The Great Indian Wedding Book 2026 | Fashion, Architecture & Luxury Lifestyle Photography by Pravin Talan
The Great Indian Wedding Book 2026
Ten designers. Distinct visual identities. One day at Fairmont Mumbai and Roswyn.
Photography & story by Pravin Talan
Every photography assignment brings its own excitement. This one presented a particular challenge: ten designers, ten distinct creative identities and one day to photograph an extensive fashion editorial for The Great Indian Wedding Book 2026. Each designer came with an established name and a distinctive body of work. Each deserved photographs that did justice to it. We needed at least forty usable images—not just ten master shots, but compositions that revealed the couture, its craftsmanship and the premium jewellery.
My idea was to photograph today's young, confident woman in contemporary urban lifestyle settings. Fairmont Mumbai and Roswyn offered the architectural scale and atmosphere. The challenge was to make the woman, the fashion, the jewellery and the space work together, rather than compete for attention.
Interpreting fashion through light and space
I have admired the work of Manish Malhotra and JJ Valaya over the years, and our paths have crossed on different occasions. But the excitement here was the challenge of interpreting their distinctive creative languages alongside those of eight other designers.
Manish Malhotra's intricate silver couture worked beautifully against the grand marble staircase; photographed from above, the same embroidered garment became a composition in itself. JJ Valaya's rich detailing suggested mirrors, layered shadows and movement. Ritika Mirchandani's contemporary silhouette worked with Fairmont's geometric lobby ceiling and reflective floor. Shantanu & Nikhil's striking red ensemble found another character under the club's own dramatic lighting. With Falguni Shane Peacock, I used more intimate directional light to bring out the fabric, jewellery and embellishment against the darker interiors.
We moved between flash, LEDs, existing architectural lights and natural light, depending on the outfit and the space. Some photographs needed movement; others needed stillness. In a few frames, the most important decision was to preserve the hotel's lighting so the picture retained the atmosphere of the location.
Working inside a luxury hotel
Years of photographing luxury destinations, from Taj hotels to Savoy Sharm El Sheikh and Le Méridien, had taught me that no hotel, however supportive, can put its guests second to a production. During the recce we matched outfits to different spaces and worked around restaurant, club and public-area timings. Sometimes the shooting order changed; sometimes we waited. The Fairmont team was supportive throughout.
By the time we wrapped at six in the evening, we had walked nearly eight kilometres inside the hotel. Preparation, flexibility and a strong team had made ten very different visual stories possible in one day.
A collaboration across two decades
Atul Pandey and I have worked together for nearly twenty years—from photographing international models in Cape Town for Mega Modelz to covers featuring Jacqueline Fernandez and Anusha Dandekar, followed by earlier editions of The Great Indian Wedding Book and the Blenders Pride Fashion Resource Book calendar. Each collaboration has brought a different creative idea and a new challenge.
Unveiled at IBWM 2026
The sixth edition of The Great Indian Wedding Book was unveiled by Tiger Shroff at India's Best Wedding Makers (IBWM) 2026, at the Jio World Convention Centre in Mumbai. Immediately before the unveiling, I was invited to speak alongside Prateek Tandon, Co-founder of IBWM, about the creative vision behind our exclusive fashion editorial. I shared how we had set out to portray today's young, confident Indian woman in contemporary luxury spaces, bringing together high fashion, couture, architecture and modern urban lifestyles. The idea was to move beyond conventional bridal imagery and create a lifestyle statement—where the woman, her individuality and the environment were as important to the visual story as the clothes she wore. The unveiling presented the publication to an audience spanning luxury hospitality, fashion, design and destination experiences.
Photography: Pravin Talan · Fashion styling: Tanya Ghavri · Hair and makeup: Shradha Luthra · Creative collaboration: Atul Pandey · Locations: Fairmont Mumbai and Roswyn
Coverage: Mathrubhumi fashion feature · ANI News · The Tribune (syndicated) · ThePrint (ANI syndication)
Photographs © Pravin Talan.
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