Blog Archives

January192021NOCOMMENTS

Destination Wedding, Wedding Ceremony, Wedding Planner

HOW TO CHOOSE TRENDY SEASONAL COLOR AND SCHEME FOR YOUR INDIAN WEDDING?

BY SRESTHA DUTTA.

Don’t all couples want their wedding to have the soothing touch of the seasonal hues and the trendy styles to turn the gazes? What’s a wedding without popping and warm colors around the venue? When one enters the setting, they should remain mesmerized with the color scheme used around them. Colors verbalize the happiness, warmth, and affection felt by the people in a wedding through them. Therefore, it becomes of utter importance to use the right colors in your wedding. Here are a few tips on how to choose the correct colors and decorations for your wedding: –

SAFFRONI DAYS – Choose saffron to flatter the eyes of your guests while you deck up on the Haldi. Instead of going all out on yellow, throw a few saffron decorations here and there to spice things up on your haldi. Decorate the venue with hues of lemon yellow and ask your relatives and close ones to explore the saffron palette for your haldi. The placid lemon yellow is sure to find its perfect companion in the fiery saffron.

MINTY DELIGHT – Ditch the basic blues for your Mehendi and introduce a soothing touch to the color palette using some unique shades. Use mint, Olympic blue, and a creamy French rose to churn up the color scheme at your Mehendi. Set a bouquet of pink roses on each station and wear a pink attire to complement the decorations. Cover the place in adornments of mint and Olympic blue to astonish everyone!

INKY PINKY – Take your wedding to a new level with this vibrant color palette. Use pinks like – Fuchsia, hot pink, or magenta and cold blues like – Arctic, Cerulean, and the admiral to compliment your unique wedding. Let the bride slip into a peachy lehenga while the groom flaunts an electric blue Sherwani. To admire the embellishments, light up a grand chandelier emitting a bright yellow aura around the venue.

SILVER WAYS –Red is used as the prime color at every Indian wedding, if you’re looking for a break from the known choose this idea as a trendsetter. Steer your path from the stereotypical red theme on your wedding day and take to Silver and Blue ways. Decorate the venue with glamorous silver trinkets here and there while you and your partner show off the beautiful Blue dresses bought for the event.

PEACHY PURPLE – Receptions are all about food, party, and awestruck garments worn by the countless heads. Use purple and pink shades for decorating the setting with rich and colorful flower bouquets around the venue. Feel free to put on a peachy and flowy gown that will not only complement the room but make you feel like a peach princess amidst a colorful orchard!

ROYALS AT RESCUE – If you long for a royal wedding but are short on the budget this color palette is sure to do your job. Go back to colors like red, maroon, and scarlet matched with some gold and goldenrod hues. This bright and lively palette will perfectly praise your royal wedding all the while keeping a warm undertone!

January182021NOCOMMENTS

SMLW

Wedding Ceremony, Wedding Planner

WEDDING CEREMONIES.

Indian weddings aren’t just about the pheras and getting engaged to the love of your life, to get married one must perform six other ceremonies packed with culture and rituals! Indian weddings typically last between three to four days ending with an extraordinary Roka ceremony. The various ceremonies keep us close to our roots. Throughout these days, both the families involved celebrate traditional ceremonies along with their relatives and friends. Food, decoration, glamorous dresses, and relationships are seen to flourish during times of gratification and enjoyment. Let’s peek into the different Indian wedding ceremonies!

PRE-WEDDING CEREMONIES: –

ROKA – Roka is considered to be the official meeting attended by the family of the bride and groom to start the wedding preparations. A priest accompanies the families and decides on the date of marriage and other rituals. The bride and the groom give consent to marry each other and a healthy exchange of fruits, sweets, and gifts is seen.

ENGAGEMENT – A few months before the final knot, the family of the future bride and groom meet, and an exchange of rings is followed. Typically, close relatives and friends of both families take part in this ceremony. The father of the to-be bride and groom seeks the happiness of their wards and officially announces the wedding to the world after the exchange of wedding rings between the love birds.

MEHENDI – A day before the wedding traditional henna dye is applied on the hands and feet of the bride in beautiful designs. In some parts of India, the groom also follows the henna ceremony. While the bride gets her Mehendi done by a professional henna artist along with other females at the party, other relatives tune into some party music and dance their hearts away. The darkness of the dried Mehendi is connected to the love between the would-be couple in some places.

