Last summer we were privileged to help with the most elaborate wedding The Helm has been part of to date. Have a look at the role we had in making Sukh and Surina Johal’s dream wedding a satorial reality.
From the start, we knew there was no easy path to building all of the outfits for every day of the wedding, primarily because Indian weddings have many days of celebration, each serving a particular purpose.
Our first step with Sukh and his family was a series of consultations at The Helm and at the Johal household (the homemade pizza had me visiting often!). After the two initial consults, we came to an understanding on the types of outfits all of them needed for each particular day – this is when the fun started.
The trick was to execute outfits that were unique and specific for the individual days' celebrations, which were as follows:
Thursday night – Lady Sangeet
Friday - Mehndi and Jagoo
Saturday – Wedding Ceremony
Sunday – Wedding Reception
This was a serious challenge, and the custom clothing path was the only way to give them unique outfits that were specific to each celebration. So with that decided, out came the fabric books! All of the suppliers we deal with were put to work for this wedding - Ralph Lauren Purple Label, Corneliani and Helm Collection Bespoke were the primary lines used.
The fabrics were chosen, and the product was ordered for the family. Six weeks later, all of it started to land in the shop. This has always been my favourite part of doing bespoke and made to measure suits for men. I love seeing the finished product for the first time.
As expected, it was all beautiful. The family and groomsmen went though four fittings - one for measurements, two for tailoring purposes, with the final fitting ensuring all off the details were perfect prior to the wedding day.
We pride ourselves on making sure every detail is right. So when the big day finally rolled around, we pressed all of the items, packed them up and brought everything over to the bridal party's hotel suite. We couldn't have the guys getting dressed (and consuming the champagne) without us, so we joined them for the day.
Have a look at some of the pre-reception photos. The groom Sukh is wearing Helm Collection Bespoke and the guys are in Helm Collection Made to Measure.
The wedding day wouldn't be complete without the newlyweds first dance, and of course, Sukh's outfit change for the reception. This evening was the most important of the weekend celebrations, so we needed a garment that lived up to the moment. We had a lot of options to choose from in the store, but it was decided that a completely unique one-off garment from Ralph Lauren Purple Label would do the trick.
As I started out by saying, this was the most elaborate wedding that we've had the honour of being part of. Thank you to our friends the Johal's for the opportunity! We wish them a lifetime of happiness.
