Worth Noting: Magazines and more Blog Lovin'

Asiana Wedding Spring 2010. Picture Credit: indianmusic4u.co.uk

Asiana Wedding
I finally got my copy of Asiana Weddings Spring 2010. Yaaay!  I know, it's such a disease, I'm married with two kids and I still subscribe to wedding magazines.  I call it research.  Anyways, as usual, with all the soft-focus camera work and computer editing, it's a full-on visual feast.  I really feel like these guys have their fingers on the pulse of every new trend in fusion fashion.  For me, it's worth the cost of having it shipped over if you live in North America.  My one issue with this magazine is with the airbrushing. I know all magazine images are airbrushed, but these guys airbrush so much it kind of makes me a little sick.

Marigolds and Mithai
So, this isn't one of the first blogs I started reading, but it was one of the ones that made me realize I needed to write this kind of post, because I am constantly searching for South Asian Bridal inspiration, and yet it took me a long time stumble on this gem.

I really like this blog, it's just pretty, and these two bloggings sisters can write  They have so many unique real weddings, nothing is your typical big indian wedding stuff, there is clearly a current of fusion, boho chic running through the whole thing. This blog is above all about style and individualism, it's not over the top opulence, so I think this will appeal to a lot of brides because the wedding concepts are attainable on many budgets.  You can check it out by clicking on the link below, or to see other great blogs, you can access my blogroll by clicking on the "Roll Call" link above.

http://marigoldsandmithai.blogspot.com/

The Bride's Lookbook: Springtime Look from OxfordJasmine

Spring time Look by Oxford Jasmine (click to enlarge).

The lovely Jasmine, from Oxford Jasmine Blog created this look and allowed me to post it here when I requested a look that was suitable for a modern Asian bride for her registry.  She was kind enough to include some tips for how to achieve this look as well as a video tutorial.  I'll let her tell you more about it:

This is a current favourite of mine because it suits all asian skin tones beautifully. The look is subtle enough even for the most conservative of brides (who may be new to make up) but also bursting with vibrancy and colours which really enhance skin tone and eye colour. It would suit a registry outfit which may be a light coloured outfit for Spring or Summer.


This look is really simple to achieve, there is a tutorial here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=woIERTwLntw

I used three complementary eye shadows to create a graduated colour across the eye lid, the darkest eye shadow was used as an eyeliner. False lashes are optional but I would always suggest some lash inserts which are lightweight and durable. All of the products I used are easily accessible for brides to choose themselves as they are available from department stores and beauty counters in the UK.

You can reach me via the social media links contact on my web page: http://www.oxfordjasmine.com

Thank you Jasmine!

Worth Noting: Dulhan Expo

If you are in the New Jersey area this weekend, check out the Dulhan Expo. It's on from 12-7 at The Merion Hotel.  Or, if that's too short notice the "elite edition" Dulhan Expo will be on April 25 from 12-7 at The Mirage Hotel.  It looks pretty good, and they have over 200 booths, with vendors from the UK and all over North America.  For more information, please click here.

Designs on Love: Gel Henna Cones

Multi-coloured gel cones.  Picture Credit: Beachcombers

I just received my copy of Asiana Wedding Spring 2010 issue, and I will blog more about that later. But just to note quickly, as I was flipping through it, I noticed a couple of beauty shots where the brides are wearing mehndi designs done in full multi-coloured gels.  I'm assuming they used something like the ones above, from beachcombers.  What do you think, is this something you might try, for say an engagement look?  Or possibly as an entertainment option for your guests who don't want or like mehndi designs?

Full disclosure: I have never shopped at beachcombers, but my sister has, and was happy with her purchase. However, if you're a Canadian shopper, be ready for hefty custom's charges...so much for NAFTA.

Mirror, Mirror: Online Shopping for a Cousin's Wedding

Hi Asiya,
Hope you're well. I was wondering whether you know of any websites where I can order clothes for a wedding? My cousins getting married next month - and I can't fit into any of my clothes - ur figure is never the same after having a baby! Plus I really don't want to go shopping with baby because it's always raining here, and then she starts crying, and then I start crying - lol! The pics on your website are amazing, and if I could order anything like them online I would be so happy!
Thank you, G
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Dear G,

Double congrats to you, first for your baby, and second for your cousin's wedding. I completely understand your dilemma, having just had a baby and living in snowy, rainy, wet Canada, it's hard to get out to buy milk, never mind clothes. A lot of the clothes I post in my inspiration boards are from bargello, and while they are quite beautiful, I find them far too expensive for most of us, unless it's for the bride or her immediate family. For a more reasonable budget-conscious pick, I would recommend Diya Online. They are located in the UK, and they offer an excellent selection of Asian clothing, and their prices are incredibly reasonable.  They also offer a catalogue order service.

