The majestic elegance of the Panetar and Gharchola

The panetar is a typical Gujarati wedding outfit for brides. Both Hindu and Jain brides wear a panetar and a gharchola. The panetar and gharchola form an important aspect of the wedding ritual. The panetar sari is a gift by the bride’s maternal uncle while the gharchola sari is the gift from her new in-laws. Historically, the bride wore the panetar at the beginning of the wedding and then gharchola at the end of the wedding ceremony.

Today, it is common for the bride to wear a gharchola chunni over her head and shoulder to symbolize her movement from one family to another.

The paneter is an unique silk sari or chenia choli with with a white body and red border. The plain white body is woven in Gajji silk with linear stripes or checks in gold zari. There are tie dyed (bandhani) motifs usually yellow/gold or green to adorn the sari. You can see the details in the photos below.

The gharchola is a sari that the bride receives from her inlaws. The weaving technique of the gharchola originate from the region around Khambat in southern Gujarat. Gharcholas are first woven by using silk and zari thread and are then later embellished by bandhani work.

The gharcola comes in a grid pattern that is dyed in red. Some communities use a green gharchola with red, yellow, and white bandhani work. The zari checks or grids appear in forms of 9, 12, or 52. The borders of each grid is in zari.

The bandhani in the center of each grid style around various themes of peacocks, floral patterns, or religious references. Where more than two dye colors are used, the design is known as ‘phulwari’ meaning ‘garden.’ When animal motifs (peacock, elephants, birds) predominate, the pattern is known as ’shikari,’ which means ‘hunting scene.’ Families may choose any decorated style of gharchola, though they tend to have symbolic meaning in the family.

The majestic elegance of the panetar and gharchola is breathtaking.

Happy Dressing!

Happy Wedding!!

Shubh Vivah- The Wedding Planner

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Bridal Beauty: 2012’s Hottest Makeup Trends- Part 1

Purple Smoke-show

Soft champagne and a brown or a purple Smokey eye and soft pink lip. This year pink and purple are back in glam.

Go Vintage

For brides who don’t want to emphasize the eyes, the makeup trend of going vitage or the old Hollywood glam look is big. When going vintage, give your look a modern twist to keep it fresh and not outdated.

Get lippy with shades of classic red and wines depending on your skin tone, bridal theme, and season of the wedding.

Get Lash Crazy

More recently, there’s been a trend for brides to get lash extensions as 

this allows brides to have fuller lashes for all their pre wedding events and into the honeymoon.

Seasonal Hues

Keep the season of your wedding in mind when it comes to makeup trends. In the summer it’s bronzy, beach babe kind of glow. In the winter the Smokey eye in deeper shades.

Happy Wedding!!








Shubh Vivah- The Wedding Planner


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Glimpses of a fairytale wedding...most expensive in the World till date!!

Vanisha Mittal and Amit Bhatia

Cost: $78 million

The record-holder for the world's most expensive wedding to date is the nuptials of Vanisha Mittal (daughter of billionaire Lakshmi Mittal) and investment banker Amit Bhatia.

Lets see few glimpses of engagement and Grand Wedding…….

Enchanting Engagement….. 20 June 2004

The engagement ceremony took place on 20 June 2004 at the Palace of Versailles, once the home to Louis XIV, France's Sun King. There was a lavish dinner for the guests at the Jardin des Tuileries on the right bank in Paris.

The highlight of the engagement ceremony was a cocktail party for the guests who were then taken through the palace.

Mr Mittal and his wife, Usha, according to reports, even played themselves in an hour-long 'drama' which enacted the love story of Vanisha and 25-year-old Amit at a glittering function on the banks of the Seine. The domestic drama was a Bollywood production. The script was written by leading movie writer Javed Akhtar, set to music by music director Shankar Mahadevan and choreographed by dance director-turned filmmaker Farah Khan.

Wealthy Wedding…….22 June 2004, Paris

The elaborate, outrageous wedding has been honored by Forbes' Magazine as one of the most expensive weddings, and currently ranks in the Guinness Book of World Records for the most expensive wedding ever recorded, with $78 million spent. This wedding went on for five days.

