south indian wedding – SLAY THE STYLE

Tips for Indian Wedding Shopping on Budget

Published on September 6, 2020September 7, 2020 by Lavanya Pulijala1 Comment

” Where do I start from?! Where can I find a budget friendly lehenga? Who sells the best jewellery designs? Is there anyone out there who can help with outfit customisation at a lower price?…”

If you are one of those brides who is on hunt for affordable shopping options, then this post is hopefully going to help you ease and find a way out! 😄

Well, If I say that I probably came to know about some of these small vendors without spending hours researching them online and offline, then I would be lying!

It was for my wedding, of course!
All the hustle to find the best possible options to bring my looks as close to my mood boards as possible, was far from easy!!!

Having gone through the entire process myself, I thought it might be helpful to share some of my tips with those who are currently as perplexed as I was when I decided to start shopping for my wedding 🙂

Before you start shopping, there are a couple of things which I would recommend every bride to do!

* Firstly, think about the theme of your wedding. Do you want it to be traditional or contemporary?

* Secondly, what are the events that you have, for your wedding?

* Thirdly, Once you have answers for these two, head to pin interest or instagram to look out for some inspiration and ideas.
Try to think of a couple of color palettes for each event (Have a Rough idea – you could probably switch if you like some other color in the store).

In case you want more planning tips before moving to shopping tips, then head to this article of mine – 10 Wedding Planning Tips for Any Indian Bride

I wanted my wedding outfit to be a traditional South Indian saree with a tinge of green, and red. With this basic idea, I started searching for possible combinations around these colors which would probably suit me (on pin interest and instagram). Well, I really liked the combination of a subtle antique gold saree with a touch of red. So, this made my job easy when I went hunting for my wedding saree.
My Mind just said `Just search for options in gold sarees and chuck the others`

Lehengas

Are you equally frustrated like I was, when you looked up the prices of every damn designer lehenga??

I understood that I would end up with a huge hole in my pocket if I went ahead and purchased one of those expensive lehengas! I am not the one who is going to spend 3-4 lakhs on one lehenga!

There are several markets and stores that I explored in different cities to find the best possible and economical option!
(I am sure that COVID would make travelling to different cities difficult!)

Here are some of my top recommendations:

1. Kala Shree Regalia – Chandni Chowk (Mid-High Range) : One of the best options with unique designs and good quality. They have limited but great collection.
They usually don’t encourage bargaining like other stores in Chandni Chowk but you can trust them for their price as they don’t mark it up, like others do. The maximum that I could get was just a 5% discount.
You can apparently call them up and shop on video calls too! (Isn’t that a relief for the non-Delhi folks?!)
Lehengas Range : ~Rs 12,000 – ~Rs 1,00,000
Do mention your range and preference before you start shopping there!

Lehenga – Mehar International, Bangles – Beauti Art, Necklace and Studs – Suhana Art Jewellery

2. Mehar International – Chandni Chowk (Mid Range) : This is where I purchased both my sangeeth and reception lehengas. If you are looking for a good traditional lehenga with heavy work, then this is one place I would recommend you to visit. Do bargain to get the best price here (you can probably ask for ~30-40% lower price). Quality-wise, I would rate this as average.
I probably would prefer Kala Shree over Mehar with respect to the range of unique designs that Kalashree offers. However, Mehar has some good range of traditional color palette.

Lehengas Range : ~Rs 8,000 – ~Rs 70,000

Lehenga – Mehar International, Bangles – Beauti Art, Shoes – Steve Maden

3. Roop Couture – Chandni Chowk (Mid Range) : Many of you have been asking about my Mehendi Lehenga. This is where I got it from 🙂
They have really good options for haldi and mehendi color palettes (Pinks, Yellows and Green). Quality is good but the price is mostly non-negotiable (not more than 10% discount )

Lehengas Range : ~Rs 8,000 – ~Rs 50,000

4. Queens – Chadni Chowk (Luxury) : This is one of those expensive studios which has unique colors and designs but is slightly expensive. They offer a minimum discount depending on the price range of the lehengas you pick.

Lehengas Range : ~Rs 60,000 – ~Rs 2,00,000

Lehenga – Roop Couture, Accessories – Beauti Art

Most of the places in Chandni Chowk sell first copies of the designers. The difference lies in the quality, depending on the store. In few stores like Kala Shree, you can even get your lehengas custom made if you want any designer lehenga to be replicated.

