You finally said, a ‘yes’? So did our Trendylicious bride-to-be. She’s planning a February bash, and hitting on all of her contacts for the best advice. The tips she’s collected are so good that she wanted to pass them along to many of you also planning for a spring celebration in South Mumbai.

Venue pick: Taj Mahal Palace & Towers: 66653366
Why: It’s the fairy tale pick of South Bombay
Or else: Hilton Towers: 66324343, Blue Sea Banquet Hall: 24902222/333, Mayfair Rooms & Gardens: 40501111, 40044433, JW Marriott: 66933000
Bridelicious advice: Most hotels throw in a complimentary wedding night suite, so be sure to ask.

Stage decorators pick: Imran: 98202 94323
Why: Tried and tested. He gives you the look you want – traditional or modern. And he’s tied up with the Taj.

Flower decorators pick: Kamal Parulekar: 98213 34388, 2843752
Why: Forty years of experience doesn’t lie.
Or else: Havovi: 98201 83784
Bridelicious advice: Avoid too many colours. White and green make for the classiest combination.

Caterer pick: Thacker’s Caterers: 23649300/1
Why: If your venue isn’t providing the food, then they’re the hands down best.
Bridelicious advice: Multiple cuisines may look fancy, but your guests will enjoy a more sophisticated minimal menu.

Cards pick: Nisha Shah: 98200 64742
Why: Custom-made creations for your budget.
Or else: Shivani Thakore: 98210 92896
Bridelicious advice: Pick a theme for your pre-wedding invites, wedding cards and thank-you notes.

In Bridelicious Part 2, Mehendi, music, and more.

There’s a nip in the air, your woollies are out and if you are a foodie, then get ready for a roller coaster gastronomic ride.

If that ticket to Bangkok is a distant dream, The Terrace, Bangkok Degree1 has just opened for the winter season (it’s open annually from December through March). A fabulous view, lip-smacking Thai food, and live Thai music. Get ready to unwind.

Managed by sisters,Ning and Ko, there’s seating in easy chairs for 25. It’s the ideal place for a laidback Sunday brunch with your girlfriends or that special someone.

Start with to-die-for Som Tam (Papaya Salad), and follow that up with a bowl of piping hot tummy-tickling Tom Yam Koong (Thai Prawn soup). Tuck into some delicious chicken basil and steamed rice, and then bask in the Delhi sunshine, cocooned in a fabulous ambience of verdant greenery.

Step into a world of oriental charm, truly a sight for sore eyes and a haven for sumptuous food.

The Terrace, Bangkok Degree1, Sainik Farms, 1 Carriapa Marg, Saket, New Delhi.
Telephone: 9811777505.
Price: Rs.1000 for a meal for two.

You’ve resolved to start taking advantage of the cooler weather and get back to running (or walking) outside. But you’d never start the season without the latest accessories, would you?

All the workout wear you could imagine needing is under one roof at Reebok’s newest Arena showroom – the first of its kind in Delhi.

A three-storey high wall showcases 250 pairs of the latest models of shoes.

The wide variety of sportswear in stylish colours and patterns includes Reebok’s three ranges, Reebok Classic, Reebok Vector and R-B-K (which usually have separate stand-alone stores).

Don’t miss the knee-length jackets for women in high quality black and brown leather. Perfect for occasions formal or less so, and completely different from what you’d expect from Reebok.

Watch over the next few months – the store will expand up two floors, adding a sports bar and clearly-divided shopping sections for women, men and children.

You may want to run on over.

Reebok Arena, A-14, South Extension-I, New Delhi.
Telephone: 46013512, 46056280-81.
Price: From Rs 1000.

Fluid, sensuous, mysterious. Words that describe you, and the deep blue ocean.

Photographer Annelies Damen translates her vision of both in her photo exhibition titled Aquarius and Ascension. The series has shots of the female body photographed in a swimming pool and with aquatic creatures – all bound by a poetic connection. Gauzy blue and turquoise set the background for blurry sea creatures and images that look like candid camera shots of passing mermaids.

Damen, who’s from Amsterdam, began dabbling in photography while travelling through Africa, where she was fascinated by magical, proud, independent and also sensual African women. “The woman” is a central theme in all of her photography.

Having exhibited her work earlier this year at Sotheby’s Amsterdam, she’s now showing her evocative pieces in Mumbai for only two more weeks.

So don’t hold your breath. You’ll want to dive right in.

Aquarius and Ascension runs until December 14, 2006 from 8 pm to 11 pm at Zenzi, Waterfield Road, Bandra (W), Mumbai. Telephone: 26643670 / 71 / 72.
Admission free.

Timing is everything. And your choice of watch can say a lot about you.

Until now, if you’ve wanted the top international brand, you’ve had to rely on your frequent flier friends (and worry that they might be swindled into buying a fake). That time is over. Swiss company Rolex has opened its first exclusive outlet in India.

