Kajal Fabiani and Gaurav Assomull to marry in Monte Carlo

Sep 30, 2010 Celeb Weddings to Watch out for

Society darlings Kajal Fabiani and Gaurav Assomull are marrying in March 2011.  And their Destination Wedding is in Monte Carlo. Says Kajal who runs Villa 39, the fine dining restaurant in Colaba, Mumbai: “It took us a lot of efforts to find the right venue for our intimate celebration. We’ve more or less finalised the finer details, but at this point, we’d like to keep it private and a surprise experience for all our guests.”

Gaurav grew up in England and now runs a Mumbai/ Delhi based business. The glamorous couple first met as children and a decade later they met through common friends in London. After dating for a while, Gaurav surprised Kajal with a proposal at the Royal Albert Hall.

Around 500 guests are expected to attend what is likely to be the most exotic Indian Wedding at an International locale. And the Wedding in the unique fairytale country, is sure to be a unique experience for all the privileged guests.

Tags: Destination Weddings, Gaurav Assomull, Kajal Fabiani, Monte Carlo, Villa 39

Why is everyone giving you “Beauty Advice”?

Sep 30, 2010 Fashion & Bridal Wear

By Rod Anker
Experts are always giving you Beauty or Hair advice; why you should follow Routine X, use Product Y or spend on Service Z. So what do you hear when you interact with a Beauty or Hair expert? Quite likely you’ll be told “your hair is rough”, “your scalp is too dry” or “your skin needs urgent help”. Frankly, I believe such ‘negative’ remarks (bordering on insult) do not help sell or a build rapport between the so-called experts and their clients; in fact they do the exact opposite.

I am the Creative Director at kimrobinson, an international brand that is known for excellence in hair, for making people look and feel the very best they can be. We don’t tell our clients or the media whose hair we do, which VVIP just came in to our salon; such information, we believe, makes no difference to you. If we meet, I’ll obviously not talk about my Celebrity clients or what I do with their hair. Nor will I tell you what is wrong with your hair, scalp or style or what you should buy. I will tell you to continue doing or using what has worked for you, and advise on the things you or we can do to improve what we already have to get a better result.

We are a premium brand, with the best products, the best staff and the best service- but we also believe we don’t need to sell a premium product every time a client visits us. In fact I believe many people have too many products in their shelves. If there is a need I will be the first to let you know. Sometimes small changes and small alterations make a big difference. So remember, regardless of what so called ‘experts’ say or recommend, time-consuming treatments or premium products are not an essential ingredient of ‘looking fashionable’ or ‘feeling beautiful’. What is more important is being happy with what you have, and making the most of it!

Tags: Beauty, Beauty Advice, Experts, Hair, Hair advice, kimrobinson, rod anker

The Great Indian Wedding and The CommonWealth Games

Sep 27, 2010 Marriage & Wedding Trends, Wedding People & Planners

Delhi’s Chief Minister, Sheila Dikshit, not very long ago compared preparing for the games as preparing for a great Indian wedding. Replying to a question about projects running late, she stated that it is like weddings in India where everything in the beginning is chaotic and unorganized but later everything ends well; the baraatis go satisfied and happy with all the arrangements. Is that really the way Big or Small Weddings typically happen in India? WeddingSutra spoke to UK and India based Wedding Planner Anita Patel on how Wedding Planning in India is different from Wedding Planning in the West.

Huge Creative Talent, but different Efficiency Levels
Having worked in the international circuit in weddings for some time there is a vast difference in the styles of the East and the West. There is an enormous amount of creative talent in India; however the on-ground vendors lack the organisational and efficiency levels of the West. The actual working processes are harder in India due to the internet not being as fully utilised as much as in the UK. In India if I send an email to a vendor, I have to telephone and tell them check their email, defeating the purpose of email. The exact opposite is in UK- in most instances vendors respond within an hour.

The Written Word
There are many key differences in the planning process between two countries. Brides in UK want to see everything in writing. Contracts are prevalent for all venues and vendors, and clients like to see what is included and what is not, so it is easier for them to identify what else they need to get organised in addition to what the venue will provide.

Emotional Ties
Both in India and abroad, venues have a much friendlier approach with a wedding client as it is not like a corporate client where there is no emotional tie to the occasion.

Personal Attention
Unfortunately, even the most professional Hotels in India, lack personal attention to enquiries—so typically proposals for weddings are all standard ‘templates’. This is not the case in UK, where more time is spent in the proposal preparation stage, and this ensures a higher success rate of conversions.

WeddingSutra Editor’s view
Anita Patel’s view on the high creative levels and lower efficiency of Indian vendors makes for an insightful comment. But we believe wedding venues and vendors in India are forced to behave differently— because Indian clients are very different too; they often call up twenty different venues or vendors to get the best possible deal. Sometimes they spend a lot of time and get loads of information from one party, and in case they aren’t hiring their services, they don’t even bother to inform them about their final decision.

‘Idea shopping’- Many clients spend a lot of time with vendors, knowing well that they can’t afford their services. This forces vendors to look at clients with ‘suspicion’ and not part with the best samples of their work.

‘We can do it better’: Clients typically prefer to outsource creative work only—like decor and design, but don’t want to pay too much money for organising or communication kinda work—like RSVP ing, Vendor Checklists, Travel and Transport Coordination and Help Desks. People in the West will be surprised to learn that the logistics/ coordination aspects in the Weddings hosted by big business or corporate head honchos are not managed by Wedding Planners but by the hosts office staff; for a fortnight or upto a few months, the staff ignore important business work and concentrate all their time and energies on the Big Boss’ wards wedding.

All ‘Last-minute’: As most clients are busy getting quotes from other vendors, the chosen one is informed in the last-minute, when there is little time for detailed proposals or written documentation.