There are a couple of designers who seemed to be in the medium range and had interesting designs – Label Prerna Mehra (Mumbai) and Padma Nandivada (Has a range of traditional south indian lehangas/sarees)

Jai Gopal Market in Mumbai is one of the wholesale markets which has good options for bridesmaids in terms of lehengas and anarkalis. The market is not open for retail on usual days. Saturdays are the only days open for retail but I can guarantee that you would get it at extremely low price compared to retail stores outside.

I explored several stores in Hyderabad too, but all of them are extremely over-priced. The same lehenga could be purchased in Delhi at almost 30% of the quoted price. Origins is one good non-designer store that I visited but I still found it extremely expensive.

Sarees

A Kanchivaram Saree in South Indian Weddings is an age-old tradition just like a Banarasi Saree in traditional north-indian weddings.
Although we initially thought of going to Kanchi in TamilNadu, we couldn’t find time to do that. Since Delhi and Mumbai are not the best places to find kanchivaram sarees, Hyderabad was the best option.

Here are some of my favourite stores to shop:
I explored all possible kanchivaram stores in Hyderabad before finalising my wedding saree.

1. Varamahalaxmi Silks (Mid-High Range) : This is where I could find best designs and colors as per my idea of traditional wedding. My wedding saree as well as my pre-wedding (pellikuthuru) event saree is from this store. Do try the saree on yourself and check how it looks under the store lights and in normal day light, before you finalise the saree.

Range : ~Rs 12,000 – ~Rs 2,00,000

2. Sri Sai Kanchi (Mid-High Range) : Second best option that I could find in Hyderabad with reasonable prices and designs.

Apart from these stores, the rest of my sarees are from a weaver from Kanchivaram who has been selling sarees to us since almost 15 years now. He has no social media presence. In case you need contact details, DM me on my Instagram.

Mandir Sarees, and Kanakatala are other good options.

Since I prefer mostly handloom sarees if not kanchivaram, I didn’t actually explore options for party saree collection. However, Kalashree store in chadni chowk had good options for party sarees.

Jewellery

I picked unique range of jewellery for my events- silver jewellery for my Haldi; kundans for Sangeeth and Reception; temple jewellery for my pre-wedding/pelli-kuthuru event; ruby and emerald polki set for my wedding.

With the soaring high prices of gold, it’s obvious that we are looking for the best possible artificial jewellery options which are also a best imitation of gold.

Artificial Gold Jewellery – Places to Shop

Necklace and Studs – Suhana Art Jewellery

High Range
1. Tribe by Amrapali (Mumbai) – Best designs for both contemporary and traditional jewellery. Silver based pieces are worth the amount that you spend, considering the high quality, service and durability.

2. Suhani Pittie (Hyderabad) – This is my go-to place for fusion jewellery with a touch of traditional design. Mostly alloy based.

3. Sree Exotic Jewellers (Hyderabad/Chennai) – They manufacture any of the designs that you want to replicate and the base is purely silver with a gold coating. I prefer this store if I want to get something made from scratch rather than a readymade purchase. They usually sell traditional south indian jewellery.

4. Ms Pink Panther (Chennai) and Lotus Fine Jewellery (Hyderabad/Bangalore)- Other places where you can get custom made jewellery or buy traditional south indian artificial jewellery (pure silver based). The designs and craftsmanship is good but I found both of them much more expensive than Sree Exotic Jewellers.

Anklets – Suhana Art Jewellery, Bangles – Beauti Art, Ring – Kushal’s

Mid Range
1. Beauti Art Store Powai (Mumbai) – My go-to place for modern designs which has products catering to all kinds of budget

2. Suhana Art Jewellery (Delhi) – Another store which sells exquisite designs at reasonable prices. She is a very sweet person and can help you with customised designs as well, as per your choice. Got my mathapatti and anklets customised here, for my wedding along with my kundan set in reception.

Aanya Santacruz (Mumbai) and Kushal’s Jubliee Hills(Hyderabad) are few other good places.

Necklace & Waist Chain – Sri Fine Jewellery, Bangles and Earchains – Beauti Art, Maangtikka – Tarinika, Ring and Earrings – Kushal’s, Saree – Vara Mahalaxmi

Low Range
Sri Fine Jewellery (Hyderabad) – One of the stores with basic jewellery at extremely reasonable prices.
Tarinika (Online) – Few pieces from their collection are really impressive.