SANGEET – Music has been a way of finding peace and happiness during stressful times. The sangeet ceremony which is celebrated a few days prior to the wedding adds to the fun of the union between the two families. Friends and relatives from both the families of the bride and the groom prepare dance numbers and choirs. A jolly battle of thumkas is observed over the evening which brings the families closer to each other.

HALDI – Indians are always a step further when it comes to enhancing their beauty and inviting positivity in their lives. The Haldi ceremony does just this. A watery paste of turmeric or Haldi is applied to the bride and the groom in their respective homes on the morning of the wedding ceremony by their family members. Both the individuals are blessed by the Haldi appliers with prosperity and happiness forever.

POST WEDDING CEREMONIES: –

VIDAAI – The saddest ritual in the whole wedding is probably the Vidaai ceremony where the bride finally leaves for her new life with her husband. In this ceremony, the bride throws a hand full of rice over her shoulder which is caught by her mother. This ceremony symbolizes that the bride returns whatever she has consumed from her parents. Though we can truly never return the favor of our parents, this ceremony is widely honored across India in teary eyes.

GRIHA PRAVESH – After the Vidaai ceremony the bride and the groom arrive at the home of the groom where there are warmly welcomed by the family of the groom. The bride follows a ritual where she pushes a Kalash filled with rice with her right foot and steps on a dish containing a mixture of malta and walks into the house. This symbolizes that the new bride brings joy and prosperity with her.

GAMES- Many games are played after the bride enters her new home to break the ice between her and her new family members. The bride and groom are placed in different teams and asked to play games against each other. This is a fun ritual that celebrates the union and welcomes the bride into the groom’s family.

RECEPTION – The reception is the formal welcome of the bride into the groom’s family. The groom’s family throws a fest which is attended by the family and relatives of both the families and is celebrated with dancing, music, feasting on food, etcetera. Though this ceremony does not have specific rituals, it is a fun way of welcoming the bride into the new family.

ASHIRWAD- The Ashirwad ceremony is celebrated all across the country after the reception where the family of the bride visits the couple after their marriage with sweets to bless them for their future. The bride and the groom touch the feet of the elderly and seek their love and support. The day is spent feasting on food offered by the groom’s family and getting to know each other.

PAG PHERA- The pag phera ceremony is celebrated by the Indians as an auspicious event. The bride is accompanied by her brothers and cousins back to her own house after the wedding where she stays for three days. After the completion of the third day, the groom comes to get her back to the in-laws which marks the end of the vast Indian wedding rituals.

January42021NOCOMMENTS

SMLW

Wedding Ceremony

Pre and post-wedding ceremonies in Indian marriages.

-By Shreya Kanabar

Marriage is a sacred bond of love, life, and commitment. A wedding is a part of a marriage, it is one of the many ceremonies we have in Indian marriages. And the pre and post-wedding ceremonies make an Indian marriage different from the others, celebrating both the family’s culture and region and respecting each other’s rituals make the bond stronger between the families because after all, marriage is not between two people it is between two families!

As you may know, in India there is a total of 16 different sansakars to be performed throughout a man’s life and a wedding is one of them.

Weddings are all about fun, food, celebration, gifts, and grand arrangements. But when you look behind the scenes, you’ll find lots of steps and ceremonies that have been followed by the respective families.

The affair starts from the mangni ceremony, which you may refer to as an engagement or a sagai. To formally announce the rishta to the society, the bride and groom exchange rings to signify the engagement.

Now before the wedding day itself, most of the functions and ceremonies take place at both houses. In ancient times, 10-15 days before the wedding; all the females would get together at the bride’s home and start preparing for the Day. Back then there wasn’t any service like catering, the family members themselves would make everything at home. So singing songs and blessing the couple, day by day doing all the household work, the concept of pre-wed ceremonies comes.

Following this 3-4 days prior, ceremonies like grah shanti, mehndi, haldi, sangeet begins. A cleansing ceremony to stay away from every negative vibe, grah shanti puja is held. A yellow turmeric paste made for the bride and groom to apply all over their bodies before the wedding to bring out the natural glow. The application of the bridal mehndi, or henna design, to her hands and feet intended to temporarily dye the skin in intricate designs, which adds more beauty to the bride’s look. Sangeet is an event, held mostly the day before the wedding. It is essentially a pre-party for the big day where families and relatives come together to sing, dance, and celebrate the wedding festivities to come.

