Yogini, artist, model and youth mentor Sneha Ghosh’s wedding to businessman Arindam Mondal on February 20 at BNR Officers Club in Garden Reach was special in its intimate warmth. While Sneha looked radiant in her Sabyasachi sari, the groom cut a handsome picture in his dhoti kurta. The beautiful setting and the aesthetics added to the experience. Music was a big part of Sneha’s wedding and she herself sang a few lines which made it a night to remember. And, when her friends made the lawns their dance floor, she had tears in her eyes. Sneha later told The Telegraph why she felt overwhelmed and how she totally owned her wedding.
The prep...
My wedding date was decided in December but then I thought of postponing it because of Omicron. The moment the government allowed 200 people is when we decided to go ahead with the wedding. So, we had just about 15-20 days. February 20 was considered an auspicious day. I knew I wanted it to be tasteful, beautiful and extremely close-knit and private. It was all my decision. At the end of the day I had to remember to cut my coat according to my cloth. I knew I didn’t want to drain my parents off their money.
Making my own rules...
I wanted it to be a day wedding, which Bengali weddings are generally not. Our actual lagna was also very late. So, I had to go against a lot of family rituals and the Bengali traditions to get married in the godhuli lagna, which is sunrise-sunset, considered to be the purest time of the day. Which is why 5pm was my wedding time. My priest was a lady. There were certain rules that I didn’t want to follow, like kanyadaan. My wedding was complete within two hours and I only did the things important to me. I was not walking ahead of him in the saat phera. We were both holding hands and walking together. The piri (a wooden seater) is usually lifted by your brothers, which means you are dependent on them for the rest of your lives, but mine was lifted by all my female friends. The people who were invited were also a close circle. I didn’t want people to sit and eat while I got married. I knew those who would be there would be equally involved.
“I had to be my most authentic self and I didn’t want to copy anyone. I wore a simple sari that my mom just went and bought and wore alta,” said Sneha.
Wardrobe
The gaaye holud sari: I had to be my most authentic self and I didn’t want to copy anyone. I wore a simple sari that my mom just went and bought and wore alta. I could be wearing anything, a sari picked up from Gariahat or Sabyasachi (Mukherjee), but I didn’t want the wedding to be fancy and about the clothes. I did not want to look expensive. I wanted to look like just another ordinary girl who has found the love of her life and is getting married and 50 years down the line when I watch the video, it should bring tears to my eyes. I could be looking glam, but what you needed to capture was moments, sentiments, the person. It had to be like a Satyajit Ray film.
“When I saw the ivory Tarun Tahiliani outfit that I am wearing, for the first time, I was like I need to work really hard to buy it. I remember going to the store and talking about the price and they got back to me saying that Tarun wanted me to wear the outfit for the day! I couldn’t believe it!” recollected Sneha.
The cocktails...
If the cocktails were to happen, I needed to figure out my outfit first! And, it all happened because of the outfit. When I saw the ivory Tarun Tahiliani outfit that I am wearing, for the first time, I was like I need to work really hard to buy it. I remember going to the store and talking about the price and they got back to me saying that Tarun wanted me to wear the outfit for the day! I couldn’t believe it! When you really want something, the universe conspires to make it happen. And, I went all out. A huge part of me has always loved dressing sexy and bold and I wanted to dress sexy for the cocktails. That is the break I wanted before the transition to the traditional wedding look. Both are an intrinsic part of me. Mainak (Das) did my make-up. I wore the same earrings that Alia Bhatt wore in Berlin when she was there for the premiere of Gangubai Kathiawadi.
I also knew I wanted fairy lights and the theme was red carpet. So many people were involved in my life, I wanted everyone to feel special.
“I had promised myself that on my wedding day, I would wear a Sabyasachi sari and I did that,” smiled Sneha.
The wedding sari...
I knew that I didn’t want to wear a sindoor laal sari. My lajja bastra was sindoor laal. Initially, I wanted to wear a plain, dark red cloth with no border, but there were a lot of questions, because that’s the conditioning. My mom had invested in my jewellery.
I just couldn’t find any sari for my wedding! I just told my mom that let’s just go to Sabyasachi and we can get an idea. I had even thought of going to Benaras to get my sari woven. I had already worn a Sabyasachi for my engagement that was gifted to me by Arindam. When I went to Sabyasachi’s, there was this beautiful magenta pink sari hanging over there. Once I had seen that, everything else I had seen earlier faded in comparison, but it was expensive. My mom saw I was upset and she took me to my bank and whatever money I had earned, I took my money, my mom put in a little bit, my mashi put in a bit and Bobo (artist Ayushman Mitra) put in a little bit, his gift to me, and I managed to get that sari. I had promised myself that on my wedding day, I would wear his sari and I did that. I wore it with a veil made by my friend from the industry. I wanted the look to be clean and minimal. The topor and mukut were designed by me and we got it done from Kumartuli.
I didn’t want rajanigandha and roses in my garland and wanted to go full white. I drove Mainak crazy about what I could put in my hair. Ultimately, I went for hydrangea, which matched the colour of my sari.
“I wanted to be in gold and look elegant and classy. I went with white roses as I feel it is always a classier touch,” said Sneha.
The reception look...
So many people asked me if I would wear a lehenga! I wanted to be in gold and look elegant and classy. I went with white roses as I feel it is always a classier touch. Abhijit Paul did my make-up.
Dressing the groom...
I was also figuring out clothes for Arindam. He is not into fashion at all. Buying a shirt for him to wear to a party is different from what he is going to wear for his wedding. I had that challenge as well. We didn’t have an event manager because we were saving on costs and I wanted to give my best and give it a personal touch. I knew that I was there for every single thing. If I was wearing a Sabyasachi, he also needs to look like a zamindar sitting next to me! (Laughs) I wanted to do that for him because I love him. I went to Snehasish da (Bhattacharya of Darzee). I wanted the kurta to only have a bit of design in the front and a gold-bordered white dhoti and white shawl with a gold border, to go with it. He wore an ivory Antar-Agni outfit for the reception. I had never seen Arindam wear a suit in my life. He wore one for the cocktails. Bobo’s friend made it.
Venue and decor...
I knew I wanted to get married in nature. There were rain forecasts on the day of my wedding but I knew even if it rained, I would sit in the rain and get married. Finding a place like that, close to nature and Ganges, which I wanted, was difficult. I had kind of given up on the idea. A friend of my mom’s holds a high post in the BNR Officers Club. It is not a popular place, but the moment I entered the place, I just knew this was it. My friend Bobo when he went to see it, did not like it, but he grew to fall in love with the place when he did the decor. He had to work his brains a lot to make it look aesthetic and it ended up looking like that. I had a lot of shola work at the wedding, birds hanging. I love shola.
The shout-out...
My mom pulled it off single-handedly. My mashi and my friends were the pillars. They played a huge role in getting things done for me. When my friends were dancing, I got really emotional. I couldn’t believe the amount of involvement these people had in my life for my wedding. My army of friends made Arindam their own, took care of him, got him ready and made him look like a star. I am so grateful.