Another good choice might be Utsav Sarees, they are located in India, so in order to gaurantee ontime arrival, I really recommend ordering soon. They offer a huge selection of clothes for any budget, and you can narrow your selection according to your needs. They have excellent customer service, and can sew your clothes to your specifications...for a price, of course.

If budget is not an issue, you can try Seasons India, or Trends of India, who do gorgeous designer clothes, but they are pricey. I've never bought from these two, because they are out of my budget, so I can't comment as to their shipping or customer service.
 
Warmly,
Asiya

Worth Noting: Blog Lovin' - Maharani Weddings

There are not enough web resources out there for South Asian Brides.  As a blogger, I am constantly on the prowl for great ideas online, and while there are gems out there, it requires a little bit of digging, so I want to help.  Every now and then I'll feature a blog for South Asian Brides that I love.  They are all on my blogroll (which you can access by clicking the "Roll Call" link), but not everyone checks there.

Maharani Weddings
Chances are that if you are a bride planning a wedding you've already seen this one, but I felt it was fair to start with this blog since it inspired my own blogging adventure.  Maharani Weddings dubs itself the "a haven for South Asian brides."  If you are a bride who loves the finer things in life and a little girliness, this is definitely the resource for you.  Based out of the US, blogger Shawna and her team bring us the most creative and luxurious weddings and vendors they know.  I was going to list some of my fave posts but as I read their archives, I realized that's unfair.  I cannot discriminate between different kinds of gorgeousness. So, instead, I will suggest you block out a weekend and grab some snacks and get to work, brides.

http://www.maharaniweddings.com

Real Bride: Poise and Elegance

Last week, I posted a series of photos by Ottawa-based photographer Amna Hakim. You can check them out by clicking here, and here.  They were absolutely beautiful so I couldn't resist posting them, but they weren't the reason her work caught my eye, and they weren't the first set of her photographs that I'd seen. 

Me, I always end up going back to the thing I saw first, so that's why I'm going to do a second set of pictures by Amna so soon.  One thing I've noticed about her work is that her subjects always seem so at ease.  I feel like she's caught them at their best moment, and I suspect that they probably feel her photographs capture them exactly as they wish to look. I say this because if you look at my next real bride, she is carrying herself with such ease and grace that I can only imagine that she was comfortable with her photographer as well as her self.

To see more of Amna Hakim's work, visit her webpage and her blog by clicking here.  I recommend reading this post about a lovely hijabi bride, click here to check it out.  Her look was a bit out of my scope but I really recommend it for any brides hoping to incorporate their hijab in look.

Color Theory: Spring is Here! So Wear Grey

Grey is a colour often overlooked by us Asian girls.  When we wear it, we wear 'cause we want to look contemporary, and we wear it in thick wools and cottons in winter.  But not in spring, and very rarely in a traditional design.  But if you think about it, the neutral dark quality of grey let's brights shine when you put them next to it, while at the same time making difficult colours like yellow more wearable.  In a lighter shade it can also lend itself well to a traditional style, like the lengha pictured below.  So this spring, why not try grey?

Picture Credit: Gray Kezia Lengha from Bargello

Real Bride: It's About the Details - Part II

Shaadi and Valima

This post is a continuation of a previous post which you can check out by clicking here.

I just wanted to note a couple of details that I fell in love with about this bride's outfit. I am crazy about gerberas and the colour red, and personally, I am partial to bouquets that are kind of compact, so this rose and gerbera combination, I love.  I also love the peach colour of the second day, it's so pretty with all the details of the decor and the cupcakes (yummay!).

 

 

Amna Hakim Photography offers wedding, portrait, and event photography in and around the Ottawa and Toronto Area. She is available for travel to wedding destinations worldwide. To view more of Amna's work or contact her, visit her webpage or check out her blog.

Real Bride: It's About the Details - Part I

Mehendi and Mayoun

As the wedding business becomes increasingly about personalization, it's the small touches that make a wedding event special. And even if no one else notices, as the bride, little things like the details of your outfit or decor will seem very special. That's why these days photographs are so much more than stiff family portraits. Photographs of weddings now contain many candid moments and a lot of still life. That's why even though the bride in my next Real Bride feature declined to have her face pictured, the images are still such a pleasure to view.  This wedding was photographed by Amna Hakim of Amna Hakim Photography.

 

Amna Hakim Photography offers wedding, portrait, and event photography in and around the Ottawa and Toronto Area.  She is available for travel to wedding destinations worldwide. To view more of Amna's work or contact her, visit her webpage or check out her blog.

Color Theory: Spring!