This then is the mother of all weddings for the daughter of one of the wealthiest Asian men in the world. The host is London-based Indian-born steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal.  The bride his daughter Vanisha. The bridegroom Amit Bhatia, a Delhi-born investment banker, now based in London. Mr Mittal owns a steel company with an estimated worth of $6.4bn. Only last April he paid out nearly $127m for a London mansion, making it the most expensive house in the world.

It had 1,000 guests from all over the world, 20-page-thick silver-cased invitation cards and five days of events staged in some of the France's most famous settings. The expensive wedding invitation card was talk of the Indian media. The card contained romantic poems, including some written by a Mittal family member. 

And, of course, there is Bollywood song and dance. The guests were put up by the host in a five-star hotel in Paris. 

Mr Mittal had hired the 17th century Vaux le Vicomte, described as the "finest chateau and garden" in France, for the marriage of 23-year-old Vanisha, who has a degree from London's School of Oriental and African Studies, and her banker fiancé.

The chateau was built for Nicolas Fouquet, King Louis XIV's finance minister. The Eiffel Tower was cleared for the mother of all firework displays.

Top Bollywood stars, including Aishwarya Rai and Shah Rukh Khan entertained the guests at a 'surprise' Bollywood theme party at the wedding. 

The bridal trousseau was designed by some of the top Indian designers, including Suneet Verma and Tarun Tahiliani. 

One of the top chefs from the eastern Indian city of Calcutta, where Mr Mittal was born, was flown to Paris to prepare Indian food for the guests.  Munna Maharaj, Calcutta's top caterer-turned-restaurateur, has a reputation for rising to the challenge of a big event.

"The steel magnate summons all the romance of Paris to gift his daughter-and his guests-a fairytale wedding," 

Happy Wedding!!

Shubh Vivah- The wedding planner

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Bollywood Celebrity Honeymoon

Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan

When: May 2007

Where:  Europe

Star couple Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai headed to Europe for their honeymoon after a private wedding ceremony in Mumbai.

The honeymoon of the newly married couple was interrupted with the Cannes fest, which Ash had to attend because of her contractual commitments to L'Oreal.

While in Cannes, Aishwarya and Abhishek stayed at the hotel Martinez, the haunt of the rich and famous. From its eminent position on the sea front, on the famous boulevard de La Croisette in Cannes, this chic, 1920s hotel has established itself over the decades as the flagship hotel on the Riviera.

"This is the first travel where people start calling you, 'Hello Mrs. Bachchan, good evening,"' Rai said. "I am feeling wonderful. I am very happy. By the grace of God, everything is wonderful," Usually media shy Ash said "It's all things good. It's a blessing and it’s a wonderful family," she said, going on to describe Abhishek as "superlative and fantastic".

Shilpa Shetty and Raj Kundra

When: November 2009

Where: Paradise Islands, The Bahamas

After their wedding in Khandala and grand reception in Mumbai, Shilpa and Raj set off for The Bahamas for their honeymoon.

Sources say the location and resort was kept a secret for Shilpa. And since she had never been to the Bahamas, Raj felt it would be the perfect destination for their honeymoon. 

Raj booked a Regal Suite at the Atlantis Bahamas Resort on the Paradise Islands. One of the most popular resorts among celebrities, the Atlantis Bahamas resort has the world's largest marine habitat, the largest casino in the Bahamas, lagoons, waterfalls and the underwater ruins of Atlantis itself.

Natasha Madhwani and Fardeen Khan

When: December 2005

Where: Fiji

Following their spectacular wedding at the Grand Hyatt in Mumbai, India, the gentle sway of palm trees over a stretch of white sand beach greeted Bollywood star Fardeen Khan and his new bride as the couple began their honeymoon at the Royal Davui Island Resort on the island of Fiji.

The resort consists of 16 private villas offering dramatic views over Beqa lagoon. Guests can explore the hidden undersea world of the barrier reef, go catamaran sailing, or thrill to the spectacle of fire walkers at this 5-star South Pacific sanctuary.

