Abirami & Dilshan’s Elegant South Indian Wedding

Abirami and Dilshan met in their graduate year at Deloitte.  Their first meeting could not have been more unromantic. Despite having very contrasting personalities, they became good friends over the year. It took a long time for them to admit their feelings, despite their closest friends subconsciously pushing them towards each other. Their friendship evolved into love, and as they say, ‘The rest is history’.

After six years together, Dilshan orchestrated a unique engagement opportunity.  He pulled Abirami’s friends in on the secret – getting them to plan a “get together” and keep up appearances up until the big day.  Friday night came and when the doorbell rang, Abirami buzzed the girls up and was busy doing some last minute frantic cleaning when Dilshan appeared at the door.  “I was in such a state of shock that I didn’t even register the fact that he was down on one knee, holding in his hand the most beautiful diamond ring, set in a rose gold band (exactly like the one I had dropped so many hints about). When it all finally sunk in, of course, the answer was yes!” said Abirami. He had her pack an overnight bag and whisked her away to a romantic dinner.

13 months seemed like ample time to plan a wedding, but time literally flew by. Their ceremony had to celebrate both Abirami’s South Indian Hindu background and Dilshan’s Sri Lankan Buddhist faith which meant having their Hindu wedding on a Sunday and their Buddhist wedding on the following Friday. A Friday Reception worked out well in hindsight as a nice gate-opener to the weekend. Securing suppliers for Sundays and Fridays is generally a lot easier than Saturdays. The gap between the two events worked well in terms of planning unique elements for each event.

We prioritized all the major wedding decisions using a checklist we found online. We retained all the key decision making on the major wedding items – venues, outfits, photography, and décor, whilst delegating smaller tasks to family and friends. Tasks we delegated include transport, place cards, wedding favors, wishing well setup and pre-wedding events. We left all the ceremonial ritual aspects to our parents. As a couple, we made final decisions on smaller tasks as necessary.

Abirami and Dilshan’s favorite moment was when we they saw each other at the Hindu wedding. They were completely oblivious to all the other wedding commotion happening around us. They had epic levels of fun during their first dance which was choreographed to the song You Give Me Something by Jamiroquai, which incorporated plenty of twirls to show off Abirami’s layered lehenga skirt. It was such an upbeat way to open up the dance floor for the evening.

Abirami’s valuable advice for future Brides?

1. Make decisions together and back each other. With Indian weddings, it’s not unusual to find yourself in a position where you feel like you need to balance everyone’s views on how things should be.  Make sure you prioritize own vision as a couple, above all else.
2. Take it all in. Your wedding day will fly by in the blink of an eye. Make sure you have meditative moments to revel in the energy, the love and the fun of your wedding day.
3. Look at the bigger picture. There will be things that go wrong, despite all the meticulous planning. On your wedding day, just breathe and let these little issues pass. After all, the day is only as fun as you make it!
4. Communicate your vision with confidence. Don’t be shy to articulate your wish list with suppliers, they’ve seen it all before and can provide valuable advice. Where possible, meet with your suppliers in person. Putting a face to a name will help with all your subsequent dealings.

Vendors:
[table]
Venue~Miramare Gardens
Sergeants Mess~The Kingsbury Hotel
Photography/Cinematography~Splendid Photos & Video
Invitations & Stationary~BWedding Invitations
Printing~InkTank Printing.com
Decor~VIP Decorating, Flowers by Drosia`Miramare Gardens
Bride’s Outfits~Shyamal&Bhumika, Sundari Silks, RidhimaBhasin, Gather and Stitch Couture, Payal Singhal, Carma
Bride’s Jewelry~Sukra Jewellers, GRT Jewellers, Suhana Art & Jewels, Carma
Bride’s Accessories~TariniNirula
Bride’s Shoes~Nine West
Hair & Makeup~Gather and Stitch Beauty
Henna Artist~Reema’s Henna Designs
Groom’s Outfits~Manyavar, Joe Black, David Jones
Groom’s Accessories~Manyavar, Malebox
Groom’s Shoes~Manyavar, Aldo
Bridesmaids Outfits~Nalli Silks, Vogue Loving
Groomsmen Outfits~Myer
DJ & Live Music~Systematic Solutions
Catering~Surjit’s Indian Restaurant, Taj Caterers
Cake~Paintbrush Patisserie
Transport~JC Limousines
[/table]