All the pre-wedding celebrations and rituals give time to both the families to get to know each other better and to bring all the family members together. It washes away all the nervousness from the bride and groom’s mine. It gradually prepares you for the big day.

Weddings are considered a life-altering thing in India, and it actually is. It isn’t just one event to get done simply, it is a whole package of preparations, sentiments, togetherness, aspirations, joy, and celebration of life. And the most important thing is to share this beautiful memory with your loved ones. It is something beyond words.

The same as pre-wed ceremonies, post-wedding ceremonies are like being thankful for getting all the things done in time and give blessings to the lovely couple for their auspicious journey.

Starting from the vidai, where the bride receives a formal ritually performed goodbye from her side of the family with a blend of joy and despair, the groom’s side finally leaves the wedding venue. Reaching their home a grih pravesh rasam is performed to welcome the bride. She is asked first to push a Kalash filled with rice with her right toe to make her entry to the house. This ceremony signifies that the family of groom has accepted her to be a part of their family. Then the couple plays some games to drift their mind from the vidai and to forget if anything negative has happened during the rituals. Mooh dikhai is a rasam where everyone from the groom’s side sees the newlywed bride and gives blessings to her. The next day or a day after a pag phera rasam is to be done by the bride, where she is taken to her parent’s house. It is believed that girls are the form of goddess Lakshmi and thus the bride comes back to her home to ensure the prosperity of her parents.

And so when it all comes together it really appears that pre-wedding and post-wedding ceremonies complete the whole thing and it is as important as the wedding ceremony.

December52020NOCOMMENTS

SMLW

Fashion & Beauty, Wedding Planner

DIY wedding trends.

Increasing awareness of the extravagant cost of the average wedding has prompted a trend toward a more DIY approach to wedding planning. Plus every couple wants their wedding to be different and the best. So you can’t just sit simply once your big day is coming soon without worrying about every small detail. Here are some astounding DIY trends you should definitely look into!

HALDI DÉCOR: The color yellow is the hero of this ceremony, so take care of the balance between colors. Make haldi props using wooden sticks, wrap them with colorful papers, you can also make a flower bed for the bride to sit on it. Decorate a wall with chart papers and flowers, choose some best Bollywood songs and surprise the bride with a flash mob during the ceremony. Decorate the haldi thaal, or tray with flowers and pebbles. Make a pattern out of flowers on the floor or decorate a wall with kites, old dicks, colored glass chips, or small planters.
MEHNDI DÉCOR: Green is the color of mehndi and so you can decorate the whole place in shades and tints of green or can also use a contrast color to green. If it’s a night function, use yellow fairy lights, you can also place a jhula for the bride and decorate it with flowers. The use of bird cages, dream catchers, bottles, etc. will also look cool. Prepare a photo album for the bride, gather all her pictures from childhood till date, and place them at corners writing notes on each. Write some Bollywood dialogues on board and place them along the sides.

INVITATION CARDS, it is the first thing your guests are going to look at, now to give your special touch to the invitation you can make handmade chocolates and sweets to send along with them. You can also add a personal note with the main writing to each guest. You can include some accessories like scented candles, dry fruit bags, a small calendar highlighting your wedding dates, small carry bags with your names on them that they can bring to the ceremonies, a tissue box, or a set of handkerchiefs for each, etc.

To give your guests a warm welcome, you can give them some WELCOME GIFTS at their arrival like a jar of handmade candies, a handwritten letter with the schedule of each function, a basket of snacks.

Hand-made FOOD LABELS and handwritten FOOD MENUS can look esthetic with all the decoration and will give your guests a homely feeling.

Candle stands and dining table CENTERPIECES can be easily made out of craft material and waste.

DANCE PROPS can also be used in the sangeet ceremony. Make them with paper cutouts and colors. Also, hand over small props to guests and they can raise the props while cheering dance squads from the audience.

Inventive PHOTO GALLERY can look so good with flowers and colorful strands. Tie them with pretty fairy lights and it can also work as a suspended photo wall.

If the bride or groom has a pet, you can decorate a chair or make a PET HOUSE, for the pet to sit, and click pictures.

For the ring ceremony, design a RING PILLOW, BOX, OR TRAY.

Make cute and lovely CAKE TOPPERS for the couple.

Make cute WEDDING SIGNS, write quotes and, anyone-liner on ceramic plates or paper plates.

Make SASH and CROWN for the bride.

DIY SHAGUN THAAL and MONEY COVERS.

