Model Anjali Raut weds in Chandigarh

Jan 10, 2012 Celebrity Wedding Pictures Leave a comment

Popular Mumbai Model Anjali Raut tied the knot with Akshaay Gill in his home-town Chandigarh. The functions included a Sangeet, the Wedding at the Gurudwara in Panchkula and a Reception. For the different functions, the half-Maharashtrian, half-Russian model wore colourful and traditional ensembles from bridal hot-spots like Benzer and Kalki in Mumbai.

Anjali and Akshaay at the Sangeet (left) and the Reception (right). Anjali picked both the creations from Benzer, Mumbai.

At the Wedding with sister Alesia Raut and nephew.


Gurudwara Wedding, Anjali in a traditional red ensemble from Kalki.

Akshaay Gill runs his business in Singapore. Anjali has been working as a model in Mumbai since a few years. She met Akshaay in Singapore when she lived there, her father an employee of Air India was earlier posted there. Anjali’s sister is well-known Model Alesia Raut, and in Mumbai’s fashion circle both the sisters are much-liked for their modelling skills and pleasant disposition.

Family picture, Anjali and Akshaay with her parents, brother, sister and nephew.

Alesia Raut and her son. The bride and her best friend Model Deepa Chari

Britney Spears shows off her platinum engagement ring

Jan 10, 2012 Precious Platinum Leave a comment

Britney Spears got engaged to Jason Trawick, her former agent  after a romantic private dinner on his 40th birthday. Jason picked out a 4-carat, Neil Lane-designed ring that features a 4-carat round white diamond in a platinum setting and 90 micro pave diamonds around the band.

Drew Barrymore gets engaged

Jan 10, 2012 Precious Platinum Leave a comment

Actress and producer, Drew Barrymore accepted a proposal from her handsome art consultant boyfriend Will Kopelman who popped the question during a romantic trip to Sun Valley, Idaho, around the holidays. Drew’s ring features a colorless radiant-cut diamond that weighs in at just under 4 carats on a diamond-covered band. Will picked up the gorgeous ring from London based Graff Diamonds.

Pre-wedding shoot in Paris

Jan 9, 2012 Wedding Photographers Leave a comment

Amber and her husband got married in 2009. Amber shares her experience of their pre-wedding shoot in one of the most romantic cities in the world.

A perfect opportunity to get to know the Wedding Photographer
We love old fashioned romance and glamour, so we chose to have our pre-wedding shoot in Paris. The shoot was the perfect opportunity to warm up with the photographer Aziz and for him to get to know us as a couple before the wedding. It was also a fun way to have a collection of stunning individual pictures which Aziz incorporated into a guest signing book for the wedding reception.

Relaxed modern and classic glamour
We liked the idea of a relaxed modern take on classic glamour. I wanted to look stylish and be myself, so I chose a long black evening dress from Monsoon and Gucci kitten heels. My scarf was from a vintage boutique in London. My husband wore a Hugo Boss black tux and shoes from Kurt Geiger. I always remember the morning I arrived in Paris, on the day of the shoot, the morning coffee and croissants, and all the excitement and anticipation that day.

Parisians enquired if we were Bollywood stars
Aziz beautifully captured our love and affection with his camera- and photographed us at different places- at the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame and the Jardin du Luxembourg. What we had not anticipated was the attention we’d get from local Parisians- they came up to us and asked if we were famous Bollywood stars!

My favorite shots
Two of my favourite shots are where I am looking back and holding my husband’s hand, with a beautiful old wall behind us. The other is of us on the Paris metro, on the escalator.

Photographs courtesy : Aziz
Email : info@airaphotography.com
Website : www.airaphotography.com

Zulfi Syed set to Wed

Jan 6, 2012 Celeb Weddings to Watch out for Leave a comment

Popular model Zulfi Syed is tying the knot. His fiancé, Sheena Varma is from Mumbai and an interior designer by qualification; the Nikaah ceremony and reception is at Oris Hotel, Mumbai on January 14th and the next day Zulfi is hosting a party at ITC Grand Maratha Sheraton. According to reports, Sheena will be wearing a Sabyasachi outfit for the Mehendi and a Manish Malhotra ensemble for the reception while Zulfi will wear a Paithani suit for the Nikaah and a Rahul Khanna- Rohit Gandhi sherwani for the reception. Zulfi has had a long stint as a model, and also dabbled in acting—so several of his model, designer and actor friends are expected at the reception- Aditya Panscholi, Kangana Ranaut, Tulip Joshi, Sohail Khan and Atul Agnihotri.

