Mrinalini Chandra

Mrinalini Chandra looked perfect in her vibrant wedding ensembles and matching jewellery as she wed Aditya, the love of her life, in the historic ‘white palace’ or Safed Baradari, a beautiful marble building in Kaiserbagh, situated in Lucknow, the capital of Uttar Pradesh. Here, she shares her wedding experience and design inspirations.

How We Met
“I think it’s true that you find someone when you least expect it! I was in Mumbai for my first show at the India Fashion Week. In the middle of all the chaos came the festival of Holi! I was homesick as Holi is my favorite festival, so I went to meet my cousin who had organized a party at Aditya’s house. My cousin was good friends with Aditya and invited me as I was alone in the city. Nobody saw it coming but Aditya and I got along like a house on fire at the first meeting itself! Aditya often jokes that I walked right into his home, heart and life.”

Wedding venue
“It was a childhood dream of mine to get married at the magnificent Safed Baradari building in Lucknow. Both Aditya and I wanted to showcase an old-world charm in our wedding venue and décor, and in this respect, the white marble building of the Safed Baradari was perfect.”

Wedding Décor
“The décor for the wedding was done by my good friend Abhinav Bhagat. He did a wonderful job with the Mughal-themed décor and kept the beauty of the monument intact by decorating it with marigold flowers and fairy lighting to highlight the natural beauty of the structure.”

Wedding Looks
“I am a jewellery designer by profession and had certain outfits in mind for all my wedding functions. I knew I didn’t want to go overboard and thus resorted to sourcing, self-designing and customizing some of the outfits and jewellery for my wedding.”

Engagement
“For the engagement, I kept things simple by wearing a sea green and turquoise ‘bada gota’ work lehenga from Lucknow. I customized my jewellery by wearing a self-designed zirconia stone jewellery set comprising a necklace, ‘maang tikka’ and earrings inspired by the lace pattern of my lehenga.”

Mehndi
“I wanted to be comfortable during my mehndi and chose to wear a breezy cream, blue and green embroidery skirt that I had picked up during one of my trips to Jaipur. My sister-in-law designed the most beautiful handmade white ‘rajnigandha’ and rose flower jewellery that further accentuated my bright outfit.”

Sangeet
“My dear friend Nikhil Thampi and Mohit Rai gifted me a gorgeous red and gold outfit with intricate flower appliques and embroidery for my sangeet ceremony. The outfit was designed by Nikhil himself and made me look lovely. I accessorized the gorgeous ensemble with navratan stone-studded jadau jewellery that gave the outfit a very traditional touch.”

Pheras
“This was by far my favorite look as everything was designed and executed in-house. I have very minimalist and simple tastes, and thus chose to wear a traditional turmeric yellow chikankari lehenga with intricate ‘mukaish’ work that beautifully contrasted with my ‘pheroza’ (blue) enameled handcrafted earrings, ‘nath’, ‘haath phool’ and bracelets.”

Wedding Makeup
“My makeup throughout all the wedding functions was kept natural, but it was only during my pheras that makeup artist Mehak Oberoi completely dolled me up! She kept my minimal taste in mind and executed a beautifully natural and dewy makeup look with golden eyeshadow, kohl liner and a warm-toned matte pink lipstick that made me look and feel truly beautiful!”

Reception
“I wanted to exude the traditional Lucknowi essence with my reception outfit, so I wore a heavily embellished red zardozi sharara from Pallavi Jaipur. My jewellery was the main highlight of the ensemble as it was specially designed with Jaipuri jadau jewellery and semi-precious uncut polki and pearls. I wore a typical Lucknowi ‘passa’ and a small ‘maang tikka’ with choker, earrings and a ‘haath phool’ which gave my entire look a hint of a Mughal splendor.”

Advice for future Brides-To-Be
“Try to keep calm at your wedding… it may be difficult but it is achievable. It’s a precious moment in one’s life and must be thoroughly enjoyed. The most important thing is to remember to be grateful for all the love and blessings that have come your way. Remember to feel lucky to have the chance to live the rest of your life with your life partner which is enough to keep you happy and blushing on your big day!”

Wedding Makers
Location: Safed Baradari, Lucknow
Bridal Trousseau: Nikhil Thampi (Sangeet), Pallavi Jaipur (Reception)
Hair & Makeup: Mehak Oberoi
Decor: Abhinav Bhagat Events
Photographer: Umesh Daundkar
Videographer: AlterEgoCrew

For wedding fashion inspiration from real brides check out our Real Brides, Real Style section here
For some epic lehenga inspiration, check out our Lehenga Look Book page on Facebook here

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