A deep dive into Sakshi Sindwani’s wedding highlights

“Rehearsal dinner as a concept is only foreign it doesn’t happen in India but because we’re a very cool modern Punjabi family this is just something that we wanted to do plus a lot of people don’t know about this we had our vows exchanged on our dinner. We wrote things for each other me and Raghav, our family had prepared speeches so the night was predominantly a lot of speeches happening, our first dance happening and just lots of champagne toasts, for us it was very intimate! The decor was very very Gothic it was black it was it was deep there were no bright moments only bright moment that was there at the place was me in my white gown, in my custom Gauri & Nainika white gown with a hint of red because it’s bridal and we wanted to pay homage to that, considering I wasn’t doing a red moment for my bridal look I just wanted to incorporate red wherever possible so little bit of a peekaboo that happened for the Gauri & Nainika moment was a big highlight”.

Modern fusion Haldi

Floor-length mogras, bohemian decor and custom Tarun Tahiliani, all of this rightly spells out a picturesque modern fusion Haldi, and here’s how the bride imagined it. “The best way to put it is it’s a ‘modern fusion Haldi’, in terms of decor they were a lot of antique pieces that were just dressed with modern flowers. It was predominantly white and green with hints of pale blue. Something as pastel as a pale blue is very uncommon but looks beautiful with people in yellow attire. For the wardrobe, all of our guests were asked to wear yellow Indian formals which would complement beautifully with the decor. We wore a custom Tarun Tahiliani which had multiple colours but predominantly deeper reds, maroons and rani pinks in our outfit. Plus my hair was donned with floor-length Mogra falling down or fabrics braided into my hair or just pairing slightly heavier jewellery during my entry of Haldi. Wearing lots of colourful jewellery even during Haldi was really interesting and I was wearing artificial Mogra sort of Kaliras in my hands like a bangle which was beautiful and it was s trendsetting moment! And Anaita styled me and made me wear all these incredible homegrown labels that made the most incredible floral jewellery so that was quite interesting instead of doing the regular ‘haath phool’”.. 

“Raghav also ended up doing jewellery, something not as common for grooms to wear and I think that was very special that she had given a haath phool to Raghav for him to wear. Furthermore, we started the Haldi function also with a little bit of a flash mob that revealed us- Raghav entered with the two dogs and I entered with the flash mob dance, so this was my second trendsetting highlight of my wedding” adds Sakshi.

A case for coral 

‘Manish Malhotra bride’ is a title that’s all things grand and royal in itself, and Sakshi added her fair share of charm to the same by choosing coral as her bridal palette. “The third trendsetting highlight is being a Manish Malhotra coral bride! A lot of people don’t know but my veil was inspired by Karisma Kapoor’s when she got married with the same sort of bead detailing around the face which was again very very traditional. Manish Malhotra is known to do glamorous pieces and more modern Indian, but because of the relationship Anaita, me and Manish have he took the decision to break through from what he is traditionally known for and make a more traditional bridal outfit that is very ‘Manish Malhotra’ but still gives so much respect to the culture and my Punjabi heritage”. 

“The veil, the embroidery and every little thing was very culturally driven, which steals away from what he traditionally does. I think that was a very substantial moment not just for me but for the whole team and of course for MM as well because he’s never done a bride like that. I do personally think it’s one of the best MM bridal outfits that he’s ever done and I’m just so grateful that it was for me! For the wedding everything was ivory, it was beautiful, it was a sundowner, and the only person who was popping was me, and my coral lehenga! Moreover, my phoolon ki chadar was also an interesting element that I want people to know about. I had an auspicious mantra written on my phoolon ki chadar instead of doing only flowers. We did a fabric chadar which had the mantra written in the exact colour as my lehenga so it was customised by another homegrown brand from Chandigarh called ‘Pataare’ It had lots of Punjabi details all very feminine, hence completely reinventing how we traditionally see a phoolon ki chadar” shared Sakshi. 

The Sangeet soiree

Imagine a traditional sangeet ceremony, but make it a royal evening gala, and that’s exactly how the couple imagined their Sangeet ceremony. “My fourth highlight would be the Sangeet night; it was a royal affair. I decided to wear a custom Falguni Shane Peacock so did Raghav and the decor was like royalty! It was very Bollywood in its approach but it was very royal in terms of its colours and decor. There were lots of deep red deeper tones, olive green which was a highlighting colour and lots of shamadans, chandeliers and other beautiful things. There was a lot of mirror work too which was placed throughout the theme which meant that it needed to be reflected, and I became my reflected self, courtesy of my custom Falguni Shane Peacock! Also, traditionally brides are supposed to wear super heavy long heels but what people don’t know about is that literally for all the events I wore flats and I think that tells about how much comfort was a priority for me whether it’s wearing boots whether it is wearing shoes or just flats. Throughout, being comfortable was a key priority for me!”

The pyjama night!

If you’re wondering how can a pyjama night turn into a glamorous affair, so take cues from Sakshi Sindwani, because this is how you do it! “Now the fifth would be the glamorous Pyjama Night! I wore a custom Gaurav Gupta for my glamorous pyjama night and Raghav wore a custom Sawan Gandhi. It is very very close to our hearts, the night was just celestial it was magical it was extraordinary in terms of its decor there were a lot of planets, literally life-size planets all over, and there were a lot of horoscop-ic things throughout. A lot of people were in glamorous pyjamas which means lots of jewellery with silk pyjamas and sequin co-ord sets, people were comfortable and then we had a drag show! Rani Kohinoor aka Sushant Divgikr performed and it was the most spectacular thing I have ever experienced! It was not just the biggest blessing but such a privilege to hear such a fantastic artist in a close setting!”

Hero and Featured Image: Courtesy Shutterdown images.