Weaving Dreams

“Since my childhood weddings have fascinated me,” says Manali Jagtap, the brain behind bridal wear Turquoise Couture, and a promising bridal consultant and wedding planner. The only limitation, though, for this 22-year-old Mumbai girl most of the times, is convincing old-school customers to try out new things. She states, “I understand the emotions associated with weddings and don’t treat marriages as mere business opportunities.”

“A trained classical Hindustani vocalist, she loves opulence, bright colours, different styles of lighting and themes that stimulate the senses.  All the weddings I work on are big on the ‘wow’ factor”, she says.

For puritanical Indians, out-of-the ordinary weddings may be a rarity but they make up for it with unrestricted extravagance in the form of celebrity entertainers, an assortment of cuisines and ostentatious sets. Manali remembers her wackiest wedding as the one where she recreated the romance and magic of Venice by building the entire city, complete with Venetian architecture, canals, and boats. The guests were not just captivated by the beauty of Venice in India but also serenaded by street musicians flown in especially from Italy. As for immediate plans, while there is still time to dream about her own wedding, she wants to plan ‘Saifeena’s’ much-awaited nuptials in the upcoming year. “Saif, being royalty and Kareena, Bollywood blue blooded royalty, would make for an exciting yet classy wedding,” she says.