<p> Gone are the days when an Indian wedding was defined by the couple’s caste and creed. Today, it’s a reflection of the bride and groom, their tastes and extravaganzas, writes Harshikaa Udasi<br /><br /></p>.<p>This traditional Maharashtrian family had certainly never seen anything like that before. But Amit Kadam was rather pleased with his decision. When the Mumbai-based cartoonist decided to take the plunge last year, he wanted to ensure it wouldn’t be a run-of-the-mill experience. And it started off with the invite itself. Amit’s relatives were surprised - “some surely even shocked” - with caricatures of him and his to-be bride.<br /><br /> “Gauri and I had put our heads together and designed a little comic strip inviting everyone for the wedding.” With the comic strip talking about their first meeting to the final proposal and the aye, relatives knew they were headed for anything but traditional.<br /><br />The T word is no longer an epithet for weddings in India. Young couples tying the knot want to do everything in their own unique style. And this has made way for a new brand of customised services – from matchmaking websites to RSVPs online, from pre-nuptial shoots to HD-quality wedding filming, from exotic destination wedding planning to bespoke honeymoon packages. The big fat Indian wedding just got, well, bigger and fatter.<br /><br />Think about this. What did you wear when you got married? Possibly you remember the shop you bought it at; most certainly you remember the price! Who went shopping with you? Your parents, siblings, good friends and/or extended family, too (if you were unlucky). The current trend is to have your personal stylist to create a look for you for the wedding and even the trousseau. <br /><br />Hyderabad-based Malini S, 25, opted for one. “Obviously, I wanted to look great. I also wanted no stress while shopping and a designer touch to the whole episode. The stylist met me about a couple of times and we discussed my preferences. She took into account my body type and budget, and suggested a themed look to go with the wedding we had planned in Bali. <br /><br />Initially, I wasn’t too keen on a gown for my farewell dinner. But she suggested I consider it over my Kanjeevaram…and it was a huge hit!”<br /><br />Invite them all<br /><br />Websites are getting popular, too, as they are trying to make inroads into a very conservative area of weddings - inviting your loved (and not-so-loved) ones. Handing out personal invitations is not just tedious and time-consuming, but also an expensive affair. Moreover, it is fraught with casualties over that uncle, whom we missed out on and the daughter whose in-laws are fuming over being invited for fewer occasions. Make it simple, make it hassle-free. <br /><br />A wedsite creates a beautiful space for the couple online, not just creating an e-invite offering details of the wedding and its occasions and requesting RSVPs, but also posting pictures of the wedding album, tracking their important milestones, creating a wedding registry and enabling a wedding blog.<br /><br />Rajesh Bardeshkar opted for a wedsite as he wanted to document every single moment of his wedding and ensure that everyone from his extended family in California to his friends in Mumbai gets an invite. “It would have been cumbersome to invite each of them through a phone call and terribly expensive to post a wedding card,” he says.<br /><br />Have some fun<br /><br />Entertainment also takes on a new name during weddings. With destination weddings becoming de rigueur, couples are ready to experiment with more. When Khushi and Anish got married in Tanzania, they wanted their guests to enjoy a good mix of the local flavour with an Indian effect. For the airport transfers of the guests to the hotel, they asked anchor RJ Rahul Manjal to put together a radio show centred around their wedding. “It was a unique concept. We did a good blend of Bollywood songs with a dash of Gujarati and dollops of romance. I even gave information about Tanzania and things to look out for, but all of it was interspersed with fabulous songs, just like a radio show!” he says.<br /><br />Gaurang Mor, director, Saga 247 – The Event Destination says, “People go to great lengths to see that their guests are well entertained. Play zones for little children with specially-groomed nannies and gaming zones for teens with Play Stations are provided nowadays. For the mehndi ceremony, since ladies have to sit it out at a single place for three to four hours, movies are played on large screens.” Live radio shows and fashion shows are the thing to do at sangeet parties, too!<br /><br />For the record<br /><br />Gone are the days of the humble photographer and videographer asking you to ‘looks here pliss’. Enter the HD camera-wielding wedding filmers who shoot the wedding in absolute Bollywood style. On demand, even the music for the films is original. Many couples refer to current trends in Bollywood films and ask the filmers to retain that vibe.<br /><br /> Those wielding the camera keep those guidelines in mind, but usually let the shoot take its natural course and retain a documentary and candid style. Chintan from Mumbai always wanted to serenade his lady, but wasn’t really gifted in the space. For his wedding, he organised for a special romantic number to be written and composed for his fiancé and then lip-synced as a singer sang live for him backstage! “It’s about living your fantasy, isn’t it? Your wedding day is probably the most extravagant you will ever be!” he reasons.<br /><br />Of course, the bride and the groom and the immediate family are having the time of their lives. But what about the others – relatives and friends who have been invited to this extravaganza? Mahesh Hinduja, who has been to two successive, long-drawn, out-destination weddings recently, says he is tired of the “flights of fancy”. He feels that the intimacy of a wedding is lost in trying to outdo the previous couple in terms of uniqueness. “I’d appreciate it for the novelty; your eyes light up every time you go to a wedding, seeing the newness they bring in. But I’d rather just bless the couple and have my kulfi and come back,” he confesses.<br /><br />But Mahesh is, perhaps, in minority here. The rest of the lot is rejoicing. The couple is pleased as a punch, the parents are coming to terms with the novelty of it all and the facility providers are happy to be in service. What happens to the traditional bandwallahs and the tentwallahs who specialised in putting up a shaadi mandap in no time? “That sounds so outdated now,” says Malini. “You cannot expect a young couple to not desire a fancy, customised wedding. And if it comes at a price, so be it.”<br />Folks, let’s crack open the bubbly!</p>
