The Blushing Bride: Shifa Zariwala ( Merchant)

Hello my super gorgeous ladies,

How are you all doing? 

I am just back from a vacation from my ancestral home and trust me; they were “feed Madhubani to death” kind of days for me. Bengalis love to cook, eat and feed others; and the love was sure to pour, after all it was my first visit after my wedding. I definitely have gained 10 kilos in these 5 days. :(
Anyway, I am back in my “Blushing Brides” section and today with me I have a super pretty lady.  Let the drums roll… Let us welcome the ever gorgeous Shifa Zariwala.
Well she got married in December last year in Mumbai. So lots of tips for the brides-to-be in Mumbai. 

Now over to Shifa…

How did you guys meet?

Our family knew each other since a long time! And we kinda had a thing for each other ever since we saw each other for the first time ❤
Long story short-
Year 2010
He- "Hi"
She-

Year 2011-
He- "Hi"
She- "Hi"

Year 2012
He- "Will you?"
She- "Yes! Duh!"

So how long did you get to plan your entire wedding?
I was engaged for a very long time so we had lots of time in hand to decide and prepare for the wedding! Talking about the venue, we booked them almost a year in advance! The makeup artist was also booked 6 months prior!  Coming to shopping, I started with my trousseau shopping around 9 months before the wedding and my bridal shopping started 3 months before. The only tough part was finding a photographer who was booked mere 2 months before!

Tell us something about where you got your outfits and accessories?
I had no restriction from either side of the family and was free to choose whatever color and outfit I liked! Initially I wanted to do something different than an usual red but the bridal vibes came to only from reds 😅 Both the outfit were from Kalki ( Santacruz) and both of them were like love at first sight! When i first wore them during the trial period, I instantly felt like a queen! I tried a lot of lehengas after that but the heart want what it wants.

Accessories were something I concentrated least on and picked up whatever I felt would go - I really regret it today though, perhaps it was because I was exhausted with all the shopping I have been doing since last 9 months (yes, that can happen. )

For the wedding I picked up an old-fashioned bridal jewellery that looked good but whether I like it or not is a big question for me even today!

 For the reception my blouse had boat neck so I decided to pair the lehenga with just a pair of earring (which I really loved) and gold bangles from my trousseau!!! 

Okay, here I would really love to talk about my haldi look as well as it was my most favorite look- my lehenga was from Roopkala (Mumbai) and the flower jewellery was bought by the MIL. I flooded her with pictures I saved from pinterest and kept changing my mind about the color of the flowers every now and then. We finally decided on purple, And oh boy, it bought life to my overall all magenta colored lehenga. ❤

Where did you get your makeup and hair done?
The last thing I wanted on my wedding was to look like kathak dancer with white face, overly done eyes, red cheeks and over drawn lips! I found Fatima Soomar on Facebook and I was really intrigued by how real and elegant her brides looked! I contacted her and we had a meeting where we talked about the looks we can do in brief! I would also like to share that Fatima is a really sweet girl who went out of her ways to make me comfortable during my entire wedding period!  

The looks she did on me were really natural yet elegant and I liked it more because I did not look like someone who I'm not! I would also like to share that there were few people who disliked my look and told me how I should have gone with something that is more "bridal" but I think that's the thing about our society, brides are expected to like disco balls but as me and my hubby both were happy with the outcome I cared the least about such comments!

Tell us something about your photographer?
Like any other excited bride I spent a lot of time on the internet for wedding inspiration, tips and ideas, one thing I learned from my research was to never ever compromise with the photographer. They might charge a bomb but it is all so worth it, believe me! I booked Hitched and Clicked for my pre-wedding as well as wedding and I need not speak about their work because the photographs speak it all! Both Gaurav and Aastha are very friendly, focused and passionate towards what they do! I could not be more thankful for them for doing our shoot in such a short notice.

Any special moment you want to share with us?
My entry for all the 3 functions!!!
All of them were different and so special to me! For the haldi I walked in holding my dad's and brother's hand! I felt really really emotional and spoilt in that moment.
For the wedding, it was a super grand entry which I was not expecting at all! We entered in a crystal ball and had "Jashne Bahara" from Jodha Akbar playing in the background! Just like me all our guests were amazed too, every single person who came up to us told us how amazing the entry was!

Finally on the reception day, it was a simple walk with my hubby from the car to the stage, but it was very special as we were walking in front of so many people for the first time as a married couple!

Any advice you want to all the readers out there?
Enjoy your heart out and be yourself!! You have dreamed about your wedding since you were a little girl! Work towards everything that you have dreamed of! When I look at my haldi pictures today, I see myself totally drenched in sweat, my hair all over my face and my flower jewellery in a haywire state! But I do not regret it one bit infact I'm really proud of myself! I rocked the dance floor and danced my heart out without thinking about anything or anyone! It's your time and only you can make it memorable for you. ❤

DeckandDine says:-I just loved how simple, yet out of the world she looked. She looked no less than a queen on her wedding day. I liked that she went for subtle makeup and Fatima did a wonderful job. Hitched and Clicked did a marvelous job too; beyond words and adjectives...truly cinematic. Love the pictures. 

Wishing Shifa and Sarfraz all the happiness in the world. May the light of your love always glow upon your marriage!!! :)

Pictures Courtesy: Hitched and Clicked (Visit their Facebook page HERE)
Makeup:- Fatima Soomar ( Visit their Facebook page HERE )

P.S. If you too want to share your wedding story with us, 

then kindly mail us at madhu.9615@gmail.com