Daisy field and orange lengha. Picture Credit: A Year from Oak Cottage and Nikasha Tawadey at LFW

Orange can be a difficult colour to wear, and for the previous few years it was paired with a deep purpley magenta shade to make it brighter and prettier.  This is a beautiful way to wear it if you like a lot brights. However, If you want to include it but maybe not so much of it, you can tone it down with neutrals.  Think of green as a neutral colour because it works with everything in nature, so it can work with everything in clothes and design too.  Gold is also a neutral, because metallics tend to go with everything, depending on their tone.

The Basic Bride: Posture

It will help you breathe better, feel energized, make your waist appear trimmer, give you more poise in your pictures, highlight the bone structure of your face, strengthen your back.  So it is definitely worth the effort of trying to get it right. Here are my tips for great posture in your wedding dress and out of it:

• One thing I've learned about the way we carry ourselves is that we put an immense amount of pressure on our necks to hold up our bodies, pressure that we could otherwise transfer to our abdominal muscles.  When you straighten your back and engage your ab muscles, try and and relax your neck by dropping your shoulders at the same time.  It will make a huge difference.

• Notice the way dancers hold their bodies before the start and at the finish of their routines? Their shoulders are always back and their diaphragm is pushed forward.  I'm not talking about sticking out your chest so it looks bigger.  The point is actually to make you walk taller.  If you do it right it will look right.

• When Madonna was going through her Indian craze and doing lots of yoga, she talked about learning good posture through yoga.  I remember she said that she imagined it was like there was a string running through her body and somebody was tugging it from above her, pulling her whole body into alignment.  I try to think of it like that too.

The Inspired Bride: Spring!

Daisy Fields.  Picture Credit: A Year from Oak Cottage Blog

Spring! One word, that's it, it makes my heart sing....hahaha...that's so corny.  The weather in Canada has been crazy, first a little snow, then sunshine, and now rain.  Still, everyone is talking about spring cleaning, new clothes, gardening, setting the clock forward.  It's everywhere, and I'm hoping we're done with winter.  For the spring bride, I chose a happy orange with frills on the skirt and tempered it with neutral accessories and a very nude face.

Picture Credits from the top left:  Orange lengha by Nikasha Tawadey at Lakme Fashion Week/ Gold clutch with rhinestones from Kadam Shoes/ Art Print of a gerbera from McAllister Art Studio/ "Le Vernis" Nail Colour in Jade from Chanel via The Frisky/ Krystina Sandals by Steve Madden.

Worth Noting: Fashion Weeks Galore

The past two weeks were host to two major fashion showcases, one in India, one in Pakistan.  I covered some of the bridal styles from the Lakme Fashion Week in India, but because the theme was resort style, some of the lines were out of my scope. However, if you are interested, some of my faves in resort wear were Nidhi and Divya, Manish Malhotra, Anita Dongre, and Lina Tapis.  You can check out all these designers and more by clicking here.

Another huge fashion showcase happened in pakistan with the Sunsilk PFDC (Pakistani Fashion Design College) Fashion Week.  With 32 designers and over 600 pictures, it's really hard to get through them all, but hopefully I will go through my faves later on this week if I have time.  No promises!  Nazma at Asian Fashion Blog has selected some of her favourite picks from fashion week.  You can check her faves out by clicking here.

Love at First Sight: Natasha Tawadey Lengha at LFW

Designer Nikasha Tawadey showed one of my favourite collections at this weeks Lakme Fashion Week.  It feautured a mix of contemporary and ethnic pieces in creamy coffee shades, light green, gold, and this season's everywhere colour, coral-orange. One piece stood out to me and I keep going back to look at it.

Orange and Coffee-cream lengha from Nikasha Tawadey. Picture Credit: Lakme Fashion Week Website.

I can literally feel something squeezing my heart when I see this design.  The cream colour is universally flattering, and that orange is soft enough to bring out the blush in anyone's skin tone.  Instead of covering it in embroidery, the bottom is embellished with tiers of gilded-chiffon ruffles which give it so much movement and interest.  The delicate print adds a bit of embellishment. This is perfect for a fuss-free bride who wants something SIMPLE but still elegant.  How many of us wish for it, and how many of us are actually able to accomplish it?  I love this for a springtime wedding or garden party. Price: probably too expensive, anyway.

Trendspotting: Lakme Summer/Resort 2010 - Part II

Days 4 and 5

This is a continuation for another post which you can check out by clicking here.

Trendspotting: Lakme Summer/Resort 2010 - Part I

Days 1 - 3

As an emerging powerhouse economy of the "Asian Century", India has set its sights far past the textile mills of our grandparent's generation and is looking high fashion in the eye.  The relative youth of India's design scene (the majority of the designers showing this week are between 25-35 years old) means plenty of experimentation.

Ultimately however, fashion is about what people are wearing on the street, so it's what the buyers will be picking up and what will end up in the shops and in the closets of trendsetters that will determine which designers from India's exuberant fashion scene will have staying power.  Here are my picks for the haute couture bride.

