The highlight was when I saw my husband to be on stage, Sandeep, better known as Shaam (and my nickname for him - Prince Shaaming), looking dashing in his outfit, as we had decided beforehand to keep this a secret from each other.
His mother had gone to India and chosen our outfits, so we knew we were in good hands.
We are going to Mauritius later in the year.
After the wedding we stayed at a 5* BnB in Durban North for a few nights.
Whilst it was my wedding, I wanted to look like myself. So my make up artist Neil Ramatuar, who has done up the likes of Bollywood stars like Priyanka Chopra, was aligned to this. He respected my request and was true to my features. His partner Kesh did my hair and dressing, as Indian garb is no easy feat to drape!
My wedding dress was bought in India by my mother-in-law without me even seeing it! I had sent her with a PowerPoint and many whatsapp images of what I was looking for, but her choice far exceeded my expectations. She didn't want to stress me out, so she bought it and said if I didn't like it, I could find a replacement.
Needless to say, I loved it. And all the beautiful jewellery that was chosen to go with it!
One of the pre-existing wedding functions that took place was mendhi night (henna) which was done two days before the wedding. Husnaa Kajee drew intricate henna on my feet and both sides of my hands. One of the games is hiding your husband's name in the design for him to find.
I got married at the popular venue Kendra, in Durban.
Many of the guests were from Durban.
The rest from Johannesburg stayed with family and my immediate family booked at Sea Lodge in Umhlanga.
I have very sensitive skin, so I kept the treatments minimal and did them in advance in case of any reactions.
I indulged in a 90 minute full body massage with my cousin to destress.
I went for a Dermalogica facial for a glow.
I put on a home made face mask in the week leading up to the wedding made of chickpea flour, honey, lemon and tumeric powder.
I got gelish nails and toes done and even put an 's' on my big toes as my husband's name is Shaam and there is a ritual where my big toe touches a stone, so I wanted that to stand out.
Decor was taken care of Events by Design. I had met the owner Kavesh Manick just a month before my function and we went back and forth on the function sheets for a while, getting the details right. In the end, the decor was stunning. I was 100% happy and I could see his passion for what he does and his eye for detail that makes him an industry leader in his profession.
My husband Sandeep wore a traditional Indian suit and shoes. He decided to give the head piece a skip, which I was glad about, as his handsome face got to shine through.
His brother and brother-in-law also got their outfits in India.
Our garlands were made by Manjulabhen from Asherville. She is well known and her garlands are on point.
My cousin Sonia was my right hand woman on stage. She got her beautiful outfit from the India fair in Durban.
Her hair was done at 500 on Ridge.
My other cousin had an outfit from India that was not yet sewn so she got that ready for my function.
My sister shopped in the States as she lives in North Carolina and needed to be ready once she touched down in SA.
The priest Pandit Ravindra Joshi performed the ceremony.
My photographer was Priyan Pillay Photography.
Priyan and I go back a long time as he studied a business science degree with my friends. A decade ago he sent me a job advertisement when I had just completed my honours degree and that ended up being my very first real job!
Last year we had joked about him being my photographer when I first started planning. Then time passed. And when I revisited the idea, he was game.
He had to take the entire week off as he also shot my pre-wedding functions in Durban and he resides I Johannesburg.
I am blown away by the beautiful candid pictures he shot that captured the essence of the day.
Bishan Soni from Media King Productions was the videographer on the wedding day so that we can look back in many years to come what went down at the wedding of #HarshaWedsPrinceShaaming
No! There was no wedding planner!
It was really a big fat Indian family effort.
I am list orientated and tracked every aspect of the wedding.
My aunt in Durban was instrumental in booking the hall, priest and caterer.
My other aunt and my uncle were behind the scenes support with the endless running around.
It takes a village to make magic like this happen. And boy was there magic!
My dad got his car done up with flowers and decoration so that any person in the street could see I was a bride in a wedding car.
We made an entrance into the venue by driving in convoy and blasting our hooters.
Niru's caterers did a fantastic job to provide guests with mouth-watering food. Everyone knows that one of the highlights of an Indian wedding is the food and a highlight it was!
There was a sweetmeat and some snacks on the table for the guests to enjoy before the ceremony began.
Ten minutes after I walked down the aisle hot starters were served to the seated guests. Chili bites and a veggie pastry.
The main meal consisted of butter beans curry, butter paneer and wedding potato curry served with puri (Indian bread) and basmati rice. To compliment the dishes were pickles and sauces.
The sweet finish was a dish called sojee made of maizena, butter and milk.
We did gift bags for the guests which I purchased from China mall in Johannesburg with a thank you card that I attached to each of the 350 bags and my sister, aunt and I packed it with variali (sesame seeds and little sweets given at all weddings) and 2 Hershey kisses chocolates which my sister brought from the States.
Due to my family and friends being scattered all over the country and world, we decided to go with an e- invite which a graphic designer at my work designed with input from myself.
The dance part happened on the Tuesday before my wedding at a pre- function known as a sanjee. This is when the bride's party hosts a fun night to celebrate what is to come.
I practiced for about 3 months with my husband's sister, Kalpana, who taught us to dance to a medley of four songs (about a minute from each). She has danced professionally and her moves and patience not only made the whole experience fun, but allowed us to bond.
The first song was Tum Hi Ho from a famous movie called Aashiqui 2 and it was a slow song danced by Sandeep and myself. We then moved into Manwa Laage which was performed by myself and 3 of my girl cousins. The third song was Tu Jeez Badi and my sister joined for this one with my cousins and I. The fourth and final song we danced to was the Bollywood classic Jumma Jumma. Sandeep and I were joined by my girl and boy cousins for this final hit.
The sound was taken care of by Subhash of The Sound Factor. He is experienced in these type of weddings and set the tone for the functions.
