WEDDING SERIES: My Experience Wedding Shopping Abroad | INDIA, PAKISTAN, DUBAI

Mumbai

*have you read part 1 yet? it was the post right before this one.

Have you ever been to a new place and felt as if you just belonged? ahhh. That is exactly how I felt once I landed in Mumbai. I must have lived here in a past life.... Mumbai was just breathtaking. Everything about it was beautiful, from the weather to the architecture, the culture and most importantly the people. 

I am not going to lie, when we were deciding on going to India for wedding shopping I was apprehensive. We always hear about the terrible things happening to women in India, we hardly ever hear anything positive. However, once we were there for a couple days, my worries disappeared. The people in Mumbai were lovely, and always helpful! The service everywhere was also exceptional. The workers everywhere we went (shops, restaurants etc.) seemed like they were working their dream jobs, even the people who would just hold the door open for us. In a country that is over - populated, filled with poverty, homelessness and many other political issues, it was humbling to see every day people who were genuinely happy to welcome us and help us at any given time - even when we were lost on the roads.
We picked Mumbai over Dehli to go shopping because we had family and friends who had previously gone to Mumbai for shopping and could guide us on where to go. I spoke to a few people who gave us some advice, yet we still did not really know what to expect once we got there. 

We stayed in Bandra West, right next to Shahrukh Khans place  (and a bunch of other Indian celebs) might I add.... EEK! Unfortunately never got to see any of them :(  we thought we saw Ranbir Kapoor in a car at one point, but turns out he was in a different country at the time LOL... I am not sure why we even expected to see anyone -____-  

Anyways, this location was perfect for us. Most of the hotels are located in the city, which is a small and always traffic-y bridge away, a bit far from the shopping areas. So staying in Bandra, with the locals, made the process of getting to the shopping areas quick. We were there with a mission, so we did not have time to waste getting to and from out hotel! 

There are a couple of streets where most of the shopping can be done, just like Gerrard st in Toronto, South hall in London, Soho rd in Birmingham, there was Santa Cruz and Juhu rd in Mumbai (there were more as well but these are the most popular that I researched prior to my trip). 

I went in super duper prepared - or so I thought - with photos ready, colour schemes ready, ideas of outfits that I had researched from each stores website before getting there. Everything changed once I got there, the the choices, the styles, the designs were so different in person. There was so much more and it was so much better than what I had seen online. Everything changed and all for the better! The experience of shopping in India is something else, doing things online is so convenient but being able to see, feel and try on these outfits just gave me so much more to think about and play with, this helped me make decisions on outfits easyy. 

I had a list of places to go to and here were my favourites: 

BAWREE - this store had a bit of everything, mens clothing, simple clothing, sarees, my favourite was their bridal section - a separate room dedicated to the bride! 

SUVIDHA - very similar to Bawree, with a huge selection! The customer service here was amazing!! This place was a bit further away from where we were staying so they brought home (the very next day!!) our clothing after making the required adjustments 

KALKI - felt like a designer store - without the price tag! loved their bridal collection! it was sooo stunning and their pieces were so unique! Almost completely different from their online store. 
AISHWARYA DESIGN STUDIO - large choice, nothing really called out to me though :( 

ROOPKALA - amazing sarees! 

RAAS - gorgeous bridal outfits, perfect for sangeet or any other smaller wedding event, their customer service was also 100% loved it!

SEASONS - Had an alright selection of bridal stuff but loads of amazing simple outfits which would be perfect for bridesmaids 

FRIENDSHIP - great choices for sarees but their customer service needed some help lol, we purchased one saree then they just wouldn't let us leave, it was so odd! 

AZA FASHIONS - one stop shop for all your designer pieces. The store itself was a work of art, let alone the designer pieces they carry. They have a range of designers and could cater to any bride looking for any kind of outfit. The price range varied a lot, you could find something at an affordable rate but most thing had the designer cost attached to it. I think everyone should go check this store out because it gave me some MAJOR inspooo! 

The best part about all these places was that the first thing they do is sit you down and offer you refreshments and you can look in peace. 2 workers will show you the clothes, they will try the sarees on themselves or on you, with heels too - the whole 9 yards. Compared to shopping in Toronto this was an absolute dream! 

We were there for about 2 weeks and we knew we had to finish early so that the tailors could make adjustments by the time we left. Therefore we had a couple extra days to chill - at this time we made a quick decision to go to see the Taj Mahal! Flew to Delhi and drove up to Agra to see the gorgeous structure that is the Taj Mahal - which comes with a terrible story, I don't even know why people look up to the back story behind the Taj but thats another rant for another day. 

I really wish I had taken the time to take more photos during these trips but unfortunately the time was short and we had way too much going on! Part III will be all about my time in Pakistan :)