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Sabyasachi bride
Dear 2018, Thanks for being good to me
I know this post is a little too late, but I have been traveling and not keeping well since last couple of weeks. But well, its never too late to write and I finally got my groove back and decided to start the first post of the year by looking back at the highlights of 2018.
2018 was an year of new beginnings for me as I had my roka ceremony on 30th December of previous year and within a couple of weeks, the wedding date was fixed for March. While I had some other plans for 2018, I didn't know that everything was about to change for me.
The first quarter of 2018 kept me busy with wedding shopping, planning, quitting my 9to5 job (I was working with Alibaba Group) and preparing for my big move to Mumbai - a city I had never stayed in before for more than a few days.
Here's a glimpse to my wedding functions (you can read my complete wedding series here)
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| Gown : Dolly J |
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| Lehenga : Sabyasachi |
I moved to Mumbai in the middle of March, and the second of quarter of 2018 passed by settling in the new city and experiencing the married life. These few months were definitely the hardest as well, as I had never taken a break from work and here I was, having left my full time job, trying to settle into the life of a freelancer while still getting to know my husband (as we had a very brief courtship period) and managing a household all alone for two.
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| Dress : Westside |
While earlier I always thought about pampering myself, now I had to think about my life partner and my new family as well. I focused these few months on writing and stayed off from any major campaigns as well. Also, I spent my time exploring Mumbai and getting familiar with this city that I never thought would be my home.
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| Dress : Cover Story |
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| Dress : Cover Story Bag : Michael Kors Shoes : Westside |
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| Skirt : Forever New Top : H&M |
However, the last quarter of 2018 wasn't that good for me health wise, as I had a major foot injury while I was on a family trip to Ranthambore and I spent the last two months basically indoors and it really made me feel low - as I couldn't work out, plan more outfit shoots or basically go about my daily life due to my injury.
There were definitely some good moments too - like my trip to Ranthambore and Mahabaleshwar, first Diwali with my new family, my birthday celebrations with friends and family; and definitely my award for the Most Influential Content Marketing Professional that was awarded by CMO Asia.
Overall, if I look back at 2018, while I did have a few accomplishments and new beginnings, I didn’t spend as much time writing as I’d have liked to. While I could blame this on a lot of things but simply put I didn’t put enough time aside to write.
Come new year and I am on the road to recovery now and already feeling a lot better and determined to make 2019 better and bigger.
This year I have decided to be more organised and divide my time equally in building content for the blog as well for my social media channels, as I have come to understand that while I love doing shoots and preparing visual content for Instagram, writing on the blog gives me more creative satisfaction.
So, I have a lot content ideas that I will be putting in action soon while also planning to start my Youtube channel that I have been thinking about since a long time.
Apart from work, as foot injury is healing - I plan to get back to my workout routine and fitness would be one of my main goals this year.
Before I end this blog post, I would love to know which posts did you enjoy reading on my blog over the past year? What would you like to see more of in 2019? Don't forget to leave your views in the Comments below!
Here's to a very joyous and prosperous 2019!
Love
Nitika
Looking Back At The Year That Was 2018 - From The 2018 Diaries
Tuesday, 15 January 2019
Getting The Wedding Lehenga - What to expect on your visit to Sabyasachi for your Bridal Lehenga | #TSDBridalDiary
Friday, 22 June 2018
Hey lovelies!
This post was long due! A lot of you who had been following my bridal series, not only wanted to see more pictures of my bridal lehenga but also wanted to know my bridal lehenga shopping experience at Sabyasachi.
The first time I started thinking of getting married, I dreamt of being a Sabyasachi bride. I think he is one designer who has taken Indian traditional wear to another level by giving it a modern take with his distinct style. And ever since I saw his designs at the ramp during my initial years of fashion blogging, I absolutely fell in love with his design aesthetics and I always envisioned wearing one of his designs.
So, last December when I decided to take the plunge, the first thoughts I had in my mind were about the wedding lehenga. Having only two months in hand till the wedding date, I was kind of in a dilemma that would I even get a lehenga on time or not as usually designers take a minimum of two months to deliver a custom lehenga.
My First Visit for Bridal Lehenga Shopping :
So in the second week of January, I decided to pay a visit to the heaven of bridal couture - Mehrauli - where all the leading designers have their stores; with my mom and my bestie.
