Shradha Bhagchandani

Shradha's beach wedding looks were created by Manish M, Sabyasachi and her all-time favourite designer Shantanu & Nikhil

We both live in Dubai and are born and brought up here. We first met when we were in elementary school, and got to know each other in college in the US. I work for The Nielsen Company and Kunal at Merill Lynch. Our wedding took place at Sheraton, Hua Hin. To read more about our beach wedding click here

Manish Malhotra for Sangeet

For the three main functions, I wanted very distinct looks. I wanted the feel of the Sangeet to be very Bollywood, so I wore a custom designed fuschia lehenga by Manish Malhotra. The lehenga had gold/silver and emerald work. My favorite part of this lehenga was the low back velvet blouse fastened with a brooch. To compliment this outfit I picked a diamond and emerald set from BC Sen Jewellers, Kolkata.

Sabysachi for Pheras

For the pheras, I wanted a traditional look since I was entering on a Doli, but at the same time I wanted something unusual. So I wore a very interesting Sabyasachi lehenga. The skirt was yellow and was paired with a royal blue blouse. The dupatta was rust and the veil rose in color and I loved the combination of colors. I wanted to wear an uncut diamond set with this outfit, but I wanted something that was different to match the unique outfit. We combed through many jewellery stores in Kolkata and found the perfect set. It was a combination of uncut diamonds, filigeree gold balls, south sea pearls, and ruby lites. The ruby lites were a nice contrast against the blue blouse. My bangles and hair piece were designed by a very good friend Vasundhara, who owns a semi-precious jewellery store in Kolkata. I paired this outfit with gold strappy Jimmy Choos. Kunal wore a sherwani paired with a dhoti designed by Just Men in Mumbai.

Reception Lehenga by all-time favorite designer Shantanu & Nikhil

The reception had a very European feel with white dÃÆ’©cor, orchids and roses. I considered wearing a gown, but because I had mehndi on, I picked a very contemporary lehenga by Shantanu & Nikhil. The skirt of this lehenga had a fun feel and was very voluminous. It was a sheer material printed with blue, silver and light lilac patterns, but the white underskirt gave it a white/silvery look. The blouse was a metallic silver blouse, with a white net dupatta which had a combination of antique silver and bright silver motifs. This outfit needed a very modern set. My friend, Anand Datwani, owner of Kyra Jewelers in Dubai designed this. We first picked the shape and the kind of diamonds we wanted (round, pears, marquise). Then a shell was made and we actually got to place the diamonds in different places to get the right look. This is my favorite set as I was involved in its creation. I paired this outfit with two diamond bangles and silver Manolo Blahnik Peep Toe Pumps.

For the Welcome party and youngsters night, I wore an electric custom blue gown designed by Falguni & Shane Peacock. It had their trademark jewels and feather work at the waist. For my mehndi, I wore a light pink Sana Safinaz outfit with an off-white vine crown in my hair. For the Ghadi Pooja, I wore a self designed peach saree. For good luck, I wore my mother’s wedding set – a vintage gold necklace with jhumkas.

Makeup and Hair

There are three decisions that we made during the wedding that I am so glad in restrospect I did. One was picking Mili & Sid for the photos and video. Two was getting married at the Sheraton in Hua Hin (not only is it a gorgeous property, their staff are excellent too) and three was going with Ojas Rajani for my makeup. My mother is an event designer and she asked her friends to suggest a makeup artist who would suit the look I wanted. I love a clean, nude face with focus on the eyes. We heard raving reviews about Ojas. I met Ojas once, and I immediately booked her. She was an absolutely sweetheart during the wedding- and made sure that she gave me very different looks for all the functions.

Wedding Shopping

My style is simple but contemporary (and girlie). So for my trousseau shopping I wanted a mix of dresses, gowns, sarees. I shopped at Ayesha Depala and Monisha Jaisingh for gowns/dresses and Manish Malhotra, Shantanu & Nikhil, Anamika Khana, Sana Safinaz for sarees and suits. I also picked up a few Herve Leger, Alice+Olivia, DvF and Rebecca Taylor pieces from the US.