Zulfi is a Hotel Management graduate from Bangalore University, is now involved with running a restaurant/ food venture which runs cafes in Goa and Delhi. The Goa cafe is named Hippies, while the Delhi cafe Boombox in Khan market offers street food from around the world. Boombox is opening their next cafe in Connaught Place, Delhi shortly.

The newly-weds will be setting up their new home in Mumbai.

The Big Fat Engagement in Hua Hin

Jan 5, 2012 Destination Weddings Leave a comment

Lavish settings, aerial acts, multi-cuisine platter, livewire music and high-energy performances by artists & dancers, Nisarg Ramani’s Engagement was more lavish than many Big Fat Destination Weddings.

Nisarg, 25, son of Dubai-based Jewellery tycoon Ramesh Ramani got engaged to Nupur Sakaria at the Sheraton Hua Hin Resort and Spa in Hua Hin, Thailand. The three day celebrations were between 20 and 22nd December, and Dubai-based Wedding Planner Rimjhim Bhagchandani, conceptualised the wow themes, to give the 300 guests the most magnificent experience.

Father Ramesh Ramani’s brief to the Wedding Planner was simple: “This may be the Engagement, but we want the best. Don’t calculate anything so you’re not limited by a budget”. So Rimjhim flew in the best talent from India, Dubai and London, and with help from Thai hands, orchestrated the affair to remember.

The Engagement and Touch of Heaven theme evening on Day 1

Bubble Act from Dubai, Heliosphere from UK

The Hawaiin Pool Party on Day 2

(Left) Sophie Choudry at the Arabian Nights evening. (Right) Tanoura dancer from Dubai. Tanoura dance is a form of folkloric dance from Egypt, and is now popular in Dubai. Tanoura means skirt in English and is usually performed by Sufi men to the tune of Sufi music, where they spin continuously.


(Left) ‘Casino comes to Hua Hin’ party, a Las Vegas style youngsters night. (Right) Paris by Night theme evening, the chandelier dancer serving champagne upside down.

The Wedding Planners. (Left) Ramesh Ramani, father of the Groom. (Right) Rimjhim Bhagchandani and team

Photographs by www.nikhilkapur.com

Watch Nisarg & Nupur’s pre-engagement film shot in Dubai and the film with highlights of the Engagement celebrations

Indian Royalty & the Romance of Platinum

Jan 5, 2012 Precious Platinum 5 Comments

By Akshay Chavan

Jewels were the Maharajas best friends. Every blue blooded royal had vaults full of jewels with cascades of Golconda diamonds, Kashmir sapphires, Burmese rubies, Colombian emeralds and Basra pearls in the most magical settings that would take your breath away. And usually the best pieces were reserved for men!

Chhatrapati Rajaram of Kolhapur, earliest known buyer of platinum jewellery in India and Princess Sita of Kapurthala, one of the best dressed women in the world in 1920-30s, wearing a large diamond necklace by Cartier.

This passion for jewels led to occasional contacts between Maharajas and the European jewellers in the nineteenth century- like the English jeweller Hamilton in Calcutta. However, this interaction was quite limited. Chhatrapati Rajaram 1st of Kolhapur was one of the first Indian princes to visit Europe in 1869-70. He is known to have bought enormous quantities of Belle Époque jewellery including chains and pendants set in platinum. This is the earliest recorded reference of purchase of platinum jewellery by Indian royalty.

By 1910-1920s, more Indian Maharajas became enthusiastic buyers of platinum jewellery from European jewellers. The stones would be from the princes private hoards, but the settings and designs were created by European jewellers. Newly rich states like Patiala, Baroda, Indore, Kapurthala, Jamnagar and Cooch Behar commissioned the jewellers to create the most spectacular pieces.

A spectacular tiara of diamonds and hexagonal emeralds made by Cartier for Maharaja Jagatjit Singh of Kapurthala.

The famous cricketer Ranji, Maharaja of Jamnagar was a great patron of platinum jewellery. He was known to have a collection of Platinum wristwatches, chains and cigarette cases. The Maharaja had his remarkably fine collection of emeralds reset into a fine ceremonial necklace composed of seventeen rectangular emeralds including one of 70 carats coming from the coffers of the Sultan of Turkey, with settings of platinum. Cartier and Mauboussin vied with each other for Patiala jewel commissions. The Maharaja of Kapurthala commissioned Cartier to design him a turban ornament or Sarpech consisting of nineteen emeralds of various shapes, brilliants, rose-cut diamonds and pearls; the central hexagonal emerald weighed 17,740 carats.

