My Big fat Indian wedding

The idea of writing this blog started when I was buying my Mehendi lehenga in Bandra, Mumbai. Weddings are always fun and to capture the little details of the wedding first hand is fun to read as well. My wedding was big in terms of the length, I had every function that a bride could possibly have. But lets first rewind to how it all started.

I met my husband Smit for the first time when I was 17 years old. He was studying Engineering in Auckland while i was a school student in my last year of school, also in Auckland. We met through a mutual friend and our first conversation involved talking about Vada Pav near Mithibai college in Mumbai as well as Bollywood. Our first conversation was also the last one for a while. Although we were both at the same university we hardly spoke for the next four years (I would like blame Smit for this). However, there was a twist like in every story; we ended up being dance partners during the annual engineering revue. I have to admit i did find him cute and added him on Facebook. We then talked endlessly online, until one day where we decided to meet and then started the dating period. After a few years of dating, On May 4th 2013 he popped the question and then started a series of events which are described below. 

My parents and me really love parties and therefore each event had to be planned to perfection. This wedding was a fusion of two cultures. There were a few discussions around what customs and traditions will be followed during the various ceremonies. Towards the end we decided to incorporate both traditions into the ceremonies to respect both cultures in this amalgamation.

First event held in Auckland was the Engagement party. The venue we chose was Sudhima hotel. This venue met all our requirements such as food requirements, space and the look and feel.  In terms of finding an outfit I had a difficult time. I did not want to shop online and neither did not want to travel to India just to buy an outfit. After extensive research on Pinterest I finalised a few outfits that I liked. These images were sent to a fashion designer in India and at the end the outcome was an customised outfit inspired by Shyamal and Bhumika which was sent over to NZ.

Makeup by Asrita Singh and Hair by Shermin 

Our families and friends left no stone unturned to make this a very special day. Beautiful dance performances, heart warming speeches and friends and family travelling from India and Australia made this a very special day for us.  

After this event we decided to have the wedding and the festivities around it in our home town Mumbai. It only made sense to do that as we both were originally from Mumbai and loved the city to bits. Celebrating our wedding ceremonies in Mumbai meant a lot to both of us. 

Two months prior to the wedding, I made a trip to India to finalise various things such as the outfits, additional trousseau, makeup artist, decorator and photographer.  This was one of the best decisions I made as my wedding was in Feb which is peak wedding season in India. All the venues and vendors are booked during this time so it was sensible to not leave things for last minute. Moreover, it took about a month to get my reception lehenga made, which again justifies my trip.  I left jewellery and accessories shopping for the week before the wedding. We met 2 vendors each in person for makeup, decoration and photography as per recommendations from locals. Meeting them in person helped us with decision making when picking the final ones.


Our first event was Mehndi/Cocktail night at JW Marriott. I wanted my outfit to be traditional and colourful at the same time. I was after mehndi green lehenga but ended up wearing a beautiful combination of yellow, green and pink Sabyasachi inspired lehenga. This is my most favourite outfit from all the outfits I own. Because I was soo in awe of my lehenga that I did forget that I was supposed to perform a contemporary dance where Smit had to lift me.  I had doubts about performing the lift as well as the dance in this heavy lehenga. Fortunately, Smit did not complain while lifting me and we managed to dance without any mishaps.

Lehenga had antique gold embroidery as well as kashmiri thread work.

The next day was Sangeet ceremony hosted by Smit's family, which was a traditional Gujrati Sangeet Sandya. It was a great event despite the hangover from the previous day. Again, I wore a Sabyasachi inspired lehenga. The maharani blouse was definitely a hit and made me feel like a princess in every sense. We hired lovely choreographers who helped us choreograph a lovely dance on the latest bollywood numbers.

Next was the BIG day; the wedding ceremony. I couldn't have asked for a better location to get married. ITC Maratha Sheraton has a cute ball room which makes a perfect venue for an intimate wedding (for Indian standards for sure).  The mandap was very beautifully decorated and I had a great time during the traditional part of this ceremony. The Pandit explained all the vows to us as they were in Sanskrit and also gave us some tips for a happy married life. The best part of the day was when we were taking the pheras and close family and friends standing around the mandap were showering us with flowers with huge smiles on their face.  That moment was beautiful and I couldn't help but smile as I took vows with the person who is very special to me. 

My dress was not inspired by any designer for this event and was a Panetar (traditional Gujrati red and white saree).

We also had a few OMG moments on that day. The venue hotel rooms were over booked because of the Hema Malini's daughter's wedding that happened there the night before. As a result, the groom had to be shifted to a room in the opposite hotel to get ready after a few arguments with the hotel staff. I did not let this bother me as I was having a fabulous time with my mom, aunty and my beautiful brides maids while getting ready.

Beautiful Bridesmaids who made getting ready so much fun

Makeup and hair by Tasneem Contractor

The final event was the reception which was held at Matoshree Sports club in Mumbai. At this event, I wore my most grand outfit because all I had to do was look pretty on stage and smile. I bought all my other outfits in one day but this outfit took me about 5 days to finalise. The lehenga was inspired by Anamika Khanna's design and was heavy enough that I required assistance during walking (also feel sorry for the person who had to carry it back to NZ)

Jodha Akbar entry during reception

Main advice for brides is not to get too carried away with research. With extensive research it is possible to have a great wedding but it is also important to listen to your heart and ensure that the wedding matches your style and not someone else's.

I had a great time planning every moment of this wedding. Shopping for outfits was pure bliss and I miss that so much. My dad travelled to India three times in total to make sure that this wedding was perfect in every sense. Having a wedding in India was also amazing as I celebrated with family & friends that I had not met for many years. Those days will always be close to my heart.

