of pink. For Trichy reception I chose an olive green saree with maroon border from Varamahalakshmi, Kancheepuram. The pink saree worn before engagement was from Prasiddhi Silks, Bangalore. The peach saree which appears like a red one in photographs (the most enquired saree from my FB posts) is from Nakoda, Trichy. Everyone loved all my sarees and I owe that all to my yearlong saree purchase and more importantly my love Ravi for helping me select the best looking sarees.

Kaarigiri Boutique did an amazing job in designing the blouses for my big day. I chose cutwork for wedding and the blouse was a stunner which everyone enquired. I would surely suggest Kaarigiri to anyone who is in Bangalore for their blouses.

Ravi decided to go with Sherwani for reception which was custom made from Kaarigiri Boutique in Bangalore. They did an excellent job by matching the colours for our big day. For Trichy reception, he chose to go with a “made to stitch” suit from P N Rao and Sons.

Weddings would be incomplete without the bride’s jewellery. They enhance the beauty of the bride herself. I have always been a fanatic of Antique jewellery and chose to customize everything for my wedding. Thanks to The Big Shop, Ooty for their collections as well as craftsmanship. I was literally confused as to which ones to choose and which ones to leave behind. Anyways prolonged thinking and trials finally decided my wedding jewellery with my husband’s assistance (he was tired literally). I decided to go for customized diamond jewellery for the engagement and reception and got them custom made from Bangalore in Peacock theme.

Yes, we chose Peacock theme for our Erode functions and Surya decorators did an exemplary job in making the wedding hall looking as beautiful as it could. The wedding garlands were designed by Surya decorators and they matched the decoration as well as our costumes. Flowers were taken care by @shiga-petals#, who matched my saree colour and design in every possible way. Decorations for Trichy reception were also done by Surya decorators and we chose to go for a contemporary one which looked simple and elegant too. Mehendi, kids stalls and seer plate decorations were done by RD decors in trichy.

Now on to the guys who change our looks: P. Yes the makeup artists.

Weddings give everyone the chance to see the hidden queen inside every girl. A makeup artist is the one who reveals that. For my makeup it was undoubtedly the bro duo @make-up-ibrahim# and @makeup-shabas# in my mind. Shabhas took care of my look in Erode, while @gopinath-yashica# was the hair stylist. In Trichy, it was A Ibrahim and Vijayaraghavan who were responsible for my pretty looks and best traditional hair style. With no doubt, they are the best.

Last but not the least, a team that creates memories, 

Yes, the photography team. @my-winks# did a mind blowing job in capturing all the emotions so lively for all the 3 functions. They being a close friend of my husband, it was much easier to get gelled up which clearly showed in our pictures. The marriage was a gala wedding filled with fun and laughter and these guys did not miss even a single frame to capture them so beautifully and naturally. Thanks would be less My Winks photography.

For the brides-to-be, weddings and wedding preparations sure will give a wholesome experience of fun, happiness, excitement, frustration, hectic roaming and many more. My suggestion is to enjoy every single moment and cherish them forever. For weddings happen once in a lifetime, live each moment until you get suffocated with loads and loads of happiness!!!