27 Jun 2014

Bridal Diary: Valima

Good morning all!!!!

The final string of my 'bridal diaries' feature is all about my valima! This function took place in Lahore at my husbands family residence, it was more like a high tea/dinner. The food was catered by Cosa Nostra, and the decor was also done through there. This function I thoroughly enjoyed as I wasn't so stressed about any of the planning. The function turned into a party after, which was great fun!!!! 

The garden at my husbands family residence is very beautiful, so very little had to be done in regards to the decor, it was all about accentuating the garden, with fairy lights, chandeliers, flowers with the right lighting and it looked gorgeous.

I wore a bridal by Tena Durrani. I was told to pick something of my choice so I opted for a very very very traditional 'Jodha Akbar' style look, Tena and I sat for ages picking the colour combination, as I wanted 3 different colours, two out of which had to be red and orange... Tena suggested a gorgeous mustard shade and it looked phenomenal, the kaam on the clothes up close is divine with semi precious stones all over.. Tena is one of the most talented designers I have come across and her and Taimur (CEO) did everything in their power to ensure my bridal was beyond stunning. With the bridal I wore 3 different traditional sets, a tikkah and a jhumar... these were given to my by my in laws. I carried a crystal Judith Leiber clutch and wore YSL shoes. My hair and make up were done by Leena Ghani, who is so immensely talented, she was one of the only make up artists to do the under the foundation style conturing that we see Kim Kardashian do, and she gave me a smokey eye which is something I rarely ever do myself and a bright red pout!!!! My hair was left open with slight waves. This was actually one of my favourite looks from my wedding!!

My husband wore a black nehru suit, which is something very different - never seen a groom wear it!!! It went well with the whole traditional look and he looked super handsome, MA!!

Here are the pictures...

 These are the only pictures I have of the decor...

Now that I have covered my whole wedding, I look forward to posting up street style 'Ensemble Du Jours'.. so do keep a look out for them!!

Lots of love,
xxx A

17 Jun 2014

Bridal Diary: Reception

Hello my lovelies,

For my reception, I wanted a really classic theme, hence I went for all white and silver in terms of decor. My event planner again was Aarij Hashimi for the wedding, we just got each others perspective from the get go and once again he wow'd me by transforming my brief into something magical and fairytale like. My whole event was covered in white orchids, and crystals, and beautiful french paneling in the background. As you walk in there were twig trees on either side with crystals, orchids, tea candles - It looked unreal and divine. I also had a little dance floor at my wedding so the exit would not be a teary one... it helped because apparently when I left, everyone decided to dance some more! Imagine that.

My outfit was by the unbeatable, Bunto Kazmi!! Her work is most certainly exquisite and timeless. I went for a very unusal colour combination which was an ivory with a candy orange dupatta. A combination that Bunto aunty had not worked before. The bottom was a traditional farshe gharara. The back of my outfit was very low with a tied tassle, which you cannot really see because I was wearing the dupatta. The best thing is however, that this outfit is very wearable, which a lot of bridal's aren't. I thought if I am going to spend so much on a piece of bridal couture, there is no point of wearing something just once or twice.

My make up was done by the super talented, Shamain. She gave me a very natural peachy look, with my hair in a side bun (something I have never done before) and an orangey peach pout. My jewellery actually drove me insane, as it was picked exactly a month before the reception. I looked high and low for something that I liked, finally, I had a look back on all the sets I had seen, and decided to get a design that Huma carried with slightly bigger diamonds, as most sets these days have dust diamonds that are tiny 1-2 pointer diamonds - yes, I learned so much about diamonds whilst wedding shopping!!! I also emphasized on purchasing a set that I could potentially wear with gowns as well.

I had a really stunning palm bracelet that I designed with Shiraz Sami - an amazing Lahore-based jeweller who also made my engagement ring!!! Absolutely love the trend of palm bracelets, and thought it was complete my look for my main day.

I carried a crystal Butler and Wilson clutch and wore silver/gold (two tone) YSL tributes, which are the comfiest shoes ever. As a bride - you want to be comfortable, especially when you are wearing a really heavy outfit.

My husband has an obsession with vintage cars, and he arranged for a vintage Rolls Royce - something that he could actually get his hands on in Karachi, this went with the whole classic theme and was something very different.

Now for the pictures...


Will be uploading some Valima pictures next, which is the final post for my 'Bridal Diary' feature :)

With love,
xxx A 

5 Jun 2014

Bridal Diary: Dholki & Dance

Hello beautifuls,

Thanks for all the lovely comments on the nikkah pictures, I am glad you enjoyed the post and appreciated the Iranian ceremony.

I think these pictures are probably the most exciting, they're from my dholki, and on my card I had worded the event as 'Dholki & Dance' because it wasn't a traditional mehndi. I am wearing Zara Shahjahan's dramatic floral lengha in powder blue from her true love collection, the top is actually tucked inside the lengha, giving a high waisted skirt feel, and I opted for a bright pink dupatta. Jewellery is the same as what my mom wore to one of her functions. My hair and make up is by Zamin at Nabila's salon. I wasn't even going to get my make up done for my mehndi but absolutely love the skill that the make up artists at Nabila's have. By chance, I had gone there to get my make up done for the team shoot for OK! magazine, and loved their style and ability to give you exactly the look you're going for!!! I am also wearing a really fun floral and diamond right by Sherezad.

Now in regards to the decor, I wanted something really different, my event planner and I - who, by the way, is the most amazingly creative person I have ever dealt with, he picked up what I wanted in a matter of seconds and executed it better than I could have ever imagined!!! I went for a floral theme with stripes and vintage flower paintings and acrylic chandeliers. The focal point was a dessert table as soon as you enter, the dessert on this table was by Aamina Jehangir of 'The Cakery' - it included cake pops, mini cupcakes, heart shaped cookies, two cakes on cake stands - one striped and one with purple roses all over, and Aarij decorated the whole table with gorgeous flowers, it looked absolutely divine. Food was catered by Nizamuddin, it was like a food fair, so we had all the Pakistani barbecued meats, bun kebabs, dosas, chaat - the food on the menu was absolutely delicious.

Time to let the pictures do the talking!

 kurta's from the groom's side...
 From my side the guys wore pink bow ties and beige kurtas as opposed to the traditional dupatta..

Will update with the wedding reception pictures soon.

Much love,
xxx A