Tarun Tahiliani

Tarun Tahiliani

Manish Malhotra

Manish Malhotra

Manish Malhotra

JJ Valaya

JJ Valaya

JJ Valaya - I like the contrasting chooridar!

JJ Valaya - love this!

*Images via South Asian Bride Magazine*

Anyway, I thought I’d continue my posts about desi clothes shopping in Toronto. I heard about Oriental Costumes a long, long, long time ago. I always see Oriental Costumes collection showcased at the Suhaag and Kismet shows – and there are always a few pieces that I really like.

Unlike most desi clothes places, Oriental Costumes is not run from a basement – they have their own store in Mississauga. The store is massive and I really like the layout of it – shawls/jewellery in one area, casual/semi-formal outfits in another and their bridal collection in the back. To top it off, the aunty that owns the store is super sweet.

We went to Oriental Costumes last month and I must say, I was slightly disappointed. The bridal pieces they had at their store were very different from the collection on the runway – many of the outfits seemed outdated and from the early 2000s. The kaam, the cut and the colour combination’s just did not scream trendy to me.

The casual/semi-formals are nice but not fashion forward… you’ll definitely find clothes “in-style” (i.e. long kameez/frocks) but nothing that I would consider unique or exquisite.

I’m assuming they keep the newer pieces stored away for customers who are seriously interested in buying bridal pieces – we had told them that we were not looking for bridalwear.

I would recommend you to check out their store because their pieces at wedding shows are nice and they do offer custom bridal clothes – just make sure you let them know that you are interested in formal/bridal clothing!

You can also check out my previous post about Naz Fashion Bug.

This is modern elegance at its finest – I love the use of the colour red; subtle but oh-so-bright

Love the red, the lace, the hair, the makeup

Awww!

She is so stunning

Have a good long weekend everyone!

Before I started planning my wedding, I had no idea what happens at wedding shows nor that there are wedding shows specifically for South Asian brides. Naturally, I was shocked when I found out that the GTA hosts not one but two desi wedding shows – how awesome is that?

Suhaag and Kismet are the 2 largest South Asian wedding shows in the GTA. The turnout at both of these events is HUGE – we’re talking close to 200 vendors and a few thousand “guests” throughout the day. Pretty impressive!

Both of the shows happens twice every year – once in the winter and once in the fall. I think wedding shows are a great way to meet different vendors and get a taste of their work and personalities. I totally recommend that brides should go to wedding shows – the amount of information (and deals) available at these shows is amazing. If you organize your thoughts before the shows, you will come away with lots of useable information.

Top Reasons For You To Attend

• Information Overload: The best way to meet a variety of vendors at one location – this means you save time. You don’t need an appointment to get a feel for someones work… you can walk up to their booth and skim through their work! You can also check out the latest wedding trends whether it’s dresses or decor
• Great Deals: Many vendors offer a discount if you book them during the shows – who wouldn’t want to save 10% off a certain service?
• Inspiration: There is a little something for every type of bride and the wedding shows are a great way to get inspired. So many different displays, so many people with different backgrounds – you’ll be full of ideas!
• Prizes: Let’s be honest, everybody loves to get free stuff, right? Wedding shows offer loads of gifts and prizes – you might be the lucky winner!
• Have Fun: You’re getting married – how can you NOT go to atleast one wedding show? It’s all part of the experience and you need to have fun while you’re planning!

While both of the shows are great, I think I like Kismet slightly more than Suhaag. The reason? Simply because I find Kismet to be more interactive – you can get makeup demo’s, henna on your hands, pictures taken at Photographers booths, and my favourite; you get to taste some cake (also at Suhaag)!

All the below pictures are from the wedding shows

Bite Bar

Big Al Studios - Our Photographer! Their booth was set up in Valentines Day theme

I got a demo done by them - pictures coming soon

That's me - completely shocked at winning something at Suhaag last year.. because I NEVER win. Not even at Bingo. Sorry the picture quality sucks - it's a camera phone

The vase got knocked off and broke... right at the end of the Kismet show

p.s. One more day until FRIDAY!!

I have been to a crazy number of weddings (averaging about 6 or 7/year for the last 3 years) but no wedding has come close to the grandeur that Pakistani weddings have. In Pakistan, if you can think it (and your wallet can allow it), you can have it.

Since I love flowers, I wanted to share pictures of wedding decor that is full of them. Unlike North America, flowers are very affordable in Pakistan so they are used elaborately in wedding decor. People make entire stages and archways with them!

Can someone say stunning?!

Love, love, love the colours!

Yup, all the yellow you see are real flowers!

An arch... made of real flowers

Notice the "chandeliers?" Yup, you guessed it - they're made of flowers!

That's a WALL of flowers - how awesome is that?!

Those aren't towers of silk roses.

p.s. notice anything different on the blog?