The wholesale stores in Dariba Kalan street in Chadni Chowk (one tiny wholesale shop at the very end of street on the right side while going towards Masjid has some good artificial jewellery – My bad! I don’t recall the name of the store) have some of the best pieces at steal prices. However, most of these pieces have glossy gold finish rather than antique finish.
Since, I prefer antique, I couldn’t shop a lot from these stores.

Necklace and Studs – Suhana Art Jewellery, Lehenga – Mehar International

Pure Gold Jewellery – Places to Shop

Mangatrai Punjagutta (Hyderabad) , Harini Fine Jewellery (Hyderabad), Padmavathi Jewellers (Hyderabad), Gajendra Jewellers (Hyderabad) and Shri Paramani Jewellers (Delhi) are some of my top favourites. Most of my wedding jewellery is from Hyderabad.

Apparently, Jaipur has some amazing designs in gold jewellery! I didn’t get time to visit Jaipur, so if you guys want to explore it, do try Jaipur.

Choker and Studs – Harini Fine Jewellery, Maangtikka – Aanya, Long Chain – Padmavati Jewellers,Nose pin and earchains – Gajendra Jewellers, Mathapatti – Suhana Art Jewellery, Waist Belt- Sree Jewellers, Bangles – Chandni Chowk , Saree – Vara Mahalakshmi

Silver Jewellery – Places to Shop

Is there any better place than Jaipur to get silver jewellery?! An outright NO (according to me)

I reused some of the afghani pieces that I purchased in Jaipur’s Bapu Bazar long back, during my Haldi.

If you are looking for good silver jewellery options, these are some of my favourites – Gujarati Lane in Janpath Market (Delhi), Manjha, Tamara Prade, Niyathi By Seema Sindhu, and HPJewelz.

Choker – Jaipur Bapu Bazar, Bangles – Colaba Causeway, Maangtikka – Mumbai Santacruz Store , Saree- Summy’s Saree Center(Hyd)

Apart from these, there is one tiny silver store in Santacruz West station road in Mumbai(there is only one in the entire lane – so it’s easy to locate), he has some of the most amazing silver pieces but you need to be creative enough to create your necklace or maangtikka or earrings by combining different pendants or chain options that he has. My haldi maangtikka is actually a pendant combined with a little chain 😄

There is another little silver store towards the end of Dariba Kalan street of Chadni Chowk which has fantastic pieces. Again, you need to keep your creative juices flowing to make a final piece out of the collection of small pendants he has. (There are only a couple of pure silver stores over there – so it’s easy to locate)

Floral Jewellery – Places to Shop

I am personally not a fan of floral jewellery and hence I didn’t use it during my wedding. I swapped it with silver afghani jewellery in my case 🙂
But in case, you are looking for some recommendations. Here you go :
Fooljadi (Mid-High Range) [ They have a different version of floral jewellery which is unique and impressive] , Floral Art by Srishti (Mid-High Range) and Pelli Poola Jada (all ranges)

Bangles and Latkans – Places to Shop

Apart from the gold or artificial bangles, I wanted to have thread bangles to match colors with my outfit instead of regular glass bangles.

Thread Bangles – BegumBazar, Anklets – Suhana Art Jewellery

Best and cheap places to find thread bangles – BegumBazar (Hyderabad), and Chadni Chowk by-lanes (Delhi)
Before you go for bangle shopping, either carry the sample cloth of your outfits with you for colors or keep a note of them. Also, ask the vendor to set the bangles for you as they have good knowledge of how to mix and match.

Even for latkans, stores near the parata wala galli near Chadni chowk (Delhi) have an extensive range of latkans (hangings for your blouses/lehangas) at extremely cheap prices.
In Hyderabad, BegumBazar is the best option.

Footwear

Juttis are my usual go-to option for ethnic wear. Here are some of my recommendations for affordable juttis:
Low/Mid Range
1. Coloba Causeway (Mumbai) – If some of you are not aware, Colaba causeway is a thrift shopping street in Mumbai. There are many small stores along the lane to shop juttis but my favourite is a shop named ‘Pioneer Footwear’ (It’s a very small shop in the same lane, opposite to Delhi Durbar). They sell some of the good quality and colorful juttis
Range : Rs 500- Rs 1,500

2. Linking Road – 33rd Street (Mumbai) – Right opposite KFC on Linking road, there is a road where you notice a couple of stores which sell leather juttis. They even change the color of jutti polish based on your request.
Range : Rs 400- Rs 1,000

Wedges – Aprajita Toor, Anklets – Suhana Art Jewellery

High Range
I wanted to customise my footwear for my wedding as I wanted the most comfortable shoes so that I can stand for 3-4 hours during the event. After all the hunt, I found Aprajita Toor as the best option.