While welcoming the guests, give them a WRIST BAND different for the bride’s side and groom’s side, make them using colorful threads and flowers:

Also, you can make CUTE SIGNS for bridesmaids and the bride click group pictures.

Place PHOTO BOOTH and SELFIE BOOTH at a corner.

Decorate a wall with STICKY NOTES and ask each guest to write a note for the bride and groom.

Decorate POOJA THAAL and trays on your own.

Give your guests a RETURN GIFT HAMPER, made at home. Make them with flower petals and sparkly gift wrappers.

December52020NOCOMMENTS

Best Luxury Wedding Planners in Delhi NCR

SMLW

Destination Wedding, Wedding Planner

HOW TO PICK YOUR IDEAL WEDDING DESTINATION?

By Srestha Dutta

Getting hitched to your beloved amidst the balmy breezes of Malta or among a flamboyant estate overlooking the Eiffel tower sounds like the desired dream of every couple, but picking out an exemplary destination for your wedding can be quite a task. Yearning for a destination wedding is alright but how does one select one single destination from the best? This is where we come in, of course! By the end of this blog, you will confidently have a specific destination planned for your wedding.

OBLITERATE A FEW PLATES: – A destination wedding means a limited number of guests. Before you chart out your destination make sure your guests can travel to the place to attend the occasion. If needed cut down on the guest list, obliterate a few people who won’t be able to join in on the fun if a specific destination is chosen for the event. For instance, if you want an international wedding destination some guests might not be able to join in.

THE ELIMINATION PROCESS: – Before you start researching about places you see yourself getting married in, eliminate the places you do not want. Some couples want a destination wedding in India for instance – Goa, Agra, Karnal etcetera. Others want the total opposite and desire to get married among the international breezes like – Paris, Greece, Canada, etcetera.

PLAN YOUR BUDGET: – If you have a budget to care about searching for a destination wedding eases out a lot. Having a budget for your marriage allows you to eliminate the destinations that will trouble your wallet therefore limiting your choice and make you harness your energy for just the right destination. If you do not have a lot to spend on your wedding still crave a destination wedding outside India lookup Krabi – A tropical Island perfect for couples!

PLAY FAVOURITES: – Ask yourself where do you see yourself taking pheras with your partner – on a beach, in the middle of blue mountains, or surrounded by luscious green forests? After you have the answer to this question search up respective destinations for your dream wedding! If you are looking for a minimal yet memorable destination wedding, getting hitched on the Amazonian riverboat will surely do the job. More adventurous out lookers can search up the Jim Corbett National park in Uttarakhand for a wedding complemented by the sounds of rich flora and fauna!

GO VENUE SEARCHING: – Some might prefer searching for venues after they have jotted down a specific destination. But we say otherwise, searching up venues in different destinations opens up more ground for you to compare places on. Maybe the venue in Paris accommodates more guests than the one in Rome. Working on different destinations simultaneously might sound doughty, but it will palpably help you choose.

SURROUNDING AREAS: – While searching for a wedding destination view what else the place offers other than a dreamy wedding. Look for active tourist spots, amusement parks, gardens, or museums that will keep your guests entertained and you stress-free.

You get married just once, therefore make it count!

November242020NOCOMMENTS

SMLW

Destination Wedding, Fashion & Beauty, Wedding Ceremony, Wedding Planner

GET GLOWING AND CLEAR SKIN ON YOUR WEDDING DAY!

Don’t we all want our skins to seem unblemished and radiate a gorgeous pink glow on our big day? However, amid a global pandemic, it is not feasible for every bride to be to visit a salon and receive the soothing treatment she desires. With a ravishing dress, one needs flawless skin as well to make the heads turn. Try these simple and quick methods at your home to achieve picture-perfect skin for your wedding!!

EXFOLIATE: – Exfoliation is a pivotal process if you truly want your skin to feel fresh. For all my DIY Queens out there, this is the perfect project! Mix three tablespoons of sugar with one and a half tablespoons of honey. After you have achieved the fit consistency. Smear it to your face and scrub for five minutes. Rinse the mixture and say hello to your crisp and dead cells free skin! Repeat the process once every week for the prime results.

MOISTURIZE: – Some might think moisturizing one’s skin might give rise to acne which is a myth that needs to be addressed. Not moisturizing your skin might cause it nevertheless. One of the soul steps to glowing skin is to moisturize your skin twice a day! Keep your skin from drying up and keep it saturated for glowing skin.