The small store at the five-star Hotel Shangri-La has 50 watches on display. But you can order from their catalogue of 170 Rolex models, produced in 3,200 possible combinations. The watch will come to you from Geneva in about three weeks.

The classic yellow and white gold watches have been many a man’s fancy since the brand’s inception in 1905, and Rolex has lately become very popular with women, too.

Our pick: The Cellissima model from the Cellini line. Diamond-studded watches with crocodile skin straps in pink or brown. Classic, yet funky – and not what you’d expect from Rolex.

Precious. But not more than your time, of course.

The Rolex Boutique, Hotel Shangri-La, 19, Ashok Road, New Delhi.
Telephone: 41220001, 41191919.
Price: Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 1 crore.

Like all of us thinking women out there, you’re forever grappling with the universal questions. What is our real identity? Is there one at all? Are we just numbers in the dark?

Well, you’re not alone. The play, Numbers in the Dark from director Atul Kumar, The Company Theatre, and the Evam Youth Forum, investigates these existential themes at the Prithvi Theatre this week.

After playing to rave reviews at the NCPA Theatre last month, this series of acts seamlessly combines drama, dance, and physical comedy – the best of modern and traditional performance styles in English and Hindi. Actors Hayderali, Namit Das, Naren Chandavarkar/Sujay Saple, Prashant Prakash, Rachel D’Souza and Suhaas Ahuja developed the material they perform from their modern experiences, as well as inspiration from the works of Harold Pinter, Italo Calvino and Jeanette Winterson.

Action-packed, funny, compelling and frustrating – all at the same time. The play will resonate with anyone living in a constantly changing urban scenario.

In the end, it all adds up. You’ll see!

Numbers in the Dark runs December 5-8, 2006 at 9 pm at the Prithvi Theatre, Janaki Kutir, Church Road, Juhu. Telephone: 26149546.
Website: www.thecompanytheatre.net.
Prices: Rs 50 on December 5 and 6, Rs 100 on December 7 and 8.

You’re the kind of woman who has your head right on your shoulders. But you’ve got an eye for all things aesthetic, too.

So Trendylicious recommends you head over to the new, paint-still-fresh-on-the-wall Lansdowne Gallery. It opened this week with a group show Tete-A-Tete, a collection of contemporary Indian artists’ interpretations of the human head.

Curator Jai Bhandarkar’s debut displays works from young and veteran artists including Souza, Sunil Padwal, Ebenezer Sunder Singh, Jehangir Jani, Bose Krishnamachari, Nayanaa Kanodia and Arzan Khambatta. The artists have taken the theme head-on. Hazy and haunting, blurred and bold, restless and blissful. Each rendition is starkly different.

The Landsdowne gallery promises to promote all art that’s Indian – from veteran artists to emerging ones, displaying vignettes of our rich heritage as well as modern photography and sculpture.

Not just an exhibition space, this gallery will create a community for artists, connoisseurs, critics and collectors alike. Their trump card: an in-house library for studying and understanding Indian art – past, present and future.

All this excitement’s enough to go to your head now, isn’t it?

Tete-A-Tete runs until December 20, 2006 at the Lansdowne Gallery, Lansdowne House, Behind Regal Cinema, Colaba, Opp. Lings Pavillion, Mumbai. Telephone: 22844747.
Free admission.

PS – Trendylicious will give away a free pink iPod Nano tonight, December 1, 2006 at 7pm!
Send today’s email to a friend and we’ll enter you for a chance to win.

Fragile, delicate and as beautiful as you are.

Yes, we’re talking about the collection of glassware by Indore-based glass artist Aarti Sanghi on display at The Next Shop later this month.

After showing her works to rave reviews in Mumbai earlier this year, Sanghi makes her first appearance in Delhi with this exhibition, called Frost. Her tumblers, tankards, long-stemmed glasses, shot glasses, decanters, bowls, ashtrays, vases and mirrors will be on view and on sale. She hand-crafts and hand-etches each piece of glass imported from Italy and Thailand.

While you’re enjoying these glass creations, you might want to pick one up as a wedding gift – it’s that season. Prices are not yet set, but The Next Shop tells us they’ll be accessible to customers on a budget.

These designs are contemporary, classy, and funky. Just like you.

The glassware will be on display and sale from December 15-24, 2006 at The Next Shop locations. N-Block, GK-I, New Delhi. Telephone: 29239381.
Centrestage Mall, Sector-18, Noida. Telephone: 0120-2510320.
DLF Mega Mall Phase I, Gurgaon. Telephone: 0124-4101952.
Price: Still to be determined.

PS – Trendylicious will give away a free pink iPod Nano tonight, December 1, 2006 at 7pm! Send today’s email to a friend and we’ll enter you for a chance to win.