Yeshwant Rao Holkar, the Maharaja of Indore asked Jean Goulet, of the Parisian jewellery house of Mauboussin, to visit Indore to catalogue and appraise his treasury, a task that took two months to complete. In 1933, Yeshwant Rao appointed Mauboussin as his official jeweller. The Maharajas of Indore had commissioned several fine pieces of jewellery from the House of Chaumet, including the Indore Pear diamonds.

Examples of fine platinum jewellery created by Cartier & Boucheron for Indian royalty

It was these commissions from Indian royalty that sustained most of the European jewellers during the years of Great Depression. It also made a significant cultural impact on the jewellery designs in Europe. The ‘tutti-frutti’ style of platinum jewellery incorporating several Indian motifs and colours became extremely popular. In addition to jewellery, Indian princes were also commissioning cigarette cases, vanity cases, toiletries sets and tongue cleaners in platinum. The romance of Indian royalty with jewellery lasted till 1947. While some of the great collections have been sold by the descendents, some of them can be seen even today. Almost every Royal, Zamindar or a Thikana family has at least one or two pieces of platinum jewellery with them, be it a brooch, earrings or a necklace as their heirloom. Valuable memories of a bygone era- as they say, platinum never loses its lustre, and the romance of royalty and platinum always stays.

The Most Spectacular Weddings 2011

Jan 3, 2012 Celebrity Wedding Pictures Leave a comment

Three weddings which India’s rich and famous refer to as the decade’s most spectacular weddings– Steel Baron Laxmi Mittal’s daughter’s wedding in Paris, the twin celebrations Diamond magnate Vijay Shah hosted for his son and daughter’s wedding in Antwerp. And the most glamorous wedding Rashmi Mehta organised for his daughter Grishma in Mumbai. If the three weddings set the benchmark, every year more weddings make big news and set a new standard for opulence and innovation. WeddingSutra presents the most spectacular Weddings 2011.

Destination Hyderabad
Mallika Reddy & Sidharth Indukari@ GMR Arena, Hyderabad

Amitabh Bachchan was the star guest and the glitterati tweeted that it was the best-organised private extravaganza. Fashionistas commented that they had never seen so many people in the most exquisite designer wear under one roof. Pinky and Sanjay Reddy of GVK Industries organised a dream wedding for their daughter, and there was so much buzz about the wedding not just in Hyderabad, but all over India.

The GVK Reddy Family

The Wedding Makers
Invitation cards- Entertainment Design Company, Wedding Management- E Factor, Entertainment- Wizcraft, Hospitality- Percept, Style Direction- Abu Jani-Sandeep Khosla, Decor for at-home functions- Dinaz Noria, Bride and Groom’s attire- Abu-Sandeep, Rohit Bal, Tarun Tahiliani and Shantanu-Nikhil, Gifts for select guests- Sarees by Sabyasachi and Satya Paul, Mallika’s make-up- Mickey Contractor, Performances- Vyas Brothers, Dance Choreography- Remo, Photography and film- Badal & Raja Jain, Candid Photography- Joseph Radhik

Big Indian Wedding in Venice
Vineeta Agarwal & Muqit Teja@ San Clemente Palace Hotel & Resort, Venice

Seven years after they hosted their eldest daughter Anjani’s spectacular destination wedding in Udaipur, London-based billionaires Bina and Pramod Agarwal hosted their second daughter Vineeta’s wedding in Venice. With celebrations at the most exotic locales, magnificent decor by Sumant Jayakrishnan and acts by international sensations like Shakira, the three day celebration with over 800 guests was referred to as one of the grandest destination weddings.

Shakira@ The Big Indian Wedding in Venice

The Wedding Makers
Wedding management- Seven Steps, Decor Design- Sumant Jayakrishnan, Food consultant- Ritu Dalmia, Catering- Munna Maharaj and Federico Salza, Photography- Badal & Raja Jain

Power Wedding
Avantika Malik & Imran Khan@ Taj Lands End, Bandra

Imran Khan’s marriage to Avantika Malik (daughter of CNBC head honcho Vandana Malik) was an intimate affair, but the wedding reception saw the most powerful personalities of business and bollywood. The pre-wedding functions were at Avantika’s farmhouse in Karjat, the registered marriage at her home in Pali Hill and the grand Black & Silver theme wedding reception at Taj Land’s End.

