Ruhi Gilder
Ruins of an ancient fort, twinkling fairy lights, showers of petals and pure white doves, Netflix’s new reality show has it all. Featuring couples celebrating ‘The Big Day’, the show premiered on Sunday, February 14th. Conde Nast India brings to the screen what goes on behind the scenes at a big, fat Indian wedding. The first three episodes were scheduled for Valentine’s Day release, and the next three will follow soon.
The show features upcoming and established players from the $50 billion Indian wedding industry.
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LuxeBook speaks to emerging wedding décor company Atisuto Events’ Creative Director, Sabah Shaikh, who was part of the team that organised the wedding of one of the couples of the show, Ami & Nitin. Established in 2016, Atisuto is known for their detailed, minimal, vintage aesthetic. The all-women team focuses on doing about 10-15 weddings a year emphasizing customised experiences keeping in mind a couple’s journey.
Ami and Nitin ensured that sustainability was one of the key elements in their wedding décor, using dried greens and flowers, creating a kind of enchanted garden against the backdrop of Tijara Fort, Delhi. “We did an all-white décor holi function, where the end result – the colourful backdrop was used as the final canvas for the event,” says Sabah.
Her favourite in Ami & Nitin’s wedding was the vow-taking ceremony, “They did not have a conventional wedding with pheras, only vows, and we didn’t want anyone around them when they were reciting them.” Choosing a large courtyard with an upper level as the venue, the guests overlooked the ceremony while the bride and groom were surrounded by flowers and candles, isolating them and having them enjoy an extremely personal moment.
Speaking candidly about her thoughts on ‘The Big Day’ Sabah says that compared to other shows about weddings that may seem scripted, the producers have tried to keep it as natural as possible, with a docu-style approach. Each episode focuses on a different theme, Ami & Nitin’s episode is about brides who do not shy away from traditional rituals, whereas another is about a gay wedding.
“It was a remarkable experience working with team Conde Nast for this Netflix series. I feel like I have been part of Ami and Nitin’s wedding experience since Day 1, and this truly immortalizes this journey we have been on together.” Signing off, Sabah shares her insights about what weddings mean to her, “It’s not about being over-the-top, it’s about them, it’s about the marriage. People get so lost in the other things that they forget what it’s actually about, it’s about each other”.
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