Monica Singh
From Delhi to Chennai, California based Monica Singh goes shopping for her trousseau with a little help from WeddingSutra
Monica and her husband Sri met in 2010 when she relocated to New York from California. “We both happened to meet at a Lounge while out with our friends during Saint Patrick’s weekend in New York. Interestingly, we bumped into each other a few weeks later and from then on our friendship turned into something even more beautiful. Four years later, here we are, happily married.”
Monica and Sri’s wedding took place in Chennai. The wedding was a traditional Tamil Iyengar wedding and the functions included an intimate mehndi ceremony, the engagement and sangeet, the wedding and post-wedding reception. Here, she talks about her wedding shopping journey and style inspirations.
Wedding Shopping Right after my wedding date was fixed, I started my research by browsing through WeddingSutra and many other fashion and beauty sites. I meticulously looked at several designers’ collections and real brides’ photos, and based on that I felt it was best to travel to India to purchase all my wedding clothes. As per my research, I was clear I wanted ensembles that were unique and elegant, and without heavy embroidery. Another important factor was that everything should be lightweight so I could move around freely and stay comfortable.
I had mentally shortlisted the colours I wanted for the functions. For the sangeet and mehndi, I had my mind set on colourful and vibrant colours like bright pink, green, coral and yellow. For the reception I was clear I wanted blue, I always feel that colour looks fabulous on my skin tone, so I was in search of a velvet blue lehenga.
Wedding Outfits
My mother and I went to Delhi and I had all the areas mapped out before arriving there. We visited many designer and multi-designer stores. While scouting around on my fourth day there, I met a to-be-bride who recommended a label named ‘Saaj’ by designer Ankita Chaudhry. She mentioned that I might love her designs, and so I decided to make a quick visit to ‘Saaj’. As soon as I entered their store, I saw some great options for all the functions. I saw a beautiful bright pink and blue lehenga paired with a green dupatta. I fell in love with it more after trying it on, so I immediately confirmed it with a customized blouse. Next, I found a knee-length bright pink and yellow lehenga which I felt would be perfect for my mehndi.
And then I saw a beautiful blue and gold lehenga for the reception. Later, I customized it by adding more work on the dupatta, velvet material on the lehenga and heavier embroidery on the blouse. I was relieved and glad that I liaised with only one designer for all my outfits, it made the overall process so much easier!
For the wedding, I needed five to six sarees as it was a traditional Tamil Brahmin ceremony. My in-laws purchased these several months before the wedding at Chennai’s leading shops like Nalli Silks, Sundari and Palam Silks. I face-timed with my husband to choose some of the colours and designs and then my sister-in-law and mother-in-law had the blouses designed with kundan embroidery and the ensembles were matched with gorgeous temple jewellery.
Sri coordinated all his outfits with me. He wore a bright blue suit to compliment my sangeet outfit. For the reception, he wore a black suit with a dark blue bow tie to match my blue lehenga.
Makeup Artist- Thuy Denise Dinh
My makeup and hair artist, Thuy Denise Dinh is from Vancouver, Canada but works in India during the peak wedding season. I loved her work, she is extremely talented and she knew the look I desired. Im so grateful to her, for she made me feel at ease at every occasion and I trusted her work completely.
Photos courtesy: Romesh Dhamija Productions {Photo & Films}
