The inspiration behind the “Traditionally Modern South Asian Bride” photo shoot was to highlight the boldness of colors associated with a South Asian wedding and the beauty of a South Asian Bride on her wedding day. As wedding professionals, Divine Occasions and Inije Photography & Films have a deep appreciation for cultural weddings and the fabulous colors worn by the bride are always a highlight! The concept of the shoot to combine traditional South Asian wedding fashion with modern decor elements was developed by Kathy Grate of Divine Occasions. In order to make her vision come to life, she reached out to fellow planner, Nadira Merali of Envi Event Planning for advice on the most talented South Asian Bridal Fashion Houses. Her advice did not disappoint, which led to showcasing House of Raaj (Traditional Red attire), Faiza Samee (Multi Colored attire), Élan by Salima and Mumtaz (Emerald attire) as well as Shabana Rafik (Purple and Green attire) in our photo shoot. The boldness of color in the sarees and lenghas are unprecedented and simply stunning! To further enhance our styled shoot, we incorporated traditionally beautiful jewelry pieces by Elan by Salima and Mumtaz as well as a modern addition of 4.0 carat diamond engagement ring and band from Kenneth Gordon Private Jewelers.
We collaborated with our venue of choice, 200 Peachtree which offer the perfect neutral backdrop and grandeur appearance deserving a bride on her wedding day. For a modern approach to the traditional wedding ceremony, Kathy reached out to Sushma Patel, who was gracious in allowing us to showcase a clear acrylic wedding mandap. The modern mandap with the addition of beaded drapes in the background offered the perfect combination of tradition and modern! When deciding on creating this traditional modern photo shoot we knew that we wanted to collaborate with skillful and incredibly talented artists, Shawna Elizabeth for make-up and hairstylists, Christy Mejia-Angel and Kimberly Cade who only enhanced the naturally beauty of our models, Kaizeen Badshah and Shanti Dane. Traditional modern touches can be found from Sandi Spells Designs in our wedding stationery. She handcrafted a custom purple suede wedding invitation suite as well as place and menu cards that definitely enhanced every detail! Gold ceremony chair covers and invitation display table linen were provided by I Do Linen! For the designer tablescape, we used custom gold beaded and purple linen from Nuage Designs along with floral provided throughout the shoot from Divine Occasions to add even more traditional modern touches.
Planning, Design & Floral: Divine Occasions
Photography: Inije Photography & Films
Venue: 200 Peachtree
Mandap: Sushma Patel
Red Bridal Attire: House of Raaj
Multi-Colored Bridal Attire: Faiza Samee
Emeral Green Attire: Élan by Salima and Mumtaz
Purple Green Attire: Shabana Rafik
Bridal Jewelry: Élan by Salima and Mumtaz
Engagement Ring & Band: Kenneth Gordon Private Jewelers
Models: Kaizeen Badshah and Shanti Dane
Make-up: Shawna Elizabeth Enterprises
Hair Stylists: Christy Mejia-Angel and Kimberly Cade
Wedding Stationery: Sandi Spells Designs
Ceremony Chair Covers & Invitation Display Table Linen: I Do Linens
Custom Designer Table Linen and Chair Covers: Nuage Designs
