My Best Friend Dhwani’s Wedding
Bride Dhwani and her bridesmaids strike a pose in some of WeddingSutra’s favourites
Call it the girl-gang, the mod-squad, the cute-crew, having your besties by your side at the most important times in your life is an unparalleled feeling.
When Bride Dhwani told us of her delight at having her childhood friends as bridesmaids for her winter wedding in Jaipur this year, WeddingSutra decided to treat the dream team to a makeover, ensemble, so they could prep for her big day!
The bride and her bridesmaids were invited to spend a day at the luxurious Bridal Suite at the Renaissance hotel, Mumbai that overlooks Powai Lake. As they marveled at the scenic view and explored the spacious duplex, Dhwani loved what she saw, “A beautiful duplex loft with ample light, a spacious bathroom and huge mirrors… what more could a bride ask for!” Team WeddingSutra smiled as they sweetened the moment with Le15 Patisserie macaroons.
Jean-Claude Biguine Team at work at the Duplex Suite at Renaissance Mumbai
Dhwani is the first of their squad to tie the knot, so her friends – Chaiti, Anushree, Bhavna, Pratishtha, Jinal and Heeta – were super excited at the prospect of this rehearsal with WeddingSutra’s panel of experts.
The morning began with the bride surprising her girl gang with personalized invitation kits in Wrapstar gift boxes. Of course, our photographer Shreya Sen was poised to capture the moment. Amid girlie chatter and stifled squeals, the bridesmaids picked their outfits from Yashodhara’s summer collection of lehengas, anarkalis, crop tops and capes in pastel tints and sorbet shades – mint, serenity blue, blush peach and coral.
The intricate spring summer details on the bridesmaids’ lehengas by Yashodhara
Floral customized bridesmaids gift boxes by Wrapstar
The stunning red lehenga with bird and floral motifs by Yashodhara for bride Dhwani
The uncut diamond set by Ghanasingh Fine Jewels (Kamlesh Hemdev Group
Bridal clutches by Clutch’d
Contemporary jewellery by Aé-Tee Designs
The bride-to-be chose tradition and heritage in red and gold. Chaiti was thrilled with the pastels while Prathistha admitted, “I always go for brighter shades at weddings. I never thought baby pink could look so pretty!” Jinal was spellbound by her perfectly fitting lehenga and cape in pastel blue. Anushree remarked that she’d imagined her lehenga to be much heavier, but it was comfortable and easy to wear. Heeta chose a cape blouse in mint teemed with a blush peach lehenga while Bhavna’s “extremely stylish” layover anarkali complemented her body type and had her smiling through the day. “It feels so glamourous,” she’d whispered to our team as the Jean Claude Biguine experts took over and worked their magic.
It was their first experience with professional hair and make-up services so the girls just gaped at each other in glee as team Jean-Claude Biguine deftly transformed them. “Abhilasha has great vision!” said Dhwani, who loved the fact that each of her bridesmaids retained a unique look while still maintaining a certain consistency. And she acquiesced to the team’s expertise, “I was a bit surprised when she chose a glittery smokey look with bold lips for me, as I thought it unusual for a bridal look. But, when I wore my lehenga, it looked grand. I have never seen myself glowing like this before!”
Bride-to-be Dhwani flips through ‘Style Unveiled’ by Canvera
The bride loved the range of bridal jewellery from Ghanasingh Fine Jewels as she carefully sifted through the wide range made available for the shoot. “It was the highlight of my look. Everything was absolutely gorgeous; from the maang teeka and the necklace to the earrings and bangles. I plan to wear the uncut diamond set for my wedding, and this gave me a perfect idea of the kind of jewellery I should buy, in terms of colour and size.” Dhwani’s bridesmaids picked bling by Aé-Tee Designs, and clutches by Clutch’d to accessorize their ensembles.
Finally it was the moment they’d all been prepping for… the photo session. Photographer Shreya Sen had already put the girls at ease, shooting candid images as they worked out their looks, so the girls were very comfortable with her. Shreya took charge of her subjects, directing them to the spaces where events planner and décor diva Gurleen M Puri had set up blocks for the photo shoot.
“We have played dress up together as children, and this shoot is a live version of it,” Prathishta mused, slightly misty-eyed. “Every bride should spend a day like this with her bridesmaids,” said Heeta. “It almost seems like the wedding is really happening today,” Chaiti grinned, “Calling this experience fantastic would be an understatement!”
While this had been an exciting day for the friends, it was also an emotional one. The girls bonded as they relived childhood memories and joked around with the WeddingSutra team, but it had slowly begun to sink in that one of them would soon step out of this girlie clique into a new world of her own. They each expressed how glad they were for this experience of spending the day with her, together, making a memory richer and deeper than a set of duckface selfies on a night out. “We’ll be talking about this day and cherishing these moments long after Dhwani’s big day,” they agreed.
“This shoot was the best wedding gift I could ask for!” Dhwani beamed, glowing from the all the love of her tribe (and a little help from our experts), “I now know what it feels like to be a WeddingSutra bride!”
Location- Renaissance Mumbai Convention Centre Hotel
Outfits- Yashodhara
Bride’s Jewellery- Ghanasingh Fine Jewels (Kamlesh Hemdev Group) Bridesmaids’ Jewellery- Aé-Tee
Makeup and Hairstyling- Abhilasha Singh and team for Jean-Claude Biguine India
Accessories Partner- Clutch’d
Bridesmaid Gift Boxes- Wrapstar
Gifting Partner- Le15 Patisserie
Bridal Bouquets and Decor- Gurleen M Puri
Shoot Management- Tejal Karlekar, Urvi Sethi, Neelam Lakhani and Dipti Satwani
Photobook Partner- Canvera
Photography- Shreya Sen Photography
Getting married in 2017? Would you like to be a part of My Best Friend’s Wedding Shoot? Write to us at editor@weddingsutra.comwith your name, link to your FB profile and wedding date.
*Location and Date– to be decided, Cities– Mumbai/ Delhi/ Bangalore
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