She is very accommodative and will get it customised as per your requirement – be it, the heel size, color, or the exact shape of the sole. I visited her warehouse to try it out and communicate my requirements. I picked antique silver as the color of my footwear so that I can reuse it for any other ethnic outfit later as well.
Range : Rs 3,000 – Rs 12,000

Also, for Sangeeth, I just picked good comfortable sneakers as I don’t prefer dancing on high heels!!

Shoes – Steve Maden, Lehenga – Mehar International

Kurtas (Men)

We didn’t have more than a couple of days to close my partner’s outfits and we couldn’t travel to any other city. So, most of the shopping is in Hyderabad.

Frankly, I would say that the options are way too limited.
Here are few of my recommendations:
1. Kora (Mid-High Range) : This is one of the most reasonable store, both in terms of quality and price!
Even though they have a very limited collection, it seemed to be hand-picked!

2. Portfolio (Mid – High Range) : They had good collection for Haldi and Mehendi with a subtle pop of color.

3. Origins (High Range) : Their designs are interesting and unique. However, I found them little too over-priced.

Juttis and other jewellery is sourced from Charminar.

I hope you find it useful 🙂

Feel free to ping me on my Instagram or email me for any more details

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Previous post : 10 Wedding Planning Tips for Any Indian Bride

10 Wedding Planning Tips For Any Indian Bride

Published on July 26, 2020April 1, 2022 by Lavanya Pulijala1 Comment

Hands down, my wedding was one of my toughest and longest styling projects!
Well, it’s not just styling clothes, it’s research, decor, photography, catering, makeup, invitations, sourcing (I mean shopping) and what not!

I remember shuffling my suitcases between Mumbai, Delhi and Hyderabad every weekend for almost 3 months trying to source my jewellery and outfits. It was hell of a task where I even went to an extent of maintaining an excel to track the status of my wish list for shopping.
Do I say #problemsofashopaholic or #planningOCD?!

Let me call it an OCD because I went to an extent of planning the color contrast for our garlands too 😂

Meanwhile, in all that helter skelter of sourcing, I used to spend at-least 2 hours everyday after my work trying to create my outfits’ mood-board for each of my events! And there come the weekends when I just pack my bags, with that research in head to find the right outfit or accessories, in whichever city possible!

It was hell of a task and I just want to make it easy for any bride and save them from undergoing all of this again!

Just as the wedding gets fixed, the first question that pops up in anyone’s mind is ‘Where the hell do I start from?’

In our lovely home, for Pellikuthuru ceremony (A South-indian traditional event)

I am here to make that job easy 😄
It’s going to be a lengthy blog and it is in chronological order according to what is the best way to kick off the preparations!

First Things First – Book Your Photographer

All your shopping can wait for some time but first, get that photographer booked.
If ‘Why?’ is the question in your head right now, it’s because wedding dates are usually on specific dates based on auspiciousness and there are a lot of people who fix their marriages during that time.

Most of the good photographers are booked 6 months prior the wedding.
So, in case you have any specific photographer in mind, start reaching out to them early.

Things you need to note:

Try to keep one photographer for both groom and bride events. This would save you from burning your pocket
Decide the events that you are going to have along with tentative dates
Share all details with photographer and request for quotations
Try to get it as a package for all set of events
Do a research of their work- photos and videos! Quality and uniqueness of Wedding trailers was our deciding factor
Ensure that you check the quotation for deliverables – videos, albums, candid photography, photoshoot or whatever. Adding those later, at the time of wedding, will bump your expenses
Try negotiating the package if possible
Discuss your ideas of photoshoot with the photographer and block a date with them, much before the wedding to avoid any chaos. I don’t personally like cinematic photoshoot and hence, we had the idea of a simple lifestyle story at the comfort of our home.
Some other unique ideas could be trekking (if the couple is into it), tennis/badminton court/gym (if the couple is into it), or probably baker’s paradise. These are just few off-beat ideas that we had

There are some last minute checks that you must do, for photography which you can check once you scroll to the bottom of this blog 🙂

