Devangi Nishar
When fashionista Devangi planned her bridal trousseau, she knew every outfit had to be sensational. She succeeded by roping in top designers and adding her own creativity
Devangi Nishar, director of boutique fashion chain Aza Fashions and a Wharton graduate married Saharsh Parekh, son of Kolkata-based stockbroker Utsav Parekh in February this year. The grand event took place at the The Ritz Carlton, Grand Canal in Abu Dhabi, in the UAE.
Wedding Venue
The sprawling green gardens, fountains and architecture of luxurious The Ritz Carlton, Grand Canal were inspired by Venetian structures and provided perfect backdrops for the lavish three-day wedding which saw numerous events conducted in its spacious environs. The 57-acre hotel boasts of a stunning water view and offers the bliss of its own pristine private beach near the azure waves of the Persian Gulf
Wedding Looks
Devangi’s outfits were customised according to the eclectic themes of each wedding ceremony. Here the bonafide fashionista shares the inspiration behind every theme, her outfits and versatile make-up looks.
Mehndi
Theme: Rang De Basanti
“I wanted to be in sync with the fun and colourful theme for my mehndi ceremony so I chose a funky Manish Arora lehenga with kitschy colors like neon green, yellow, pink and orange with gold embroidery and 3D flowers. I went edgy with a gold rexin neckpiece and matched it with gold floral earrings and a ‘kada’ (bracelet). I styled my hair in a high ponytail and my make-up was done by Mickey Contractor.”
Sangeet
Theme: Bling it on!
“I wanted to up the drama and Bollywood quotient for this event. I had seen Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla’s red stone work over green fabric on one of their choli’s earlier. I got the same work done all over my green lehenga since I wanted it to be an extreme Bollywood-inspired bejewelled outfit. The outfit weighed over 18kgs, and since it was difficult to keep everything in place, the designers turned the choli into a body suit and kept an attached dupatta with their signature 3D ruffles running from one shoulder to the bottom of my lehenga. My make-up look was dark statement eyes with Bollywood-style curls. I wore jadau jewellery but avoided heavy pieces since the outfit was already very blingy. The event couldn’t have been more ‘Bollywood-ish’ with hit singer Mika performing that night.”
Black Tie Affair
Theme: Palace of Illusions
“I wanted to go very dramatic for this event and was keen to wear something that nobody has ever seen before. I selected this gold Gaurav Gupta couture gown with a striking ruffled bottom and a gold and silver embroidered bodice. What was truly impressive about this ensemble was its structured shoulders, one of which had a swan structure standing tall on its own. The outfit was so huge when packed in a box that I was stopped at customs and questioned about it! I had to explain it to the customs officers that it was one of my wedding outfits! I accessorised with diamond earrings and a gold cuff. The event saw some illusion artists and aerobatics teams perform in the evening.”
Pool Party
Theme: Fire and Ice
“I was ‘fire’ and my fiance was ‘ice’ for this fun event. Designer Nikhil Thampi created a red gown for me with a beautiful golden flare skirt underneath. It was the perfect Indo-Western outfit and had a one-shoulder dupatta in gold. I asked Nikhil to add a metal waist belt to the outfit and accessorised with metal cuffs by Isharya. I went low key with make-up and flaunted a wet hair look. My fiance was ‘ice’ and wore a blue outfit specially designed by Kunal Rawal with reflective fabric which would flash and reflect light in photos.”
Wedding
“I wanted to move away from the traditional red for my wedding. So I sat down with ace designer Manish Malhotra to work on something unusual for my pheras. He made a purple-ish wine creation for me with a wedding story hand sewn on it in gold. It included wedding ceremonies like the baraat, doli and dancing. The lehenga was a high-waisted skirt – and the unique aspect about it was that it came with two dupattas – one which I draped around my torso, and one over my head (this was quite heavy so I took it off after the pheras). I wore jadau jewellery with it made by our local jeweller.”
Mumbai Reception
“I wanted to go traditional for the reception but did not want embroidery all over the lehenga. So I got a blue velvet Sabyasachi lehenga with huge jharokhas atop majestic elephants on the kalis. I teamed it with a pink velvet choli with zardosi work and a beige dupatta, and accessorised with jadau jewellery with pink stones to match the choli. The dupatta had handmade badla work from Benaras. I got a dark eyeliner winged make-up look for this event.”
Advice for brides-to-be: “Plan each outfit with hair and make up in advance so you have a distinct look for each event. Have fun with styling your looks!”
Photos Courtesy- The Wedding Story