ICE BATH: – Do you believe baths are just for your body? think again! Your face needs proper treatment as well. Take a bowl and fill it with water, release some ice cubes in it and stick your face in the bowl. Use a straw to breathe and elevate your face after two minutes (or before if the water is too cold). This ice bath will shrink your pores and make your face more compact for the makeup to go on well!

CLEANSE YOUR FACE: – None of the above-suggested methods will work on a face ladened with dirt and pollution. Therefore, make sure to wash your face with your go-to face wash before trying the other techniques! Lather on the facewash and gently scrub for a minute or two to discard all the filth and unclean particles.

HYDRATE YOUR SKIN: –Although most of us have been told drinking gallons of water can make your skin glow brighter than the sun few of us have seen results instead of sprinting to empty your bladder every second. But we can guarantee you hydrating your skin with a fundamental toner will bring in the compliments as well. Start applying the toner twice every day and see the results for yourself. Try Dabur Gulabari Premium Rose Water for instance. It is money efficient and worth the purchase.

DITCH THE OILS: – Nothing can be achieved without a few sacrifices. Therefore, this wedding season, say no to oily foods and eat lots of greens and maintain a healthy diet. Gulping down junk foods will add to your acne and oily skin, thus give it up for this wedding season for the skin you always desired for. Maintaining a healthy diet will only add to your perfect and glowing skin!

CLEAN PILLOWS: – Make it a routine to rinse any applied makeup before you hit the pillows. Unremoved makeup is the source of acne-prone skin and skin diseases. Say hello to makeup-free pillows and clean skin every night before dozing off!

SLEEP WELL: – A well-rested mind will not only reduce the wedding day stress but allow you to feel and appear fresh as well. Not to mention the long gone dark circles, it is of utmost importance for the bride and groom to have a sound sleep before the big day!

November242020NOCOMMENTS

SMLW

Wedding Ceremony, Wedding Planner

EASY WAYS TO MAKE YOUR WEDDING PHOTOSHOOT AND WEDDING FILM TO STAND OUT.

If you do not want to regret looking back at their wedding photoshoot because it’s ‘too basic or artless’, you are in the right place. Photographs are the most important ingredient in the recipe of wedlock. You get hitched only once, but the photographs stay with you for an eternity. When you are in your 70’s with your spouse, would you not want to view a unique wedding photoshoot that flawlessly expresses the bond you and your partner have had since day one?

Here are a few approaches to have an exclusive Wedding photoshoot and film!

PRE-WEDDING PHOTOSHOOT: –

You and your partner can mimic the first picture taken together in your candied days for a wedding photoshoot. Wear your wedding attire and imitate the posture in the bygone snapshot with your companion. Finally, make a collage with both the pictures against each other. This will unveil the lasting venture you both have been through, the tempests you have passed by lingering together for all these years!
Yearning for a unique pre-wedding photoshoot should not have to make your travel to a new destination, this beautiful image can be snapped on your terrace! Travel to your terrace at dusk and hold a piece of slate with your wedding date on it. Let the photographer capture this exquisite moment as the setting sun reveals a crimson sky and you both look into each other’s eyes while holding the date of your eternal union!

POST-WEDDING PHOTOSHOOT: –

Framing the moments for the onset of a timeless odyssey after the wedding is just as necessary as the pre-wedding snaps. Print a sign with the surname you and your beloved will be sharing till the end of time, for instance – ‘MR. AND MRS. IYER’. Voyage to the nearest park with the sign, your partner, and the photographer and frame another novel commencement!
How would you like if just a picture could represent all that you and your spouse have been through? This easy plan will do just that. Capture various images with your partner depicting the diverse junctures of your relationship through the years. Subsequently seek a photoshop retoucher to edit the varied snaps into an ultimate one. And you will have the post-wedding photo of your dreams!

WEDDING FILM: –

Having the ultimate wedding film is the desire of every newlywed duo. And this awestruck angle will only add to your countless wedlock souvenirs! Apart from churning up an hour-long wedding film, make a sixty seconds video embracing the nitty-gritty of the wholesome event. Ask your wedding videographer to capture a few candid shots of the betrothal and club them up in the wee video. For instance – when the bride-to-be walks into the venue, decked up in her breathtaking attire and her eyes meet the groom’s while all the family breaks into cheers!

These out of the world ideas are bound to set your wedding photoshoot and wedding film apart!

– SRESTHA DUTTA.