Here are some of our favourites – Ashwin Kireet, Isaac Abraham, Rimisen, Memory Lanes By Suman Chakri, OneFineDayPictures, The Con Artists, Goldenshutter, Abhinavsagar, Wearepixelarmy, Shutterink, Epicsbyavinash, Tales of Knots – Cahaya, Tales By Zoticus, Photriya, and Vijay Eesam

The above list has mostly some of the best Hyderabad photographers, there are many others out there with extraordinary work. Please look out for those as well (Do keep in mind the budget for photographers in case they have to travel from other states)

We went ahead with Wearepixelarmy based on the budget, available dates and their previous work. It was a great experience working with a friendly and patient team 🙂

Hunt for That Perfect Makeup Artist and Block Their Dates

This is another thing which needs to be done before you even start your shopping. Again, good makeup artists are too much in demand and it is difficult to find their dates if you delay it.

Things you need to note:

Check their work and reviews on their social media platforms
Don’t go for the ones who make someone look too dramatic (Unless that’s your preference). Prefer natural makeup!
Start approaching them with dates and event details and book it as a package for both groom and bride, if available. Else, book one for all your events
If you are doubtful before fixing someone, request for a trial where they do charge around ~3-4k but you can interact and tell your preferences and see how you feel
Pay some advance and block their dates. Get the quotations and final receipt, atleast in a proper message or email
Do enquire about any extra charges for additional saree/outfit change or any waiting time

A simple tip to pick a good makeup artist which I abided by, is that under-eye bags should not pop out in their work (check their work!)

There are some last minute checks that you must do, for makeup which you can check once you scroll to the bottom of this blog 🙂

Here are some of my favourites : Maneesh Katam, Afsha Rangila, Manasa Makeup, Siro Makeup Studio, Blush Fine Makeup Art, and Ira Makeup Studios

I went ahead with Maneesh Katam. He was the most cooperative person to work with and is extremely good at what he does!
(I am definitely going to refer him to anyone looking out for a good makeup artist)

Start Shopping for Clothes!!

The first thing to start shopping is clothes. All your accessories could come next once you buy your outfits.

Things you need to note:

Explore pinterest and get a basic idea about the kind of look that are you planning to have for different events
If you are planning to get your lehangas stitched, have some reference pics or sketch and start hunting for fabric
If you are going for readymade outfits, ensure that the fit is perfect and comfortable at the same time
For sarees, try them on, and see how the saree would look in day-light and in store lights depending on the timing of your wedding

More details on my outfits would be coming up in the next blog.

Next up, Accessories Shopping!

You can either do this after you finalise your outfits or simultaneously as and when each outfit is done in case you don’t have too much time.

Things to note:

While you are shopping for either gold or diamond or artificial jewellery, check with the vendors if they could customise it for multipurpose use! For instance, I have customised my mathapatti to convert it into a layered chain later
Try to have couple of juttis or shoes or heels in neutral festive shades which you can use with all outfits. Especially, if it’s a cocktail event or sangeeth, stick to comfortable footwear like shoes, if you can pull it off

Before each event, try to grab some time, to pair your accessories with your outfits and see how it looks and keep the entire set of clothes and accessories aside, the night before. Don’t think that you can search them during the makeup next day, it gets difficult in that chaotic mode

More details on my accessories would be coming up in the next blog.

Find that Perfect Tailor

This is one more important thing and requires a lot of patience and insane number of trials before you find the perfect tailor. If you already have one, then your job is half-done. If you don’t have one, start giving sample blouses to different tailors (Meanwhile, pick some neutral sample blouse fabric so that you can use it later with other sarees or lehengas)

In case, it doesn’t fit properly for the first time, mention your requirements and give it for alterations once. By then, you will get an idea if that’s the tailor or not. Don’t just give up on first attempt unless it’s too bad.
Usually, most of the blouses and lehengas require stitching, so give them to the tailor atleast a month or two before the events so that you have enough time to check fittings and arrange for alterations.

During Haldi ceremony in that beautiful customised blouse stitched by my tailor!

Decide the Decor

This is one more thing that most of the people end up neglecting in the last minute.
Let me say again, your outfits would not stand out if you pick the wrong decor!