Happy Honeymoon!

Happy Wedding!!

Shubh Vivah- The Wedding Planner

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Romantic Wedding Hairstyles

Every woman wants to look her best on her wedding day. A lot of emphasis is thrown on the entire look. Be it the wedding outfit, makeup, jewelry or the hairstyle. Everything has its own importance and relevance. All these contribute in making the final look of the bride.

Bridal tastes vary, but should always complement the wedding dress and contribute to the overall look. Women should not consider their natural hair length when choosing a style, because so many extensions and accessories are available. 

Brides go for different hairstyles to suit different wedding events. There are many options to choose from. The choice of a particular hairstyle depends on the outfit the bride will wear for a particular wedding event. Many traditional rituals require the bride to cover her head with a veil. This may limit some hairstyle and decorations options.

Planning hairstyle:

The hairstyle is decided well in advance keeping in mind the personality of the bride, the shape of her face, her height and her outfit. Many times the height of the groom is also taken into consideration while choosing the bride’s hairstyle.

Hair adornment:

Flowers, beads, sequins, glitters, diamante clips, hair pins, hair jewelry and hair stick are all used to adorn the bridal hairstyle.

Flowers

All brides go for flower adornment. Besides beautification, flowers also have a functional aspect. Strings of flowers, usually jasmine, adorned around the bun helps the veil to stay in place by means of hair pins.

The floral strings can be attached in a number of ways. It may be encircled around the bun as a single string, or as multiple strings.

In the case of South Indian weddings, the bride does not puts the veil on her head which leaves her hair exposed thus eliminating the chances of veil interrupting with the hairstyle. Multiple floral strings are attached to the bun which may be placed at the nape, high up or at the middle depending on what suits the bride. The floral strings may also hang loose over both the shoulders.

Flowers can also be used to adorn the hair braided into a plait. The plait is decorated completely with flower strands.

Indian Muslim and Punjabi brides often go for hair braided into two plaits both hanging over the shoulders in the front. The plaits are adorned with flowers.

Bridal hair jewelry

Bridal hairstyles are incomplete without bridal hair jewelries. These not only adorn the hairstyle but are also essential bridal jewelry. A bridal hair jewelry comprises of beads, jewel comb, jewel hair pins, Maang tika, Tiara, Strands of pearls and many more.

A maang tika is a traditional bridal hair jewelry that consists of two parts. The maang ( string ) rests on the center hair parting via small hook that allows it to get attached to the hair. Whereas the tikka (pendant) rests on the forehead.

There are many variations in the traditional bridal maang tika. A maang tika is often clubbed with two strings made of pearl or simple chains that run across the hairline at the forehead and are attached to the hair behind the ears on both the sides via hook.

A maang tika is not only worn by the bride but it is also the most popular hair ornament worn by the bridesmaids.

In addition to maang tika, there are many other hair jewelry pieces that are attached with the hair. One such a piece of jewelry is quite similar to the

maang tika which is also attached to the hair. The difference lies in the placement and thickness of the jewelry. These are wider than maang tika and are placed on either side of the central hair parting. This piece of hair jewelry is more popular among the muslim brides.

Bridal tiaras are not new to Indian brides. 

Jeweled clips are often used to fix up the hairdo. These are also decorative hair pieces.

Decorative hair pins and clips are also used to adorn the plait. These are attached as separate piece throughout the braided plait.

Not just females, guys can also make Jewish wedding hairstyles at the weddings. They can wave their short hair or may grow their hair to shoulder length. Centre partings look more appropriate in case of men. Brown or grey highlights in dark brown or black wavy hair look hip. It’s ne’er too late to take a right decision. So get up and get ready to decide upon the hairstyle you would carry this wedding to make it the most memorable one this year.

BEST ADVICE

"Don't feel like you have to stick to a conventional, traditional bridal look if it doesn't really suit you. Embrace your own signature style, and dare to pick a strong look that belongs entirely to you."

Happy Styling!

Happy Wedding!!

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