Sugar, Spice & Everything Nice, Celebrating Creativity and Culture

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Poonam from The Maharani Diaries, Bhavna from The Modern Desi and Afra of Oh That Be Good at a Sydney event for South Asians.

As we bid farewell to 2019, I look back at it as being a year for celebration, growth and forming new partnerships.

Since moving to Sydney last year, I have met some incredible people in the wedding and event industries, all thanks to the beauty of social media. Making these real and genuine connections has been fulfilling and rewarding.

For those of you who may have caught one of my live broadcasts on Instagram or Facebook, I chat a bit about being a small business owner in the creative market.

Sugar, Spice & Everything Nice Sydney Event for South Asian community in Seven Hills

Why

You see, I didn’t just start The Maharani Diaries solely based on the fact that I was frustrated with the lack of services out there for Indian brides planning a wedding, or because of the lack of diversity in our wedding industry. I started this venture because I wanted to make a difference for vendors, brides and the people around me. Being a champion in others lives is how I envisage The Maharani Diaries growing from 2020 onwards.

Poonam from The Maharani Diaries hosting her first Sydney event for the South Asian community. A celebration of culture.

Which brings me to our recent inaugural Sydney event, ‘Sugar, Spice & Everything Nice,’ which I hosted last month alongside two fellow small business owners, Afra of Oh That Be Good and Bhavna of The Modern Desi.

Poonam from The Maharani Diaries, Bhavna from The Modern Desi and Afra of Oh That Be Good at a Sydney event for South Asians.

Celebrating Creativity And Culture

After months of planning and numerous conference calls, the three of us united to bring Sydney-siders an event that celebrated our culture. A unique event that not only highlighted our diverse backgrounds, but also created a platform to support others growth and in turn enable us to share stories about one another.

Little did I know that in a short amount of time, we would bring together a tribe of like-minded people over bridal fashion and food of course!

Our Tribe

It was a wonderful afternoon, with attendees having an opportunity to bond over high tea and a colourful cupcake decorating station sponsored by Oh That Be Good. Fellow co-host, Bhavna also gave out free samples of her delicious tomato chutney.

Cupcakes by Afra of Oh That Be Good for a special high tea and fashion event hosted for the South Asian community in the western suburbs of Sydney, Australia.
Tomato chutney from Bhavna of The Modern Desi for a special high tea and fashion event hosted for the South Asian community in the western suburbs of Sydney, Australia.

A huge thank you must also extend to our fellow sponsors, whom without their hard work and dedication, we couldn’t have pulled off Sugar, Spice & Everything Nice.

Firstly, with her new collection of Indian wear, fashion designer, Elora Das of long running and successful online fashion boutique, By Elora showcased a stunning array of bridal outfits. This was actually the first occasion that either of us had organized a runway fashion show.

Elora Das of By Elora for a special high tea and Indian fashion event hosted by The Maharani Diaries for the South Asian community in the western suburbs of Sydney, Australia.

To be honest, I never envisaged such a beautifully presented runway. Behind the scenes, we had Pawan of Rani Collection, makeup artists, Celine and Justine of Kaur Colours and Shairy Jalil, Elora’s assistant, Junita, Leena of Ratanji Rani and seven unbelievably talented models.

Pawan of Rani Collection Sydney for a special high tea and Indian fashion event hosted by The Maharani Diaries for the South Asian community in the western suburbs of Sydney, Australia.
Indian bridal fashion from By Elora on showcase at a Sydney fashion and high tea event hosted by The Maharani Diaries in the western suburbs of Sydney, Australia.

Elora’s collection featured a range of spring/summer lehenga’s for the upcoming wedding season in an assortment of neutral as well as bright and bold colours. A trend we can certainly see continuing into the new year. With heavy smoky eyes and kohl liner, dishevelled braids, adorned with heavy tikkas and chunky necklace sets, the models resembled modern-day maharanis.

Model at a Sydney Indian bridal fashion and high tea event hosted by The Maharani Diaries.

Whilst guests indulged in afternoon delights from Lily’s, they were also serenaded by the soulful voice of Amritha Shakti and her supporting guitarist, Bineal Roy.

Indian singer, Amritha Shakti at a Sydney high tea and fashion event hosted by The Maharani Diaries for the South Asian community.

In keeping with the easy breezy, whimsical aesthetic, we went for minimal decorative elements. Pink was our primary colour, and the eye-catching acrylic sign and custom menu cards (courtesy of Ratanji Rani), including florals, all channelled this theme.

Florist Onni of Wild & Her created simple and elegant centrepiece arrangements using mini milk bottles and vibrant single stemmed florals bunched together. Similarly, the garlands adorned on guests’ chairs looked absolutely gorgeous. The marquee was filled with the fresh fragrant scent of pretty garlands, with thanks to Sai Garlands.

Floral garlands and decor for a Sydney high tea and fashion event hosted by The Maharani Diaries for the South Asian community.

Each guest left with goodie bags packed with promotional vouchers sponsored by vendors, sweet and savoury goodies from Afra and Bhavna and masala chai bags from Chai Room.

Last but not least, our brilliant photographers, Don from Pannila Photography and Emma of Spark & Kindle Photography, captured all the beautiful details on the day.

Model at a Sydney Indian bridal fashion and high tea event hosted by The Maharani Diaries.

Community Over Competition

You may have heard me say from time to time that I strongly believe in the power of “community over competition” when we look beyond competing, but instead lean on each other to grow in our respective careers. Let us inspire our communities and show how passionate we also are about business, along with our culture, values and beliefs. Once again, celebrating our creativity and culture!

Guests at a Sydney Indian bridal fashion and high tea event hosted by The Maharani Diaries, The Modern Desi and Oh That Be Good.

One Final Thankyou

On that note, I would like to once again extend warm wishes and loads of appreciation to all of our supporters, followers and partners out there. Especially, to those who believed in Sugar, Spice & Everything Nice.

As you can probably tell, the afternoon was highly enjoyable for all who attended, and we hope to continue to shine the spotlight on our heritage through similar events.

Guests at a Sydney Indian bridal fashion and high tea event hosted by The Maharani Diaries, The Modern Desi and Oh That Be Good.

Check out our marvellous tribe of sponsors on Instagram:

Outfits: @byelora
Jewellery: @ranicollectionsydney
Entertainment: @amritha.shakti and @binealroy
HMU: @shairyjalilmua and @kaurcolours
Floral decor: @saigarlands and @wildandherbyamilia
Table runners: @decorashaan
Stationery: @leena_ratanjirani
Chai: @the_chairoom
Photography: @pannilaphotography
Video: @sparkandkindlephotography

Sugar, Spice & Everything Nice could not have been made possible without Poonam of @themaharanidiaries, Afra of @ohthatbegood and Bhavna of @themoderndesi.co

Did you attend Sugar, Spice & Everything Nice? Let us know what you thought?

If you are interested in running an event for your business or are keen to collaborate in 2020, let us know. Drop us an email at info@themaharanidiaries.com

Happy New Year maharanis!