Traditional Pakistani wedding with a twist of glamour

This week's feature is a beautiful Pakistani bride Rahila. Her wedding was planned and designed to perfection. Every outfit well thought of and every location carefully picked to reflect the couple's personality.

Wedding festivities started with the Henna Night. This night was filled with dancing and delicious biryani. The bride's entrance was grand.  Rahila arrived in a doli looking like a princess. The inspiration for this outfit was based on the event itself. The event was about fun, dancing and henna and the outfit totally complimented it.

Rahila's entrance in a doli

Ravishing colours along with traditional gota embriodery 

The second event was the Walima (marriage banquet) which was held at Waipuna Hotel. This is a traditional ceremony and the second part of the wedding and happens after the Nikah. Rahila designed the outfit for this event herself. She was inspired by various designers; the cuts, the colours were carefully handpicked. She not only designed the outfit but also the kundan choker necklace with garnet gemstones. On the big day we were all awestruck by the beauty of this traditional Pakistani bride.

The final event was the reception held at Stamford Plaza, Auckland.  Rahila wanted to contrast the colours from the wedding day. She went for a light pink lehenga. The polka jewellery worn on the day was also designed by her. Personification of elegance is one of the many ways I could describe how she looked on that day.

Glamorous outfit inspired by a Sana Safinaz bridal.

Reception venue and decor at Stamford Plaza, Auckland

Designing these beautiful outfits involved a lot of hard work and extensive research. The outfits were made in Pakistan by extremely talented designers. Rahila's mother traveled to Pakistan twice to make sure that no stone was left unturned to make sure that the outfits looked perfect.


The location of photoshoots was as esquisite as the couple. They went to Cornwall park and Mission bay for their photo-shoot before the events.

Lavish venues, glamorous outfits, stunning photo-shoot locations and a very handsome couple made this wedding a very memorable event.

Must watch Cinematic highlight of the wedding

A fairy tale wedding.

Esha Banwait-Shah, a Former Aucklander now living in Melbourne is our first bridal feature. As she celebrates her first wedding anniversary tomorrow we look at how she planned a wedding that was no less than a fairy tale. 

Esha met her man Deepak during the christmas break in 2009. She has recently moved to Melbourne from Auckland. Deepak was living in Sydney at that time. They met each other through mutual friends and before she knew he had already got her number. They started their long distance relationship by spending nights talking to each other on the phone. November 2010 Deepak moved to Melbourne and in December 2011 he popped the question. Then started the inception of this beautiful wedding which we are just about to witness.

Being a fashion diva and avid follower of fashion events such as Aamby valley fashion week, Lakme India fashion week, Delhi couture week, Esha knew what she wanted before she even started shopping for her outfits. Below are some stunning images of her wedding wear.

Mehendi Ceremony outfit

Shoes by Shoes of Prey

Wedding Ceremony: Lehenga by Archana Kochar

Both Bride and Groom wore outfits by Shantanu and Nikhil

Rings by Canturi (Stephano Canturi)

Her outfits were not too heavy when it came to embroidery but very carefully chosen when it came to fabrics. She describes her style as: bold, stunning, contemporary and flares to give it a feminine touch. Amazingly enough she only tried a couple of outfits before she chose the final outfit.

As we all know outfits are a big part of a wedding but not the only part. For Esha everything had to be perfect from the location of the wedding which was right in the Sydney CBD to the pre-wedding photo-shoot was which carried out at the iconic rocks in Sydney. The pre-wedding photoshoot was the best part of the day for Esha because the photographer and his team made the couple feel at ease. The photo-shoot also involved champagne and nibbles. Yes the couple definitely wanted to get the party started early.

Photoshoot at The Rocks, Sydney by Frank Selmo

Hair and make-up can make or break your big day. It's very important to trial your makeup artist before you big day. Someone recommended by your friend might not suit your style, so a trial is the key. She found a fabulous hair and makeup artist who was totally in sync with her style and made her look like a million bucks.

Beautiful makeup by Rani MK 

Weddings are nothing without blessings of Family and Friends. Both Deepak and Esha were very lucky that family from all across the world played a part in making their day even more special. Yes in short it was a big fat glamorous wedding that will be savoured by Deepak, Esha and all those who attended. 

This short film on their wedding is a must watch.