The decor at the wedding reception hosted by internationally famous artist Senaka Senanayake and his wife Jennifer, in honour of their son Suren and his bride Alexandra, the daughter of Olov Koling and the late Catherina Koling in the Grand Ballroom of the Colombo Hilton, no one present will ever forget. Contributing to this in no small measure was the decor and the Poruwa which filled the long corridor lounge, leading into the ballroom that held your breath with its colour and originality, executed in bamboo, crab claws and other tropical flowers. The decor was based on the painting by Senaka which formed the backdrop to the poruwa, which was besides on the card, and ran through the entire theme of exotic splendour. Within the ballroom itself there was the contrast of the elegance of white.

The bride made a picture of a blend of the west and the east in a saree of ivory silk exquisitely embroidered in antique gold, in a range of gold designs done in beads, sequins, stones and thread which made a tapestrie of a garment of regal elegance. Draped in the gujarati style the blouse was square necked and had a suggestion of a sleeve, to set off a magnificent necklace consisting of an heirloom pendent of diamonds on a several strand collar of pearls. A cluster of flowers adorned her hair, and she carried a posy of yellow toned orchids and little flowers in a gold hue. A retinue of bridesmaids went for the classic Indian sarees of mysore georgette in a red closely dotted in red and gold, and bordered in green and gold they wore with cold shoulder blouses, long gold earrings and garlands in their hair the styles worn by the guests were as spectacular, with the groom’s mother Jenny in a kingfisher blue saree with dazzling sprays of sequin embroidery, and a double border in deep blue and silver sequins, she combined with an unusual set of jewellery, in what looked like square cut smoky topaz. A similiar shade of blue shaded into orange and a fushia at the hemlines of the saree Ramani Fernando wore bordered in gold. The neckline of her blouse was the perfect frame for a necklace of red stones and diamonds. Nalini, the grandmother of the groom had her Kandyan saree in a pale green and gold brocade like weave with a ‘ihe’ in gold, with the blouse in the same tone of colour, she wore with traditional padakkam and earstuds to propose an exhilarating and amusing toast to the couple.

It will take pages to write about all the wonderful sarees that added glamour and glitter to the occasion. Among them was a black saree boldly printed in large red poppies, which had a border in several rows of red sequins Ramali Wijewardene wore with ruby jewellery. A beautiful choker necklace in pearls and stones of several colours was the choice of Ruani Wijenaike to wear with a aquamarine saree bordered and dotted in gold and colour. Smart and sophisticated was Najma Mallick’s saree of a crushed grey and gold shot tissue simply bordered in midnight blue with gold embroidery and sequin work where the fabrics met. A collar necklace of gold and pearls made her ornament. Five stripes of gold sequins on a gold toned silk made the saree Yolanda Holms wore draped in one of her individual styles she wore with shoulder length eardrops in gold and pearls. There was elegance and the dazzle of rainbow colours and designs to enhance this evening of gala elegance. This unforgettable decor was done by Janaki de Soysa of the Flowers of Summer and the event coordinated to perfection by Nayantara Fonseka and her team. -Sunday Island