Modern, Elegant and Romantic South Asian Wedding Inspiration

One of the things I am most proud about when it comes to Love My Dress is how we address diversity within weddings – from featuring the experiences of a disabled bride planning her wedding, to same sex weddings, to women of colour and multicultural weddings – we genuinely strive to keep these pages as beautifully diverse as we can and representative of the many wonderful women, and men, who we know visit our blog and follow our social feeds.

Which is why it’s a huge pleasure this lunchtime to share these images from fellow blogger Poonam, founder and director of emerging, online South Asian wedding business directory, The Maharani Diaries.

“I established The Maharani Diaries out of my passion for the weddings and events industry back in Melbourne, Australia. I had a knack for planning and organizing ever since I was in my teenage years and my creativity and love for all things wedding related soon followed.”

Photography by White Cat Studio

“Having recently rebranded the business earlier this year, it was time for me to take a fresh approach and that is when the idea for this styled shoot came to fruition. The inspiration behind this was the modern Indian bride. Today’s Indian bride is stylish, sophisticated and knows what she wants on her wedding day. She is infusing more of her personality into her wedding events and I wanted to translate that across with an elegant, romantic styled shoot.”“I don’t believe in following trends, but rather I like to push the boundaries and express my personality in my styling aesthetics. My style is fun and contemporary combined with a little class and elegance. Of course that being said, the primary focus for this shoot was on style and working with elements that best represent the brand. I’d like to think that this speaks to brides who aren’t afraid to think outside the box.”

“Soft colour tones and bespoke décor details were always going to be a part of the design and theme for this shoot. I had a vision in mind and with thanks to my unbelievably talented team, we created a look and feel that would attract any modern maharani bride.”

“Collectively, our goal was to infuse modern design sensibilities without breaking traditions. We managed to achieve two looks on the day within a matter of hours. My bride and muse Monica portrayed the quintessential maharani wearing minimal glam makeup, gorgeous henna, Indian-inspired headpiece and bindi on her forehead.”

“Caroline Atelier’s contemporary bridal wear complemented each look and certainly fit the romantic, feminine theme. Bridal separates are the hottest trend in the wedding fashion world right now, but for Indian brides, the classic bridal wedding lehenga-choli has been the norm for quite some time.”

“With Caroline being partly Indian herself and having an understanding of the culture and modern bridal fashion scene, I knew that she was the go-to designer for this shoot.”

“The gold ‘India’ top provides a stylish alternative to the more traditional bridal wear, and it’s so versatile that it could be paired quite easily with a classic flared white skirt. Initially, our bride sported the relaxed, boho-chic style and turned up the glam quotient for the second look.”

“We opted for an elegant silk satin, Gatsby-esque ‘white wedding’ gown for the formal maharani. The bespoke bead-work which is handcrafted in India, drapes so beautifully around the top part of the gown. The ‘Sienna’ gown is perfect for a civil ceremony or classic reception look. Accessories were kept to a minimum here to accentuate the bride’s makeup.”

“Hair and makeup artists, Tricia O Sullivan and Laura Kay weaved magic, creating two stunning understated natural styles. Initially, we opted for the dreamy boho bride style with glossy curls and gorgeous natural makeup.”

“For the next style, we decided to create more volume and pinned back the curls and for the makeup, we added a bindi and bright coloured matte lipstick for further dimension and drama. Eye makeup was also on point to bring out the bride’s inner beauty.”

“The Village Hall provided the perfect backdrop for the shoot with its high ceiling and rustic wooden floorboards.”

“Our photographer, Egle Laukyte of White Cat Studio translated our vision to perfection. Both her and I are huge fans of natural light and this is reflected in the beautiful images.”

“With the centerpiece being the main attraction of the table design, Egle captured it beautifully highlighting the luscious floral arrangements and eye catching vintage tableware provided by florist, Jill Wild.”

“Delicate pink peonies were selected for their soft and fluffy textures and scent whilst the roses, jasmine and eucalyptus were used to add some romance and a touch of art nouveau style lines that echoed the intricate henna embellishment on the bride’s hands.”

“Jill also incorporated silvery grey succulents with subtle hints of pinks to flow with the colour palette. The vintage china made a wonderful addition and we managed to create a lovely layered feel with gold cutlery from Sostree Grene and muslin cloth. Our custom watercolour art printed menus from emerging artist, Aparna of Cuckoo For Colour created a beautiful contrasting look.”

“The blush pink and cream tones combined with greenery, a rugged grey table runner and sheer table cloth plus the subtle gold accents of the brass candle stands, added oodles of warmth and balanced all the elements of our rustic tablescape.”

“The final element of the shoot was the delectable macarons. Covered in syrup and specs of gold leaf, the strawberry macarons looked as good as they tasted! Little did I know before approaching Egle and Jill for this shoot, that they had a amazing flair for food styling!”

“We paired the macarons with some beautiful vintage props from The Village Hall along with Jill’s inventory and leafy accents.”

“Working on my first styled wedding shoot was an absolute dream. I couldn’t have asked for a better team to be part of. I truly believe that this shoot wouldn’t have been possible without these amazing suppliers by my side.”

“Their attention to detail was instrumental for the success of the shoot and we have been able to showcase how you can highlight beautiful rustic details into your wedding day.”