Picture Credits:  All images courtesy of Lakme Fashion Week

The Zen Bride: Romance

In the early days of your engagement, it may seem impossible to imagine your life without it.  After the honeymoon, when the reality of adjustment and change kicks in, it may seem depressingly lost.  In the years after, when the monotony of life sets in, it may seem forgotten.

I am not referring to the sappy, neatly packaged, red and chocolatey commodity served up on valentines day. The romance I am referring to is the ability to step outside of oneself and see the other person's needs beyond the mere physical. It is a recognition of your partner and your relationship as a spiritual, emotional and intellectual entity.

Wordy? Yes, but bear with me as I argue this concept out of the trash heap of commercialism. I am talking about recognizing that as a wife, you are more to your husband then just a substitute for his mother, sister, best friend, maid, babysitter, or his cook. And he is more to you than a substitute for your father, brother, best friend, butler, or taxi driver. What is it that takes your relationship beyond these concepts and how do you express it?

Picture Credit: Radiance of Light's Photostream on Flickr

The Basic Bride: Get Some Sleep

...because, as my khalas would probably giggle and tease, you won't be getting much sleep in the nights to come.

With all the excitement and mix of emotions surrounding the wedding day, with the arrival of guests and in-laws, and the fluster of preparation, you may neglect to relax.  And because adrenalin may carry you through it, you may forget you even need to relax. 

But on the day before your wedding, do take time to get a good rest.  Personally, I find it very hard to fall asleep even on a good day, so it was especially hard to sleep in the days coming up to my wedding day.  Still, sleep is so important to your health and to your looks.  I probably sound like your mom now, but some things always hold true.

So take a chance to relax now. Here's to wishing you a sleepless wedding night and many  more.

The Pulled-Together Bride: Hat Pins

White pearl-headed pins. Picture Credit: Wandsmith UK

Pearl-headed hat pins, or hijab pins, since that is how they are frequently worn these days, hold the fabric of your hat or scarf to your hair. For a bride, this can be a great tool to keep her dupatta set neatly on top of her up-do.

They are available all over the web, all you have to do is google it. I'm pretty sure you'll find something to match the colour and style of your lehenga, however, if you don't, just grab a bottle of nail polish and paint the heads to match your dress.

The Picture Perfect Bride: Laugh

Some Aunty somewhere is gonna get mad at me for this one.  I know traditionally Indian brides don't smile. But seriously, it makes for such a beautiful bride, and such beautiful pictures.

I've seen brides who hate their smiles keep their lips tightly closed as they twisted their mouths upward slightly.  They looked stiff and unnatural.  My sister once told me that even if I hated my smile (which I do...oh my god, do I hate my smile), in a photograph, a real smile will still look better because it's more relaxed. 

So just be yourself, and if something makes you laugh,then laugh.  It's your day, you are happy, and that should shine through in your pictures.

Picture Credit: Shaima al-Khalili Photography

Bollywood Bride: Kajol in My name is Khan

Readers, I am nothing if not devoted to finding gorgeous looks for brides.  Case in point, "My Name is Khan."  I won't lie and say I was completely dreading it, like I usually do Indian movies.  I was looking forward to seeing Kajol back on screen again, but that's it.  I didn't really want to see the whole thing, and would have been content to leave halfway through.  It was what, 3 hours long?  I would have gotten my money's worth by the intermission.

Anyway, I did see the whole thing, but I won't say anything until I'm sure that most of the world has seen it, and taken all their college buddies to see it.  Let's talk about Kajol's bridal looks, shall we?  I'm intrigued by the earrings she wore at her mehndi (see picture above) but I only caught a flash of them in the wedding montage.  I would like to see more of them.  Something gives me the feeling they will set a trend.  If anyone knows what they are like in real life, I'd appreciate a pic or a description.

Let me just say that her hair is so thick and black and shiny in this movie, I was quite envious.  She looked lovely, and has truly lost all the baby weight they were buzzing about her losing for her return to the big screen.

Since she is supposed to be an all-American girl, they kept her look relatively simple.  And at first I didn't love it, but it really has grown on me.  I think that in the context of the movie, it works perfectly, and Kajol has always suited simple sophistication better than over the top designs.  Honestly, with a smile, hair and skin like hers, she doesn't need much gussying up.  All pictures are from the trailer and image gallery on the "My Name is Khan"  Official Website.

Worth Noting: A little bit of National Pride and a lakme look recreated

GO CANADA! Yes, we won the gold for ice hockey at the olympics, and it has nothing to do with my blog and nothing to do with my personal life, but allow me this brief moment to indulge in some national pride...WOOOHOOO! WE WON!!!

Moving on.  Remember this GOR-geous winged eyeliner look in my trendspotting board for winter 2010?  Well, Oxford Jasmine received a request to recreate the look for a tutorial.  You can check out her take on it by clicking here.