<p> Gone are the days when an Indian wedding was defined by the couple’s caste and creed. Today, it’s a reflection of the bride and groom, their tastes and extravaganzas, writes Harshikaa Udasi<br /><br /></p>.<p>This traditional Maharashtrian family had certainly never seen anything like that before. But Amit Kadam was rather pleased with his decision. When the Mumbai-based cartoonist decided to take the plunge last year, he wanted to ensure it wouldn’t be a run-of-the-mill experience. And it started off with the invite itself. Amit’s relatives were surprised - “some surely even shocked” - with caricatures of him and his to-be bride.<br /><br /> “Gauri and I had put our heads together and designed a little comic strip inviting everyone for the wedding.” With the comic strip talking about their first meeting to the final proposal and the aye, relatives knew they were headed for anything but traditional.<br /><br />The T word is no longer an epithet for weddings in India. Young couples tying the knot want to do everything in their own unique style. And this has made way for a new brand of customised services – from matchmaking websites to RSVPs online, from pre-nuptial shoots to HD-quality wedding filming, from exotic destination wedding planning to bespoke honeymoon packages. The big fat Indian wedding just got, well, bigger and fatter.<br /><br />Think about this. What did you wear when you got married? Possibly you remember the shop you bought it at; most certainly you remember the price! Who went shopping with you? Your parents, siblings, good friends and/or extended family, too (if you were unlucky). The current trend is to have your personal stylist to create a look for you for the wedding and even the trousseau. <br /><br />Hyderabad-based Malini S, 25, opted for one. “Obviously, I wanted to look great. I also wanted no stress while shopping and a designer touch to the whole episode. The stylist met me about a couple of times and we discussed my preferences. She took into account my body type and budget, and suggested a themed look to go with the wedding we had planned in Bali. <br /><br />Initially, I wasn’t too keen on a gown for my farewell dinner. But she suggested I consider it over my Kanjeevaram…and it was a huge hit!”<br /><br />Invite them all<br /><br />Websites are getting popular, too, as they are trying to make inroads into a very conservative area of weddings - inviting your loved (and not-so-loved) ones. Handing out personal invitations is not just tedious and time-consuming, but also an expensive affair. Moreover, it is fraught with casualties over that uncle, whom we missed out on and the daughter whose in-laws are fuming over being invited for fewer occasions. Make it simple, make it hassle-free. <br /><br />A wedsite creates a beautiful space for the couple online, not just creating an e-invite offering details of the wedding and its occasions and requesting RSVPs, but also posting pictures of the wedding album, tracking their important milestones, creating a wedding registry and enabling a wedding blog.<br /><br />Rajesh Bardeshkar opted for a wedsite as he wanted to document every single moment of his wedding and ensure that everyone from his extended family in California to his friends in Mumbai gets an invite. “It would have been cumbersome to invite each of them through a phone call and terribly expensive to post a wedding card,” he says.<br /><br />Have some fun<br /><br />Entertainment also takes on a new name during weddings. With destination weddings becoming de rigueur, couples are ready to experiment with more. When Khushi and Anish got married in Tanzania, they wanted their guests to enjoy a good mix of the local flavour with an Indian effect. For the airport transfers of the guests to the hotel, they asked anchor RJ Rahul Manjal to put together a radio show centred around their wedding. “It was a unique concept. We did a good blend of Bollywood songs with a dash of Gujarati and dollops of romance. I even gave information about Tanzania and things to look out for, but all of it was interspersed with fabulous songs, just like a radio show!” he says.<br /><br />Gaurang Mor, director, Saga 247 – The Event Destination says, “People go to great lengths to see that their guests are well entertained. Play zones for little children with specially-groomed nannies and gaming zones for teens with Play Stations are provided nowadays. For the mehndi ceremony, since ladies have to sit it out at a single place for three to four hours, movies are played on large screens.” Live radio shows and fashion shows are the thing to do at sangeet parties, too!<br /><br />For the record<br /><br />Gone are the days of the humble photographer and videographer asking you to ‘looks here pliss’. Enter the HD camera-wielding wedding filmers who shoot the wedding in absolute Bollywood style. On demand, even the music for the films is original. Many couples refer to current trends in Bollywood films and ask the filmers to retain that vibe.<br /><br /> Those wielding the camera keep those guidelines in mind, but usually let the shoot take its natural course and retain a documentary and candid style. Chintan from Mumbai always wanted to serenade his lady, but wasn’t really gifted in the space. For his wedding, he organised for a special romantic number to be written and composed for his fiancé and then lip-synced as a singer sang live for him backstage! “It’s about living your fantasy, isn’t it? Your wedding day is probably the most extravagant you will ever be!” he reasons.<br /><br />Of course, the bride and the groom and the immediate family are having the time of their lives. But what about the others – relatives and friends who have been invited to this extravaganza? Mahesh Hinduja, who has been to two successive, long-drawn, out-destination weddings recently, says he is tired of the “flights of fancy”. He feels that the intimacy of a wedding is lost in trying to outdo the previous couple in terms of uniqueness. “I’d appreciate it for the novelty; your eyes light up every time you go to a wedding, seeing the newness they bring in. But I’d rather just bless the couple and have my kulfi and come back,” he confesses.<br /><br />But Mahesh is, perhaps, in minority here. The rest of the lot is rejoicing. The couple is pleased as a punch, the parents are coming to terms with the novelty of it all and the facility providers are happy to be in service. What happens to the traditional bandwallahs and the tentwallahs who specialised in putting up a shaadi mandap in no time? “That sounds so outdated now,” says Malini. “You cannot expect a young couple to not desire a fancy, customised wedding. And if it comes at a price, so be it.”<br />Folks, let’s crack open the bubbly!</p>