When I called to take up an appointment at the Sabyasachi, Anita Dongre and other designer boutique s in the vicinity - I was told an appointment is not needed, and you can visit anytime of the day to check out the collection. (PS : Sabyasachi store is closed on Sundays and they don't do Billings post 6pm)
I visited a couple of multi-brand boutiques like Kayra and Carma but I didn't find any bridal lehengas to my liking - as they had designs more suitable for a mehendi or engagement function.
So, we finally decided to visit Sabyasachi before checking out other designers in the area. Now, I had been to the flagship store before (for the launch event) but I didn't know then that I will be visiting the place again to finalise my wedding lehenga.
The Sabyasachi Mehrauli space is no less than royalty - the opulent space has two wings - one for bridal couture and jewellery, while the other wing has ready-to-wear saris, kurtas, menswear and other collections by the designer.
While the ground floor of the bridal wing has lighter lehengas and stunning range of sarees, the bridal heaven is on the first floor with all the designs that you have seen on the ramp or on his social media accounts available there.
Price Range :
Now, here's one bummer, if you have always wondered what is the price of a Sabyasachi bridal lehenga - you should keep in mind before visiting the store that the lehengas apt for your D-day are priced above Rs 3,00,000. So, in case you have a budget lesser than this, you should ideally check out Aza Fashions or Carma - both the multi-designer boutiques keep the lower-priced lehengas from Sabyasachi (priced between 1.5-3 lakh rupees).
Even the bridal lehengas in Mehrauli store are in two price ranges : the raw silk lehengas with intricate zardozi work are priced between Rs 3,00,000 to Rs 7,00,000. But if you are looking to buy his famous velvet lehengas, the prices start at Rs 7,00,000 and go up to Rs 20,00,000 or more for his exclusive couture pieces.
Designs :
Undoubtedly, I received a lot of compliments on the gorgeous lehenga - but honestly, it wasn't just for the compliments that I purchased this outfit - it was for the dream that every bride-to-be has - to look the perfect version of herself on her big day.
Here are few more pictures of my wedding lehenga and few shots from my D-day -
Before ending this post, I would surely like to mention that it doesn't matter that you wear a designer wedding lehenga on your D-day or not, but you should pick something that would not only make you feel confident but also make you feel your prettiest self.
Also, don't go by what online magazines or stylists recommend - as there is no one style or dress that you should stick to - just because it is in trend or is out of trend. You should always go out, browse different styles at places you have shortlisted and decide only once you have tried everything on. This is one main piece of advice I would give to upcoming brides.
I am really sorry for the lengthy post but hope you enjoyed reading it and hoping it would help you in your journey to pick your bridal lehenga. If you have any more queries about my shopping experience at Sabyasachi, you can leave a Comment below or get in touch with me on Instagram.
Love
Nitika
UPDATE : As I have been getting a lot of queries regarding my Sabyasachi bridal lehenga, I have added more pictures of the lehenga on my Pinterest account, you can check it HERE.
This post was long due! A lot of you who had been following my bridal series, not only wanted to see more pictures of my bridal lehenga but also wanted to know my bridal lehenga shopping experience at Sabyasachi.
The first time I started thinking of getting married, I dreamt of being a Sabyasachi bride. I think he is one designer who has taken Indian traditional wear to another level by giving it a modern take with his distinct style. And ever since I saw his designs at the ramp during my initial years of fashion blogging, I absolutely fell in love with his design aesthetics and I always envisioned wearing one of his designs.
My First Visit for Bridal Lehenga Shopping :
So in the second week of January, I decided to pay a visit to the heaven of bridal couture - Mehrauli - where all the leading designers have their stores; with my mom and my bestie.
When I called to take up an appointment at the Sabyasachi, Anita Dongre and other designer boutique s in the vicinity - I was told an appointment is not needed, and you can visit anytime of the day to check out the collection. (PS : Sabyasachi store is closed on Sundays and they don't do Billings post 6pm)
 |
| Sabyasachi store in Mehrauli |
So, we finally decided to visit Sabyasachi before checking out other designers in the area. Now, I had been to the flagship store before (for the launch event) but I didn't know then that I will be visiting the place again to finalise my wedding lehenga.
The Sabyasachi Mehrauli space is no less than royalty - the opulent space has two wings - one for bridal couture and jewellery, while the other wing has ready-to-wear saris, kurtas, menswear and other collections by the designer.
