Alive n Kicking: 'From Miss to Mrs' for Soha Ali Khan

Indian weddings have always been popular for their grandeur and energetic atmosphere, but when it comes to planning them, it's a whole different ball game.
Its overwhelming for the 'bride-to-be' to imagine herself walking down the aisle, seeing the love of her life who stole her heart with arms wide open and then holding his hand for lifetime. She dreams of those unlived moments of love and togetherness that actually begin its journey from the wedding day itself.

You might be wondering why I'm sharing this gyaan today ;)
Well!! since the day I have kicked off my monotonous corporate job and took up my passion of 'Wedding Planning' as my profession for last 2 years, there is a still cherished desire in my heart to showcase my talent to someone special...

Engrossed in similar thoughts one fine day, I was sipping my evening coffee on terrace that my mobile vibrated in my pocket.

After the general exchange of greetings and some lovely admiration for my previous projects, the person on other side inquired about whether I would be able to plan a BIG FAT INDIAN WEDDING the coming month??

My spontaneous reply was "Sir, lets meet up tomorrow morning to discuss the details so that I may work out the dates after checking my schedule..."

Now, the person said "and what if I say that it can be your dream project to plan for wedding of none other than 'Royal Daughter of Pataudi Family'!!"

My heart almost jumped to my throat and i could utter just these words "You mean Soha Ali Khan .... yes, yes its a thumbs up from me, whenever is the wedding date" :)

I had read that Soha was proposed by Kunal Khemu in the City of Love Paris, but never ever expected myself to be associated with the GRAND EVENT in any way :) That night, I could not sleep ... coz the scenes of dhol, music, laughter, twirling dresses, dancing in Soha's wedding in full desi glory had already started flashing in front of my eyes ;)

I was planning to meet Soha the next morning with a minutely detailed blue-print so that her extravagant and elaborate wedding affairs could be invested for a greater good by me...

Digging the search engine on my lappy for few hours, I zeroed upon a fantabulous web portal baggout.com that was showcasing the li'l thumbnails of almost everything I was looking for...
I decided to list the major tasks in advance, so i started with...

1. Wedding Ring for Groom and Jewelery for the Bride herself

Thinking of Kunal's chrismatic yet down-to-earth personality, my preference was to pick a elegant finger band for the groom that he might wear 24x7. Baggout had arranged awesome cashback deals from wonderful sites like jewelskart and suratdiamond...I was flattered by the alluring designs and finally loved this timeless wedding ring to be shown to Soha for her Soulmate :)

http://www.jewelskart.com/myraa-jkdt004gr056-18-k-gold-men-s-diamond-ring.html

My next thought was to shortlist which jewelry types Soha will favor for herself. Suddenly my mom's usual statement "If there is one thing we know Indians love, it is gold. Illustrious, shining and charming gold sweeps every woman off her feet " brought smile to my face and then i knew it exactly .... I came down to a decision based on her royal taste, family traditions and wedding attire. I had a gut feeling that Soha would love the Queenly look, so I must opt for jewelry that features epic polki diamonds, jadau or kundan for the Wedding Day. And might pick other favorite pieces of ornaments from a variety of styles that coordinates with their dresses on pre pr post wedding events. The Indian Solah Shringar that includes everything from the top of the bride's hairline down to her toes, so I made a long list of ornaments for her...

2. Bridal Attire n Closet
I could now imagine Soha adorning a flashy lengha blinged out with rhinestones, beads, zari work in a mixture of textiles like velvet and lace. Bridal lenghas are traditionally maroon or red with blue or green accents as well as gold embroidery. Baggout once again proved its versatility showing me some cool websites, where classy ethnics as well as modern outfits were being sold at great cashback offers ... some nice stores I could see there were ShoppersStop, Fashionara, Zovi, Fashion And You
but my eyes were struck on amazing collection by IndiaRush whose designer clothing range was just perfect for Soha's taste and could match up family background of bride too. So the post bridal closet was a mix n match of varied styles of outfits.

and a traditional motifs embroidered multi-hued lehanga was kept at the top of list for approval of the princess ...

Some handpicked classy Anarkalis for Soha from Fashion And You are real must have to pep up her wardrobe ..

3. Venue Decor for Green Wedding

oops, I forgot to share with u that 'one' special instruction by Soha's representative that day on phone... He conveyed me the message that the couple wanted their wedding to have least harmful effect on the planet without compromising the charm n elegance of the event. And it really filled my heart with respect for both the families.

Since the wedding venue 'Pataudi House' was pre-decided, I had already woven my ideas for earth-friendly decor for the same..

The Ferns n Petals store and FlowerAura Store on Baggout gave me the amazing deals to decorate the whole venue with non-pesticide ridden flowers rather had so many variety of organic, sustainable and seasonal flowers arranged in lovely bouquets and centerpieces :)

I could imagine the lovely flowers conveying the sentiment "The Earth Laughs in Smiles" so beautifully with a lasting message to guests "Green is Serene".
But here a unique suggestion was added by my mom to send the wedding floral arrangements to child care homes, nursing homes and old age centers just to share a smile on their face :)

4. Guilt Free Indulgence (Return Gifts)

No celebration in India is complete without a boxful of tempting sweets. But in the present scenario, most of the health cautious people are missing that sweetness rolling down our mouths. But I knew where do I get an answer for this. I explored some sweet stores at Baggout that might be preparing and serving sugar-free sweets. Indiatimes.com had numerous options for every sweet-tooth :)

I shortlisted a mithai ka dibba containing sweets made from sugar subsitute (for elderly people) and packed beautifully in a reusable wooden box covered with colorful satin.

And those naughty li'l guests must be gifted their favourite sweet i.e. chocolates :)

5. Romantic Honeymoon

Last but not the least, When two people decide to stay together for lifetime, they should begin their journey with a loving note. Indian weddings are such big social occasions that the married couple need the time to just kick back and be together.... "just two of them";So that they could open up to the most important person in their lives and get to know each other in-and-out.
So I worked upon the idea of an exotic honeymoon location for Soha n Kunal. There were various sites listed on Baggout but I was mesmerized by great offers provided by Yatra.com
I was in love with luxurious cruise packages including air-fare of round trip, delicious food, visits to scenic locations and comfortable accomodations etc.

Now, after pondering much attention to all important aspects for Soha's wedding, I was feeling quite chill out and could just smile thinking about what would be my first words to greet the lovely bride-to-be........ "Hey Soha', Congratulations on your engagement and upcoming nuptials... Wishing U every happiness u deserve when you become Mrs. from Miss !!"