Things to note:

Decor needs to be picked based on your outfit. For instance, if you pick red decor for your red outfit, the photos won’t come out well. Contrast is mandatory to make yourselves stand out
Finalise your outfits, decide the decor and pick colors
Check for vendors about a package price for all events together. Negotiate a lot!
If you don’t want to spend too much on decor, choose decor which doesn’t use fresh flowers or leaves! It saves a lot of money
In case you are getting the wedding done in any function hall, see if there is any other wedding just the night before(in case, your’s a morning wedding) or if there is another wedding right before yours in the morning(in case, your’s a night wedding), you can see if you can strike a deal with the same decorator. If you can plan to reuse any of the structures of the previous wedding, they can cutdown the price!
While finalising the deal, check if he can include the floral jewellery, bridal entry floral chaddar, garlands, and floral braids

My decorator has no social media presence, so in case, you need his details, just drop me a message on Instagram

Finalise the Invitation

Don’t keep this pending till last minute. Try to stick to graphic invitations if possible, that’s cheaper and eliminates the effort of distributing it manually (which anyways is not possible now)

A good caricature based graphic invitation would take at-least 2-3 weeks for the first version and there are different instagrammers who do that.

Since we didn’t have much time as we hardly had 2 weeks, we tried to take inspiration from an online available version and my colleague helped me with modifications!

In case you are going for hard copies, try to go to the wholesale markets where you can get a good one for probably less than Rs 40 each.

Fix the Catering

The last leg of preparations includes finalising the menu. Try to take it as a package for all events, if possible, that would help you strike a better deal (Also, see if you can get any complimentary items). You can probably start having this discussion after your shopping along with decor.

Things to note:

Ensure that you communicate them the timings of the events along with the time when the food needs to be ready. Sometimes, you might want to open the buffet as the event goes on
Ensure that you clearly mention the etiquette standards with respect to uniforms, serving, naming the dishes etc
Also, there is usually a problem with a skewed distribution of starters/welcome drinks in the first few rows.I didn’t want that to happen, so I mentioned clearly about it.

We went ahead with Amaravati Caterers. They were budget-friendly and up-to-the mark. Worth the money! (Didn’t check out any other options as we liked them in the first-go)

Get that Salon Grooming Done

While, a lot of them do regular facials or cleanups, I am the opposite. The first facial that I had in my life, was for my wedding 😂

Things to Note:

Start alternating clean-up and facials every month for 3 months before the wedding
My skin is particularly allergic to besan mixed with haldi, so we used multani mitti mixed with turmeric for my Haldi event. Unfortunately, all the good care that I took for my skin went for a toss as haldi didn’t go well with my face and started showing dark patches. So, do test it on yourself before, to check if you are allergic

Do one final facial not more than 3 days before the wedding. The impact usually is good till then, atleast for me (By the way, I got O3+ bridal facial)
Ensure that you choose one neutral color for your nails which could go with all outfits. Changing it for every event is damn stressful! Get a gel based formula so that it stays long for all events
Get that pedicure, manicure and nail art done along with your final facial so that the impact would stay for atleast those 5-6 days

Do those Last Minute Checks

Right before the wedding, may be a week prior to the wedding, there would be a lot of things that you might need to check upon!

Here are some of the main ones!

Makeup

Start reaching out to makeup artists one month before the wedding (Atleast as soon as you decide your outfits) to ask them for suggestions for makeup and hairstyle or you can share your ideas and confirm with them if it is possible
Discuss with them regarding the checklist for events to decide what they can arrange and what you should arrange for yourself
Share the event timings with them, atleast a week before the events kick off

Photography

Atleast two weeks before the wedding, try meeting the photographer team in person and communicate any ideas that you have in mind. Be it, any specific type of photos that you pinterested. (Don’t do this too early, they might not remember!)
Specify the exact timings for the events atleast a week before the D-day and ask them to be on time
Try to be ready atleast 30-45 min before every event if you want some good pictures without much chaos. Especially for wedding, try to do this as the event will get too chaotic during the rituals. (Plan your makeup time accordingly – preferably, at least 4 hours before the muhurth)

Decor

Just before a week from the events, meet the decorator and ensure that you remind him about the colors and any other minute requirement that you want to re-mention
A couple of days before events, send your references of floral braid and floral jewellery to decorator and mention any color changes. For floral jewellery, even it is same color as outfit, try to mix it with any neutral/contrast color or any other less dominant color on outfit
Also, do ensure that garlands and floral entry chaddar is contrast to your outfit color to make it look good and to highlight yourselves
Also, have someone from your family or friends to monitor the decoration preparation, atleast the day before

Catering

Just before the wedding, try to sync up with caterer once again, to confirm the final list and if there are any new seasonal dishes that are available!

Grooming

Book your appointments for facials, pedicure, manicure, nail art and any other salon treatments just before the events start