Magical cross-cultural wedding

Our bride Roshika described all her wedding celebrations as magical. She also went ahead to say that there could be nothing better than so many people coming together and showering you with love as you create a bond with someone who is so special to you. This is the essence of weddings and what makes them so special and memorable

Roshika and Upul met each other through mutual friends while studying at the University of Auckland. They both originate from different countries and it was important to both of them to have a wedding that respected their individual traditions and values. As a result, they planned and executed two weddings; more excitingly in two different countries. Roshika shares her experience with us today and also gives us an insight on some of the Srilankan wedding traditions.


The first wedding ceremony was a Sindhi style wedding held at Roshika's hometown in Mumbai. Roshika flew to India for wedding shopping 8 months before the wedding. Prior to her trip she explored the web and went all out on Pinterest, which gave her a good idea of the colour palette that she wanted to work with. She was open to different styles but dead sure about the colour palette she had in mind. Important note for brides here is - DON'T leave these things to the last minute as alterations and custom designing can easily take a couple of months during the wedding season. Start shopping at least three months before the wedding !!!

Stunning colour combinator of yellow and red

Beautiful jewellery and make-up that complimented the traditional look for the ceremony

Sabyasachi inspired sari for the Mumbai reception

Glamorous hairdo which looks like a bunch of pretty roses

As with most extravagant weddings, there will be certain aspects of it which may not turn out the way you originally envisaged. Roshika was not impressed with the failure of the decorations to follow her detailed instructions at the Mumbai wedding ceremony. However, she says that one needs to keep calm and avoid sweating over the trivialities as the guests do not notice the details. Remember, the most important thing is to enjoy your big day and we have to give to Roshika for living the day to the fullest despite the decoration hiccup.

The second wedding ceremony was held miles away in beautiful Kandyan. Kandyan is the hometown of the groom and also a beautiful hill station in Sri Lanka.

The outfits for this event were different from the Indian wedding. The groom wears a Nilamey suit, which is a maharaja style costume and the bride wears a white sari. Roshika bought this sari in India and it was then cut to create a Kandyan sari. Roshika did her own makeup for the ceremony in Srilanka and as we can see she did a fabulous job with it.

The Srilankan ceremony started at an auspicious time and the couple were escorted to the hall by traditional Kandyan dancers and the closest members of the families. At the door of the hall they were then welcomed by 4 girls singing a song called Jayamangala. The ceremony took place on a stage-like structure called a Poruwa and involves earth, water and fire elements. The most significant part is the tying the couples fingers together with a white thread and the exchange of rings. The groom gifts the bride a necklace and then ties a white cloth around her. The couple then feed each other rice milk and sweet milk and exit the Poruwa. 

Four dancers performed a dance full of traditional moves and tricky summersaults and jumps post ceremony. Then began the first round of food serving, which was a huge spread of home-made desserts. The couple then got changed for the home-coming ceremony, here Roshika sported a beautiful pink  lehenga. This is the part of the night when dinner is served and a string of speeches take place.  

Stunning pink lehenga inspired by Manish Malhotra

Was it hard to plan a wedding in two different countries we asked Roshika? Her answer was "Difficult, but its not impossible". One major tip from her is for brides to meet with vendors face to face before choosing them and following up with them closer to time.

Usually people find it difficult to organise a wedding at one destination but this couple pulled off two ceremonies and in two different countries. Kudos and best wishes for a happy married life.

An exclusive wedding story

Picture this; wedding at stunning country side of Delhi, reception at the picturesque Rydges rooftop in Auckland. Lehengas by Sabyasachi and Ritu Kumar, a beautiful bride marrying her long time love Vaibhav. The outcome was a wedding that was filled with class, elegance and lots of love.

Pieu and Vaibhav knew each other since high school in Auckland but the true feelings only surfaced  when Vaibhav moved to Australia. The quote 'Distance makes the heart go fonder' was definitely true in this story. After 7 years of love and friendship they decided to tie the knot. For Pieu, the wedding planning had started long back even before she knew that the wedding was supposed to happen. She wanted a big fat Indian wedding and the final outcome which we will discuss soon was better than all that she could wish for.

It is not easy to plan a wedding in a different country but as Pieu says a loving family can make it all possible. Pieu flew to Delhi, India to finalise her outfits few months before the wedding. This is particularly important to note for brides, you can research a lot over the internet but nothing beats trying the outfits in person. Shop with an open mind and don't be restricted to trying a particular style that you would have liked on the internet.

We start with the pre wedding festivities the sagan and henna night where Pieu wore elegant clothes bought from Delhi Emporium.

Adoring bridesmaids flew all the way from New Zealand for Pieu's big day.

Wedding ceremony was set in Alipur which is on the outskirts of Delhi. Pieu wanted a country side wedding and finding MH One Resort was exactly the picture she had painted in her mind for her wedding.

She wore a beautiful Sabyasachi Lehenga that was traditional as well as elegant at the same time.

Brochet lehenga base with gotta patti work

Kundan, Emerald and ruby stones jewellery that Pieu inherited from her mother

Makeup by Ambika Pillai. 

The reception took place in Auckland, NZ at the Rydges Rooftop. At this event Pieu wore a beautiful Ritu Kumar Lehenga and her makeup was done by Abbie Gardiner.

For Pieu this wedding much more than she had imagined. Most importantly she was happy to be celebrating with family and friends who came together from different parts of the world.  She even got to celebrate this milestone in two places she can call home; Delhi and Auckland. We wish Pieu and Vaibhav an amazing life ahead.