One of my favouritest places to shop around Toronto is Naz Fashion Bug (you might remember my previous Friday’s Feature about her). Naz Fashion Bug is owned by Nazish Khan – a very sweet and genuine person – and her collection is ah-mazing. We recently bought 3 outfits from her and I love how unique and intricate her work is. Every piece she has is extremely different to anything else available in the GTA – alot of desi stores are still stuck in the 90′s! Seriously, what is up with that?!

Everytime I have visited Naz Fashion Bug’s studio, I can’t help but want everything… I felt like I was back in Pakistan doing my bridal shopping. Her work is delicate and not gaudy – something that is seriously lacking in Toronto; you either find ultra boring or ultra gaudy. I also love her choice of colour combinations.

To top off everything, Naz is such a nice person to work with. The first time we went, we told her which colours we were looking for and she made sure to order outfits in that colour – how sweet is that?

Brides: Naz does take custom-orders so you can talk to her and see if she can make your dream dress! She also has matching clutches that you can purchase with outfits. If you’re wondering – yes, she also has grooms sherwani and pagri’s

Naz showcased her latest collection at the Kismet Wedding Show on February 12, 2012. I have one word to describe the entire runway show by her: breathtaking! She was inspired to give her collection a Sufi touch and hence her models wore Turkish hats on the ramp. The clothes, the jewellery, the hair/makeup and the entire ambiance she created on the runway truly captivated the entire audience.

Enough of my blabbering – check out the pictures below

I've seen this outfit displayed and it's even more gorgeous on the runway than the mannequin

Mumma and I both fell in love with this outfit when we saw it earlier this month

She's looking at me... I should've waved. I do that to random people sometimes.

The show stopper - my friend tried this outfit on back in Dec!

Final walk

Don’t you just LOVE?

p.s. Happy Valentines Day!! Please don’t go overboard with presents – chocolates and flowers are the best way to go

*All the above pictures are owned by me*

Since I know nothing about tea, I wasn’t sure where to start – what kind of tea would I like? What the heck am I supposed to say to the “tea experts” if I walk into a store? Yeah, a little intimidating!

Anyway, I was walking around the mall on Saturday and I passed by Teaopia. I decided to go in and just look around – secretly hoping someone would help me. I walked up to the counter where they keep all their specialty teas and was greeted by an extremely friendly “tea expert.” I’m pretty open/honest so I told him straight off the bat that I know absolutely nothing about tea and that the only type of tea I drink is green tea. I told him I was also open to black tea as I do like the flavour of it without milk.

From then on, he narrowed down my likes/dislikes based on what I wanted and what I smelt. I really wanted something with pomegranate but the green tea that had bits of pomegranate was almost finished… so we went with Monk’s Blend: Ceylon Black Tea, Vanilla & Grenadine.

I love the smell of this tea! Both of the sisters think it smells like medicine but NO it doesn’t – I like the sweetness of the grenadine and the subtleness of the vanilla. I’m not a fan of the ultra sweet smell of vanilla, so I liked that the this blend has just the right amount of sweetness.

As my first loose leaf tea, I think it was a good choice I didn’t have to add sugar or honey so yeay! It has just the right amount of sweetness and pick-me-up goodness.

I can’t wait to try more teas from Teaopia!! I totally want to try something with chocolate and/or almond pieces next – in addition to something slightly more fruity.

• Caramelissimo: I had a smell of this at the store and it smelt divine! It has pieces of caramel and hard biscuit!
• Coco Caramel: Rooibos tea, chocolate flakes and caramel pieces
• Mudslide: Rooibos tea, banana bits, cocoa peel, walnuts, chocolate drops and coconut – I think this is at the top of my list
• Sangria: Apple pieces, hibiscus, grapes, orange peel, papaya pieces, pineapple pieces, mango pieces, strawberry slices, lemon peel and lemongrass

The blue is from blue corn flower petals

Into the tea strainer we go

Orion's Belt... haha. Get it? Men In Black? Nevermind

Are you a tea drinker? I’d love to hear your recommendations on what I should try next!

I love the modern twist on this classic fairytale!

Cinderelly, Cinderelly

Night and day it's Cinderelly

Make the fire, fix the breakfast... Wash the dishes, do the mopping

And the sweeping and the dusting... They always keep her hopping

We can do it, we can do it

We can help our Cinderelly.. We can make her dress so pretty

Hurry, hurry, hurry, hurry... Got to help our Cinderelly

We'll make a lovely dress for Cinderelly

Love this shot

When dancing at the ball...

... She'll be more beautiful than all...

In the lovely dress we'll make for Cinderelly

A dream is a wish your heart makes

Have faith in your dreams and someday... Your rainbow will come smiling through

No matter how your heart is grieving... If you keep believing

The dream that you wish will come true

*Images by Three Nails Photography*

Yes, I listened to both songs while writing this Have a great weekend everyone!

While searching for ideas for our reception centerpieces, I came across the most scrumptious idea: Cake Centerpieces! It’s unique, colourful and very chic. Your guests will LOVE these centerpeices for sure

Image via Magnet Street

Image via Cake Central

Yummm-ay

What do you think?