What is “Sandar”? Sandar is the Hindu word for beautiful; it was also the name of my scene in the 34th annual fashion show at GCC, Fata Morgana. My vision was that everyone comes from different backgrounds and we all have our own beauty. I chose a Hindu word because it links to me personally, as I was born in India. As you can see, this year I was lucky enough to have fourteen beautiful brides. I was originally generously given 17 dresses from Mary Ann Carr, owner of M.A Carr Bridal in Orchard Park.

Last year I was lucky enough to work with another student on the bridal scene. I thought that producing a scene on my own this year was going to be easy but, I was wrong. This year I originally had 24 models. Due to last minute complications with models I ended up with 14 girls and 5 guys. I was able to have a successful scene with the help of my intern, Maggie Gabalski.

I worked on choreography with the help of my paired couple models, who came up with cute poses to do with each other. I was never able get everything completely perfect due to models not showing up. My first rehearsal 9 out of my 24 models showed up. My second rehearsal I had 15 out of my 24 models there. I had friends step in for help as well as models walking a couple times. I also never had my models walk with their dresses on until Friday evening; even then we didn’t have everyone there. Thankfully my models that didn’t show up to all the rehearsals were able to learn the timing and walk on Friday’s rehearsals. I had to repeatedly extend my song to the point that it was almost a 6 minute scene.

The day of the show went a lot smoother than I expected. I started my day at 7 AM making my way to Dunkin Donuts to pick up two dozen bagels for my models. I had everyone but the guys show up at 8 AM for hair and makeup. Everyone looked like they were sleep-walking, models wore their hair in buns and were clad in sweatpants. Eventually everyone was in hair and makeup. Some models didn’t like their look, but no matter what they were going to match my vision whether they liked it or not. After lunch everyone was in a better mood.

By the time the three o’clock show started nerves were coming, not just for me, but everyone. We started the show a little later than we expected. I had my models and intern go backstage when we were called to go down while I waited for my other models from other scenes to come to our room to quickly get dressed. These three girls were literally run-away brides, running from the stage to the third floor back to the stage. We waited patiently for our scene to hit the runway. We finally were up. Everyone was still nervous and all I could say was “smile”. From the moment my first two models walked the stage I knew it was going to be an amazing scene. At the end of the scene I had my models walk out and then I followed. I remember last year I had a mini panic attack walking the stage but this year was so much easier. I remember seeing people I knew and waving at them from on stage.

After the three o’clock show I knew that the seven o’clock show would be just as great. I was right, this time I felt the show was even better. My models where a lot more relaxed, even though some of them didn’t do the most important thing, smile. I couldn’t be more proud of my models and myself. It was a long process but seeing my models on stage and having people congratulate me made it all worth it. “Sandar” could not have happened without M.A Carr Bridal, Jill Monroe, Charles Men’s shop, Mary Kay, my hair stylists, my intern, my models, and this school’s amazing fashion program.

This blog was contributed by Fashion Merchandising Student Lekha Anderson.