Avantika and Imran with his uncle Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao

The Wedding Makers
Invitation cards- Uttara Shah, Bride and Groom’s attire- Manish Malhotra, Varun Bahl

Match this- Monte Carlo
Kajal Fabiani and Gaurav Assomull@ Salle Garnier of the Opera de Monte-Carlo

Mumbai Society darlings Kajal Fabiani and Gaurav Assomull’s wedding made big news—thanks to their exotic wedding venue—Monte Carlo. While the Sindhi community around the world exchanged notes on the dream wedding which Billionaires Kamal Fabiani and Madan Assomull organised for their daughter and son, the wedding managers Monte Carlo Weddings and Percept were besieged with requests from the media for pictures and more information on the hottest destination wedding, the highlight of which was a performance by Akon.

Fabiani- Assomull Marriage in Monte Carlo

The Wedding Makers
Pre-wedding party- Taj Mahal Palace & Hotel, Wedding management- Monte Carlo Weddings, Hospitality- Percept, Performances- Sukhbir and Akon, Bride’s wear- Abu Jani-Sandeep Khosla, Suneet Verma

While the GVK Reddy may have made front-page news, the most grand and regal wedding, we hear was organised by a family who safeguard their privacy fiercely- the Jains of the Times of India Group. Trishla, the only daughter of Meera and Sameer Jain wed Satyan Gajwani at Jagmandir, Udaipur— in the most romantic & regal settings put together by Udaipur’s luxury properties and 360 Degrees, the event management arm of the Times of India Group.

Mumbai Gearing up for a Dazzling Wedding

Jan 2, 2012 Celeb Weddings to Watch out for Leave a comment

When it’s an alliance between the world’s most prominent diamond merchant and India’s shipping giant, you can be sure the wedding will be the most awaited affair in the city’s social calendar. Viraj, the son of Mona and Russell Mehta is tying the knot with Nisha, the daughter of Bharat Sheth of Great Eastern Shipping. The celebrations are between 7th and 9th January at the Taj Mahal Hotel and Turf Club in South Mumbai. Russel Mehta is the Mumbai-based COO of Rosy Blue, the global conglomerate who also own the retail chain ‘Orra’.

The weddings hosted by the Rosy Blue family (also known as B.Arunkumar & Sons) have always been the most dazzling affairs. The three or four day extravaganzas are a showcase of the most scintillating Indian elements for International connoisseurs who are ferried to India in chartered flights and treated to the ultimate in traditional Indian hospitality. A few years ago, Dilip Mehta’s son Vishal Mehta tied the knot with Shrenuj CEO’s daughter; the theme was ‘going back to the roots’ and world-renowned musical maestros were invited to perform at the very private event. In 2005, another brother Harshad Mehta’s son Rihen got married and the functions were held at the sprawling Cooperage and MMRDA Grounds. The Sangeet was held amidst tight security and managed by the Moranis owned Cineyug. Bollywood’s A-list stars like Akshay Kumar, Priyanka Chopra, Kareena Kapoor, Shahid Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan performed and entertained the over 7,000 guests.

Best Celebrity Wedding Cakes of 2011

Jan 2, 2012 Marriage & Wedding Trends Leave a comment

As I sit on my desk writing this next post for you with a slice of oreo cheesecake, it got me thinking about, what else but, wedding cakes. We’ve featured some stunning wedding cakes from celebrity weddings on our blog, and  here I narrow down my five favorite celebrity wedding cakes from 2011.

1. On top of the list is Kate Middleton and Prince William‘s spectacular wedding cake created by renowned pastry chef Fiona Cairns. The eight-tier fruit- cake, decorated in cream, white icing and 900 delicate sugar-paste flowers, had newlyweds’ initials, C & W, stenciled into the cake’s bottom layer.

2. Loved the elegant six-tiered wedding cake at Kate Moss and Jamie Hince’s wedding created by London baker Peggy Porschen for their garden wedding reception. The ornamented traditional white cake was surrounded by yellow roses at the base.

3. George Bush’s daughter Jenna Bush and hubby Henry Hager enjoyed a four-tier tres leches cake; with each layer of sponge cake soaked with three different kinds of milk and topped with whipped cream icing.

4. Prince Albert of Monaco and his new bride Princess Charlene’s five-tier wedding cake decorated with Proteas, the South Africa’s national flower makes it to our list for its sheer size. I haven’t seen a bigger wedding cake.

5. The fun rock n’ roll wedding of Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton had an equally funky tiered vanilla cake, made by Jay Qualls owner of Maples Wedding Cakes from Nashville, in brushed leather color finished with hot pink frosting, Miranda’s favorite color.