月別アーカイブ: 2015年6月

Wedding destinations

Destination weddings were once preferred by the creme de la creme, or so we thought. But today, many couples prefer to choose picturesque locations, thanks to the pocket-friendly budgets that wedding planners offer. With couples wanting only a select few family members and friends to be part of their big day, destination weddings have become the best option. Some of the popular destinations include Thailand, Greece, Bali, Seychelles, Paris, Miami, Rome and Sri Lanka.

Soraya Homchuen, director of tourism authority of Thailand, says, “There has been a gradual increase in the number of Indian weddings taking place in Thailand. Initially, a lot of couples from north India preferred destination weddings. Of late, more and more south Indian couples also go for it. We get a lot of couples from Chennai and Hyderabad and there has been a 10% increase from those coming from south India. Thailand also attracts couples looking for a luxury wedding, and for those who want weddings within a certain budget. Places like Bangkok, Pattaya, Phuket and Krabi are preferred locations.”

With almost 200 Indian weddings happening in Thailand on a yearly basis, Soraya says that there are several Indian florists, caterers and even wedding planners, who help couples plan the perfect wedding there. She says, “Thailand has a lot of Indian residents. Though there are wedding planners from India who travel to Thailand, we have a lot of resident wedding planners as well. One doesn’t have to feel like they are in the dark about having a traditional Indian wedding. We have also had 100 to 500 guests travelling from India for weddings. But mostly, we have seen a smaller crowd as couples prefer it to be that way,” says Soraya.

Get your makeup right

picture: cheap bridesmaids dressesThere is a long list of things that the bride and groom have to decide on. Makeup artist Cory Walia suggests that the couple put down an exhaustive list of things to do before they start off. “Based on the weather conditions of the venue of the wedding, the makeup has to be decided. Brides want makeup for different events. However, it is important keep in mind the occasion (for instance, sangeet or party) and the climate in mind. If she’s looking at having a pool party, it needs to be waterproof. Every look has to be decided in advance to avoid any confusion at the last minute. Since it will be in a different place altogether, it is important to stay focused on your D-Day,” says Cory.

Elaborating on the trends, he says, “When it comes to lip colours, hues of bright pinks, orange, coral and red are preferred. Of late, a lot of brides prefer wine and deep burgundy for their big day. For hairstyles, most of them are Bollywood driven. Though brides ask me for the latest trends, wedding makeup is not about the trend. The whole focus is on the bride. So, it is best to go with what they are comfortable with.”

Wedding films

Apart from candid photography, wedding films are now gaining popularity. Wedding filmmaker Vishal Punjabi says, “A lot of couples prefer wedding films, thanks to media exposure. These days, the entire cost of your wedding is close to the production value of a Karan Johar film,” he laughs, adding, “There is romance, drama and emotion that you find in a wedding. This eventually becomes the story for your film.” With exotic locations lending interesting backdrops, wedding films turn out richer. But they shouldn’t be staged, says Vishal. “We shoot with couples, who open up to us. We don’t follow a script or make them act as everything has to flow naturally. Even when you are watching the film after several years, it will be a memorable one. So, when we speak to the couple they don’t even know where the cameras are.” However, Vishal also points out that wedding films are an expensive affair. “You need good software to make your wedding film look great. For instance, we spend a lot of time editing, making music instead of opting for Bollywood tunes. Since we have the best in each department, it calls for a lot of money. But couples don’t seem to mind.”

Sari draping gets a twist

When sari draper Dolly Jain started draping saris as a hobby, she played around only with a few styles. Over the years, Dolly learnt as many as 225 styles. “The reason I am in this profession today is because no one really wears a sari often. Years ago, saris were the only outfit that most women wore. However, today young girls don’t prefer wearing one and find it difficult to carry it off. But a sari is a very comfortable garment and a great deal depends on how you drape it. Brides today want it simple and easy. Not many like to wear it on an in-skirt. They wear it on leggings, miniskirts and even on jeans. Trends like wearing a sari with a crop top or a shirt have become popular. Though it can’t be worn for the traditional ceremony, you can play around with these styles when it’s for a sangeet or a wedding party. Some of the latest crazes are combining two saris or adding glam with a dupatta. Waist accessories have also become increasingly popular these days. Even sari pins have been upgraded to sari magnets, so that the saris can be saved from rends caused by the pin. The trick to carry off a sari is simple — wear what suits your body frame. You will automatically feel comfortable,” says Dolly, while adding that there are at least 40 styles reserved for the south Indian sari drape!

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A wedding tradition that we can totally get on board with.

There comes a certain time in a woman’s life when your weekends are either spent sipping an unnatural coloured cocktail through a penis straw while watching an oiled up (and rather short? Always so short) stripper with a cubic zirconia stud in his ear gyrate in front of great-aunt Beryl. Or sitting in someone’s kitchen drinking orange juice and champagne as a bride-to-be opens up an assortment of serving platters.

We’re talking about wedding season and all of the (mostly women only) events that come along with it – the hen parties, the kitchen teas, the bridal showers. Men used to just get the buck’s party and be tasked with showing up on the wedding day. But now, finally, things are evening out with the “bro-dal” shower.

Let’s call it a step forward for equality, because if women have to get excited about lasagne dishes then men should too right? But there might just be something more to the bro-dal shower than simply evening out the score.

Firstly though, what is a bro-dal shower and is it really a thing?

It’s pretty much exactly what you think. Namely that it probably involves plaid shirts, bratwurst sliders and men with expertly combed moustaches. Well, that is if you’re going by the stylings of Buzzfeed who coined the term when they held bro-dal showers for two of their staff members who were about to get hitched. It’s not the first time the trend has been acknowledged, but bro-dal shower definitely sounds better than “man shower,” right?

Anyway, it is very significant to note that the two dos were total Instagram bait. There were beard decorating games and beer and bacon trail mixes in tin buckets for goodness sake. It was like a refined hipster gent’s dream Pinterest had come to life.

This is a giant moonshine cocktail flavoured slap in the face for all the people that say men aren’t interested in all that crafty, whimsical,wedding stuff. They can, and should, be. Weddings aren’t just about the bride.

On that, there were women allowed into the inner sanctum of the bro-dal shower too. This perhaps calls for a re-think on co-ed bucks and hens parties (hucks as they’ve been rather unsavourily dubbed). Because maybe they need to be a more common thing for these key reasons – it’s really not your last night to have fun as a single person (you’re getting married, presumably you haven’t been single for a while and you’re still going to have fun after you get married too), you might have friends of the opposite sex that you’d like to celebrate with, and you know, you don’t have to stick to the rules.

As my boyfriend, a veteran buck’s day attendee tells me,

“I’ve probably been to a dozen or so buck’s parties, and after a while they become pretty formulaic. The most memorable ones have been the ones where we did something a bit out of the ordinary, such as having a proper cricket match, playing bubble soccer or even just playing a round of golf.”

See, forced fun isn’t for everyone and that includes how we’ve been conditioned on what a bridal shower, or a bucks party, or a hen’s do should be like.

If you’re not down for a stripper cruise, you don’t have to have one. If you would rather bake a cake for your gentleman friends and wash it down with a craft brew than chug Fosters down a beer bong then go ahead!

If you love beer bongs, enjoy yourself thoroughly. Do your thing.

When it comes to weddings and its associated celebrations, we should be celebrating individuality, originality and breaking down stereotypes.

In any case, here’s hoping that the bro-dal shower becomes a wedding tradition, along with the rise of dudes crafter-nooning the party favours for them to their heart’s content.

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