Diksha Kuhar
Simple and elegant was the mantra for Diksha's wedding trousseau that included designs from Amrita Thakur and Varun Bahl
Diksha Kuhar and Chirag Rakshit met at the Indian School of Business (ISB Hyderabad). “We won a beer chugging contest together on the first day we met and then decided to continue the good times with each other” says Diksha. Their wedding took place at The Galaxy Hotel on NH8 in Gurgaon, in March 2013 and they both live in Delhi. Diksha is a marketing professional and Chirag works with Google.
Diksha writes about her inspirations and wedding day looks.
Sangeet
For the sangeet, I first selected my jewellery and the clothes were designed based on that- I wanted to wear my mother’s gold, diamond and pink ruby set. Designer Amrita Thakur is a close childhood friend and I wanted her to design this outfit for me because she knows my style and I’ve always loved her work. We went with a Lucknowi chikan lehenga in pista green accented with pink borders with Gota work to match the pink rubies of the jewellery. Since the outfit was predominantly pista green, I wanted a dash of more colors, so I wore a pink parandi, hot pink bangles and hot pink nail paint. The light shimmering mukaish work done all over the lehenga further accented the jewellery.
Wedding
For the wedding, I wanted a classic red and gold lehenga. I went with a Varun Bahl style outfit that was traditional in colors and modern in silhouette. The jewellery was antique gold- I often feel brides tend to wear a lot of jewellery on the wedding day and it takes the attention away from their face and natural beauty, so I went minimal with the jewellery with two antique gold pieces in the neck. No big necklace or earrings, a simple nath and a large maangtika, since I love maangtikas.
Makeup and Hairstyle
I had an excellent make-up artist in Umang Vanshika- we discussed all the looks in detail- deciding on the focus being the eyes or lips. For the sangeet, it was smokey eyes for a playful look with a light nude lipstick. I wanted a Punjabi parandi look so my hair was French braided and Rajnigandhas were used to outline the length of the braid till the parandi.
On the wedding day, my eyes were done traditionally with a long 60’s style liner, shades of gold eye-shadow and very long lashes. Since this was muted, I went bold with the lips that were hot red. The hair was tied up at a medium height, just enough to hold the dupatta on the head and the bun was decorated with red roses that were visible through the dupatta. I always felt flowers add that special touch for a special celebration, so I wore them on both days.
Wedding Shopping
I shopped in Bombay, Delhi and Lukhnow. In Bombay, it was Aza and a lot of small designer stores around Juhu. In Delhi, it was South Extension, Karol Bagh, Shahpur Jat and Hauz Khas. My favorite designers are Anamika Khanna, Amrita Thakur, Payal Singhal and Manish Malhotra.
Recommendations for brides-to-be
– Shopping in Bombay is challenging because it mostly has branded stores. A large chunk of trousseau shopping does land up happening from non-branded stores. I feel every bride-to-be should be clear about which style she likes- velvet, anarkali, Patiala suits, chiffon sarees, traditional sarees and then find stores or people accordingly. Word-of-mouth is strong in the bridal industry so ask around for recommendations.
– My other recommendation would be to let the natural beauty shine through when deciding the looks. Very heavy jewellery or outfits don’t let you enjoy the function, nor do people close to you recognize you if you are hidden out under them, so simple is sweet :-)
– Get a good wedding photographer who captures moments you want to remember. Gurpal Singh Datta did a great job with mine. Not too many ‘official’ pictures, but candid moments were amply covered.
WeddingSutra.com and theknot.com
WeddingSutra had become an everyday thing for me for a couple of months before the wedding – for bridal looks, decor ideas, etc. It helps to see what different brides are exploring and gives a lot of ideas for yourself. I was involved in all of the planning for the wedding, so www.theknot.com was also useful as they offer a lot of planning tools that help you stay on track.