As Delhi’s Chief Minister so rightly described it, “all is well’ in the last minute at Weddings. We pray the same is the case with the Commonwealth Games too!

Tags: Anita Patel, Commonwealth Games, Creative Talent, Efficiency, india, Organisational, Talent, Tania Tapel, The Great Indian Wedding, Wedding Planners, Wedding Planning

Designer duo Abhi and Rahul’s “Mughal princess” collection

Sep 21, 2010 Bridal Shows & Wedding Exhibitions, Fashion & Bridal Wear

Designer duo Abhi and Rahul chose Mughal princess Zeb-un-Nissa as their muse for the latest line from their label ‘Abhirahul’. The bridal line was full of gorgeous silks, velvets and khadi– in colours like orange, maroon, burgundy to emerald, pink, beige and white.

The glamorous showstopper was Bollywood actress, Anjana Sukahni star of Golmaal Returns in a red glittering narrow lehenga, choli and dupatta.

Tags: Abhi and Rahul, Abhirahul, Bridal Line, Lakme Fashion Week

Manish Malhotra shows Bridal line at Lakme Fashion Week

Sep 21, 2010 Bridal Shows & Wedding Exhibitions, Fashion & Bridal Wear

Bollywood’s Badshah of glitz and glamour, Manish Malhotra closed the fourth day with a beautiful bridal line at Lakmé Fashion Week Winter/Festive 2010. With Preity Zinta, Rani Mukherjee, Priyanka Chopra and other celebrities in the audience, Manish delivered a vibrant bridal collection in shades of blue, red and black peppered with heavy embroidery, zari, crystals, sequins and brocade.

We are so lusting after the deep blue wispy ghagara with gold choli and red dupatta. And the high-necked olive anarkali with glittery detail looks so regal!

Tags: Anarkali, Bridal collection, Lakme Fashion Week, Manish Malhotra

Shyamal & Bhumika’s ‘Bejewelled’ spells Opulence

Sep 21, 2010 Bridal Shows & Wedding Exhibitions, Fashion & Bridal Wear

Shyamal & Bhumika’s collection titled “Bejewelled” was inspired by Maharajas and their grandeur. On display were heaviest of velvets, lots of silk nets, gold lame and brocades– in jewel tones like bright red, sangria, plum, wine, emerald green, gold ochre and champagne beige.

Our top picks from the show- the heavily embroidered maroon lehenga with dep red dupatta and beige choli; and the splendid red and green sari that Sunidhi Chauhan walked the ramp in.

The highpoint of the show was the ramp walk by dapper music directors, Salim and Sulaiman– the former in a red dhoti salwar and cream bundgala and the latter in a blue heavily embroidered sherwani.

Tags: Lakme Fashion Week, Lehenga, Salim and Sulaiman, Sari, Shyamal and Bhumika, Sunidhi Chauhan

Payal Singhal celebrates 10 years of her label at LFW

Sep 20, 2010 Bridal Shows & Wedding Exhibitions, Fashion & Bridal Wear

It was celebration time for Payal Singhal at the Lakmé Fashion Week Winter/ Festive 2010. The designer’s label turned 10 and her collection was inspired by some of her best-selling silhouettes from the last few years peppered. We saw her signature style bling and no surprises here– but she delivers a very sellable collection.

Tags: Lakme Fashion Week, Payal Singhal, Silhouettes

Satya Paul’s Tarot Line for Brides debuts at LFW

Sep 20, 2010 Bridal Shows & Wedding Exhibitions, Fashion & Bridal Wear

Designer Puneet Nanda of label ‘Satya Paul’ drew inspiration from famed tarot symbols like Empress, Lovers, Wands and Chariots for his bridal collection for Lakme Fashion Week Festive/Winter 2010. For us it was a mixed big with some gorgeous sarees especially the blue toned silk sari with dazzling border and long sleeved black net choli that Shruti Haasan walked the ramp in. And then there were some that brought back happy memories of Madhuri Dixit dancing to “Didi Tera Dewar…”!!

Tags: Bridal collection, Lakme Fashion Week, Puneet Nanda, Satya Paul, Shruti Haasan

Nandita Thirani’s ‘Flor De Luna’ offers interesting pieces for the bride

Sep 19, 2010 Bridal Shows & Wedding Exhibitions, Fashion & Bridal Wear

Nandita Thirani presented a collection of chiffons, silks and velvets called “Flor De Luna” in Spanish for “Moonflower”, with the pretty blossom appearing as a motif on all the garments. Loved the beautifully draped dhoti pants, the high collared tunics/ jackets, and  free flowing kurtas.

Tags: Bridal, Bride, Lakme Fashion Week, Nandita Thirani

Anupama Dayal thrills us with her bridal collection at LFW

Sep 19, 2010 Bridal Shows & Wedding Exhibitions, Fashion & Bridal Wear

After a day full of contemporary and resort wear,  Anupama Dayal thrilled us with a dazzling and glamorous collection titled “Bronze Begum” at Lakmé Fashion Week Winter/Fashion 2010 . Inspired by the Mughal jewels and the crafts of Rajasthan, Anupama used zardozi, gotta and striking metallic embellishments along with the ikats and brocades. The color palette included rustic ivory to the deep green, azure blues, shocking pink, red and ruby which were popular during the Mughal times. Brides have plenty of silhouettes to chose from -from shararas, and anarkali kurtas to sarees and lehengas.

Tags: Anarkali Kurtas, Anupama Dayal, Anupamaa, Bridal, Bride, Brocade, Colors, Gotta, Ikat, Lakme Fashion Week, Lehengas, Sarees, Shararas, Silhouettes, Zardozi