While the ground floor of the bridal wing has lighter lehengas and stunning range of sarees, the bridal heaven is on the first floor with all the designs that you have seen on the ramp or on his social media accounts available there.
 |
| The lehenga I tried during my first visit |
Now, here's one bummer, if you have always wondered what is the price of a Sabyasachi bridal lehenga - you should keep in mind before visiting the store that the lehengas apt for your D-day are priced above Rs 3,00,000. So, in case you have a budget lesser than this, you should ideally check out Aza Fashions or Carma - both the multi-designer boutiques keep the lower-priced lehengas from Sabyasachi (priced between 1.5-3 lakh rupees).
Even the bridal lehengas in Mehrauli store are in two price ranges : the raw silk lehengas with intricate zardozi work are priced between Rs 3,00,000 to Rs 7,00,000. But if you are looking to buy his famous velvet lehengas, the prices start at Rs 7,00,000 and go up to Rs 20,00,000 or more for his exclusive couture pieces.
Designs :
All what you see in the store is all what you get! Precisely because all the designs launched by Sabyasachi are available in store and major customisations are not done. You will find each design in two-three color options and the sales assistant will help show you more designs that can be made available on request on their iPads. But don't expect to get a completely new design made or any major customisation to be made to a design you like (at least that's what I was told as they only offer size customisation but any other alterations are not allowed).
After going through the collection, I finalised the below lehenga which is from the designer's Devi collection. I always wanted a lehenga that had all-over work in a monotone color. While this lehenga was available in a red and a deep wine colour as well - my mom, my bestie and even the sales assistant agreed that I looked much better in this bright pink color.
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| Final trial of my lehengas |
Now, after shortlisting this lehenga - we decided to visit the other designers also the same day. We visited Anita Dongre, Manish Malhotra, Sulakshana Monga and Carma that have their flagship stores in Mehrauli - but honestly no other lehenga grabbed my attention and my heart kept going back to the Sabyasachi lehenga.
Also, knowing that we didn't have much time in hand - we decided to book my lehenga the same day and went back to the Sabyasachi store.
Measurements and Booking :
This was my second visit to the store on the day and well right before the measurements I was told to first go purchase a full-cup underwire bra for the correct measurements of the blouse. We rushed to the M&S store in Select Citywalk, purchased a new bra just for the measurements and headed back to the store for booking the lehenga.
Finally, the measurements were done on our third visit to the store on the same day and we were told that we would get the lehenga on 24th Feb - just 10 days before my wedding. Their team usually takes two months to deliver the lehenga, so I was still lucky that they decided to make mine in 45 days.
(But honestly I would not recommend you to wait till the last minute to book your lehenga, as I was stressed out till the time I got my lehenga as it was so close to the wedding day.)
**Also, if you are a UK size L or above, you would have to shell out an extra amount for the lehenga - a fact I wasn't aware of before visiting the store and didn't read even in the posts I had earlier read about the designer's bridal collection. The extra cost could be around Rs 50,000 and can even go upto Rs 1,00,000 or more depending upon the extra number of kalis that would need to be added to the lehenga.**
Anyway, after a long day, I finally had a realisation that I was going to be a Sabyasachi bride - a dream that I had envisioned since many years.
Just 2-3 days before the lehenga's delivery date, I received a call from the store that my lehenga was finally ready and I could pick it from the store. Eagerly, I visited next day to collect my lehenga and to my surprise - it fit me beautifully. I had lost a few kilos in these two months which made the lehenga a little lose from the waist - but the drawstrings to the lehenga made sure I didn't have to worry about it.
To my surprise, they even made a beautiful potli purse to match the lehenga and my outfit was packaged in this beautiful red trunk with Sabyasachi's logo on the top.
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| The Sabyasachi lehenga arrived in this beautiful trunk |
Here are few more pictures of my wedding lehenga and few shots from my D-day -
Also, don't go by what online magazines or stylists recommend - as there is no one style or dress that you should stick to - just because it is in trend or is out of trend. You should always go out, browse different styles at places you have shortlisted and decide only once you have tried everything on. This is one main piece of advice I would give to upcoming brides.
I am really sorry for the lengthy post but hope you enjoyed reading it and hoping it would help you in your journey to pick your bridal lehenga. If you have any more queries about my shopping experience at Sabyasachi, you can leave a Comment below or get in touch with me on Instagram.
Love
Nitika
UPDATE : As I have been getting a lot of queries regarding my Sabyasachi bridal lehenga, I have added more pictures of the lehenga on my Pinterest account, you can check it HERE.
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