Shalini Rajput
Royal, Elegant and Glamorous - Shalini puts together three stunning looks with panache
By Jaspreet Soni
Shalini Rajput from London was visiting India for a family friends wedding when she met Sumit Sachdeva. They started talking and it did not take long for them to realize that they wanted to be with each other forever. They got married in Delhi this year in a celebration that oozed elegance.
Shalini wanted very different looks for each function but all with the same understatement elegant and royal.
Fairy Tale Beige Peach Gown for Cocktail
Shalini wore a dreamy fairy tale gown complete with a long veil for her cocktail, designed by Rimple and Harpreet Narula who are known for their imperial touch. She says, I had to do lot of research beforehand because I was living in London and visiting Delhi for short intervals. I spent a lot of time on Wedding Sutra and asked friends for recommendations. For my cocktail, I wanted to look like a Princess in all her opulence, and it was finally a Rimple and Harpreet Narula creation that caught my fancy. This gown had a beautiful bronze, copper and silver corset which was nipped in the waist followed by a voluminous net skirt with gold printed material underneath adding the texture and tone of colors. The waist was adorned with orange and coral color flowers that were three dimensional and not embedded. The flowers had Swarovski and a big diamante gem in between. The same flowers were used on the veil as well. We even had the coral flowers on the cake to match the dress.”Shalini wore diamonds and emeralds gifted by her in-laws and complimented the ensemble with Chanel bag and Chanel shoes. Her hairs were kept straight with small loose curls at the ends. The Make-up was by Susan of Plum. Adds Shalini: For the at-home functions before the wedding, Kala from Ambika Pillai Studio made me look my best and her work was fabulous.”
Rohit Bal Navy Blue Velvet Anarkali for Sangeet
For the Sangeet, Shalini wanted to look simple yet smart, different from her Princess look in the cocktail. She says, “Rohit Bal navy blue anarkali with jodhpuri trousers was just perfect. It was traditional yet the fitting was amazing. With just the right amount of flare waist downwards that was accentuated due to jodhpuri trousers. The high-collar neck anarkali had short puffed-out sleeves to give a nice volume to the shoulders. I used a net dupatta with the same border as on the anarkali instead of the crinkled one to give it a more formal look. Ojas Rajani did a fabulous job with make-up and hairs, just the way I wanted it- smoky eyes and rich pinkish peaches look. Shalinis accessories for the Sangeet- a kundan polki jewellery set, Louis Vuitton bag and Jimmy Choo shoes.
Tarun Tahiliani Lehenga for Wedding
Shalini wanted to look royal and ethnic but not have too many layers and bold prints because they tend to take away the concentration from your face. And she thought Tarun was the right choice to incorporate her sensibilities. She says, “We collaborated to design a beautiful fuchsia pink lehenga with around 16 panels. Each panel was of a different color ranging from baby pink, peach to coral creating different hues. It used about 12 different colors all pastel otherwise this lehenga would have looked really bland. It had stone work with kundan, threaded embroidery, emblems at the bottom of the skirt with rich kundan work and gold leaf work as well. It was actually the detailing that made me fall in love with it. The border at the bottom was scalloped and made the lehenga look even more beautiful.”
The waist border had heavy kundan work, fuchsia pink thread work and red rubies hanging all the way. The blouse was heavy but customized with light net sleeves to balance the bling and was held together at the back with ruby strings. Says Shalini: “It originally had a peach dupatta but it was dulling down the outfit. So I decided to go for deep fuchsia pink instead. There were two dupattas one that was heavy and draped in Gujarati style and second on my head which was light with a border. The waist belt in rubies pulled together the entire trousseau.” Shalini picked her kaleerein (traditional accessories tied to a punjabi bride’s bangles) from Kyles Collection, London. Polki kundan jewellery and Jimmy Choo bag and shoes further enhanced her elegance quotient.
