Being a bride on Sabyasachi’s reality show “Band Baajaa Bride” is a dream for most women who are devotees of the prolific designer. Houstonian doctor and recent bride Kanika Monga and her now husband Ritik Tiwari are one of those lucky couples who were chosen to be on the show.
Their wedding, which took place January 2020 at Taj Falaknuma Palace in Hyderabad, will be featured on an upcoming episode of the reality show’s Season Nine, which airs on My GoodTimes. Needless to say, Kanika was more than thrilled at being chosen and in fact, admits that she started applying for the show long before Ritik even proposed. Luck was on her side as Sabya saw a story in their wedding that we wanted to share. Here she tells us what it’s like getting a hands-on bridal makeover with Sabyasachi.
Sidebar: Both Kanika and Ritik are doctors who are working tirelessly in Houston battling Covid-19 on the front lines. We are all in gratitude!
As a bride, what’s it like working with Sabysachi? Working with Sabyasachi was a dream come true. After seeing his genius at work, it becomes apparent why every celebrity works with him. Let’s just say that he is to fashion what Beethoven is to music.
How did you get chosen for the show? The selection process is quite competitive. They picked 10 brides out of 35,000 applications this year. I have been a fan of the show since the very first season. You won’t believe this, but I had reached out to the crew expressing my interest years before Ritik had even proposed to me. I did not want to miss the opportunity to apply at all! The application is composed of many questions about our story, passion, and interests. The finalized applicants are then faced with many subsequent interviews. The process allows the team to truly select stories of women that they feel could inspire others. The show is not about clothes and jewelry, it is about celebrating women who have shown the world that it is a better place when we are empowered.
How many outfits did he make for you and how long did each take to make? Sabyasachi designed two outfits for us. He styled me for my wedding ceremony. He picked how my hair and make-up would be and then selected celebrity make-up artist, Daniel Bauer, to execute the look. Sabya called me his ‘Homecoming Queen.’ Sabyasachi also made the bridal lehnga and all the jewelry that I wore at my ceremony. He also designed and picked Ritik’s sherwani for our nuptials.
All of the other outfits including both sides of parents and siblings were made by Bonny Sethi. She is a super talented designer based in Thailand and is the vision behind her brand June Fifth. Her clothes are traditional Indian with a modern twist, which is exactly what we wanted. Once we knew that Sabya was going to be our designer for the wedding, we couldn’t imagine going with anyone else for our other outfits. She helped all of us coordinate and match which truly added a loving element of personalization to all the events.
Sabya’s outfits typically take months to prepare because they are handmade in Kolkata. Since I am doing a Rheumatology fellowship in Houston, I could only fly to India two weeks before the wedding to meet with Sabyasachi. Still, he managed to create our looks in no time! I’m not sure how his team pulled this off.
For anyone looking to wear a Sabyasachi outfit, the great news is that his team is extremely accommodating! For any brides that want to get married in the US, they have convenient ways to get measurements and can ship over the outfits!
What is his process? Did you choose fabrics, colors style or does he design based on your style? He is a perfectionist. I remember when I met him for my jewelry, he would not stop until he had my look down to a T. I was amazed and mesmerized at how he brought to life our vision right before my eyes. He first met with me and we discussed how I had imagined myself as a bride. He was interested in how Ritik and I met, and even where I grew up. That helped him to style us. He wanted aspects of our life to be reflected in our look.
I had requested a lehnga from one of his latest collections. It was one of those that I had saved on my Instagram feed. Even though that put a lot of pressure on his team, since I only gave him a week or so until my wedding, he did not say no. I can’t wait for everyone to see my final look which will be revealed in the episode soon!
I have no idea how he did it, but he exceeded everything that I could have imagined.
For Ritik, we let Sabya design his look. Ritik had not even tried or seen his outfit in real life until one day before the wedding! I’m biased, but I have never seen a better-looking groom. Everything from his kalgi, sherwani to even shoes were designed by the maestro.
How did you know Sabya was the designer you wanted to wear? I could not imagine being married in any other designer. Isn’t that every bride’s dream? My mom and I completely adore him as a person and all that he has contributed. He gives brides such an amazing outlet to express and show-off our beautiful culture. Each of his creations is a work of art. For those who may not know, even his stores are stunning. It is THE Disney world for adults. I’ve also picked up an outfit for my US reception, and I can’t wait to wear it!
Honestly, I would be dressed in Sabyasachi for my wedding even if I was not selected to be on the show. But being selected, and getting personally styled by Sabyasachi was the cherry on top.
What was it like being filmed for the show? It was an incredible process. Being handpicked by Sabyasachi is a dream come true. I was flown to Mumbai for pre-wedding prep with the team. I can’t reveal all the fun activities that I took part in before the episode, but through this process I got to meet some incredible people! The backbone of the project, the team is composed of so much passion. The team is super talented with the central mission of sharing inspiring stories. We got to be ourselves and share our special day! They also pampered me along the way.
I can’t wait for everyone to be able to watch the season. Women truly can achieve anything that they set their minds to. Kudos to Sabyasachi, My Good Times, and Face Entertainment for this wonderful platform.
I am truly flattered to be chosen amongst so many talented brides.
If you are a bride and would like to be considered for the show, you can apply here.
And if you love Sabyasachi, expect his H&M X Sabyasachi collaboration releasing in 2020.
