Whoever said that a wedding takes years of planning--right from selecting the venue to seeing that the colour of the Thai orchids match the bridal pair’s outfits--should probably take a leaf out of Hozefa Calcuttawalla’s book. With all of a mere six months left to go before he tied the knot with long-time sweetheart Shrishti, the young Mumbai-based businessman went through all the rigours of planning his big day in record breaking time, with his soon-to-be better half by his side. “Since Shrishti is a Hindu and I am a Muslim, our families took some time to come round to the idea of us getting married. And as soon as they did, we decided that without wasting any time we should get married as quickly as possible. And so Februray 2008 it was,” says Hozefa, who adds that he had a rather enjoyable time planning his wedding. “I was involved in every aspect of it—be it selecting our respective outfits to deciding on the type of wedding card we would finally have.”

Seen here Hozefa and Shrishti at the reception

Speaking of outfits, for the nikah ceremony, Hozefa decided to opt for a traditional sherwani that he himself selected and had made by a local tailor. “I went totally traditional for the nikah and even wore the ceremonial feathered sehra that I had hired for the day. But for the reception, I shopped at Ropaje in Mumbai for my three-piece suit which I kind of had co-ordinated to match Shrishti’s outfit,” says Hozefa, who even explored his metrosexual side for the first time during his wedding preparations.

Seen here Hozefa and Shrishti deck up traditionally for the Nikah

The dapper groom

“It was while accompanying Shrishti to a spa here in Mumbai called Blush for her pre-wedding beautifying session that I too decided to do something I had never done before and get a few treatments done,” laughs Hozefa, who remembers his rather painful face clean up routine. “I was totally in agony as the therapists literally attached my blackheads and warts. Since I had grown a beard for the Nikah, after the ceremony and before the reception, I shaved it off and went in for a facial which was simply divine.”

Thoroughly satisfied with the results of his meticulous planning, Hozefa says that although not a piece of cake, planning his wedding turned out to be an interesting learning experience. “I thoroughly recommend doing things yourself in order to ensure near-perfection. After all, it is the day you will remember forever!”