Vintage Charm
Vishakha Agarwal

By Jaspreet Soni

Vishakha, a Marwari and Karl who is half Parsi half Catholic, had two weddings: the traditional Marwari wedding in Delhi and the Catholic wedding in Mumbai so both their parents could get a chance to enjoy their respective traditional celebrations. Says Vishakha, "Thanks to two weddings, I got to wear the most gorgeous lehenga, and the most elegant white gown."

Nikasha Tawadey Lehenga for Mehendi
Vishakha saw Nikasha's designs online while researching for her outfits and fell in love with them. She saw a gorgeous yellow lehenga but was not sure if she could find it after 5 months when she landed in Delhi for shopping. Vishakha says, "I was on a mission to find this lehenga but at the back of my mind I was almost certain that I might not find it. But to my surprise, when I visited her store, it was there and looked even better than the picture. With lots of gota work in it, the lehenga looked very bright and cheery, and the best part, it has a very classic feel to it - and I think I can wear even ten years from now."

Mum's Wedding Lehenga for Bhath
Vishakha always wanted to wear her Mom's wedding lehenga as a kid. So when the time came, she thought it had to be part of her ensemble. She says, "Bhath was the perfect ceremony to do that because it involves my maternal side of the family. Though I had very little time to get ready that morning but in my mom's red and gold brocade lehenga and my sister's wedding borla adorning my forehead and a huge proud smile on my face, I looked like a million bucks. It was so me - simple, elegant in my vintage attire."

Manish Malhotra Lehenga for Godh Tikka and Sangeet
Vishakha wore a beautiful pink lehenga with lucknowi chicken embroidery on it by Manish Malhotra. She says, "A lot of designers use Swarovski and stone which is not really my thing. I was searching and searching but was not finding my style of outfit. I went to Mumbai to help Karl pick up a sherwani. When we went to Manish Malhotra's store, he did not come out with a sherwani but I had my dream lehenga in my hand. The dupatta was in net with a purple velvet border with zardozi & dabka work on it." The lehenga was understated bling. She went for soft curls in her hairs and heavy make up on eyes with nude lips. Her make-up was done by Chandni Singh.

Sabyasachi creation for Marwari Wedding
Vishakha wore a gorgeous Sabyasachi red lehenga with real silver embroidery on it. It was in velvet with exquisite zardosi and bead work bringing out the old world charm. What stands out in her vintage look for the wedding is that it will not age and be timeless. She says, "For my wedding, I wanted a look that would be the right sartorial choice even after years. I visited Sabyasachi's store in Delhi and saw this purple lehenga. When I tried it on, it was simply fabulous. But my only gripe was that it was in purple and I have always wanted to wear red on my wedding. To my luck, Sabyasachi happened to be there that day and he promised me that he would do it in red for me. For 3 months, I was at the edge of my seat wondering how it would turn out. But when I went for the fittings, I was literally jumping with joy all over the place because it was looking even better in red. "The lehenga came with two dupattas, a peach one draped over Vishakha's shoulders and red which covered her head. The purple border made for exuberant color combination. She wore uncut diamonds and designed the maang tikka herself. Billy Manik did her make-up and hairs for the big day.

Karen Willis Holmes Gown for Catholic Wedding
Vishakha says, "Karen Willis Holmes is a famous name in bridal wear in Australia. I was not sure of what I would get here in India as Indian designers do design gorgeous gowns but no one has great ready-to-wear bridal collection. I wanted my gown to be simple and flowy and traditional in style. I got exactly that- it had a V neck bodice & skirt in silk georgette. The bodice had drapes which you could pin to the back and it folded into side panels finished with embellishments on the sleeves." She wore diamond earrings to complete her simple yet classy look. Sonam Chandana did her makeup and hairs.

Photographs Courtesy: Abhinav and Avani Sah
(www.photokhichega.com)