The Perfect Menu

The word “lavish” best describes every aspect of an Indian wedding. From the detailed gowns to the elegant, rich décor and, especially, the food! Our bride's are always asking us how much food to get and especially what items will be the guests favorites. Here are our suggestions for the perfect menu:

Cocktail Hour:

We suggest having 2-3 stations and anywhere from 5-8 passed h'orderves. You also want to keep a good mix of vegetarian and non vegetarian dishes. Here are some of our favorites:

Stations:
Kathi Roll Station

Masala Dosa Station

Pao Bhaji Station

Passed H'orderves:
Chicken Pakora
Vegetable Samosa
Paneer Lollipop

Tandoori Stuffed Mushrooms

Shrimp Toast
Masala Fries

Bhel in Phyllo Cups

Main Course:

Again make sure to have a good mix of vegetarian and non-vegetarian items. We suggest having 1 chicken, 1 fish, 1 lamb, 1 paneer, a salad bar, 1 rice and a mix of breads.

Tandoori Shrimp

Paneer Khurchan

Lamb Vindaloo

Dal Makhani

Peas Pullao

Chicken Tikka Masala

Complete Salad Bar

Naan and Parathas

Desserts:
Wedding cake
Rasmalai
Gulab Jamon
Halwa

Enjoy!

Food for Thought

Most caterers over-estimate the amount of food you will need for your wedding. And usually, you end up with too much food at the end of the week. So what can you do with all those leftovers? You certainly don’t want to see it go to waste! Why not donate the food to a shelter or a food bank? Here is a list of some companies who would be happy to collect your leftovers!

Feeding America

Food bank for NYC

Food bank association New York State

Food bank of WNY

Food bank of Central New York

Winter Top 10 Grand Entrance Songs

A new season means new songs. There are some songs that last a lifetime but others come and go. Here are our top 10 favorite grand entrance songs for this season:

1. Where Them Girls At (feat. Nicki Minaj & Flo Rida)–David Guetta, Flo Rida & Nicki Minaj
2. What Is Love (Single Mix)–Haddaway
3. Stereo Love–Edward Maya & Vika Jigulina
4. Good Feeling - Flo Rida
5. International Love- Pit Bull
6. Moves Like Jagger- Marron 5
7. Tonight is the Night- Outsight
8. Kyoto- Skrillex featuring Sirah
9. Levels- Avicii
10. Promises- Nero

Cake Toppers

A wedding is the ultimate proclamation of a couple’s identity. One way to make this day ultra-personal is with a monogrammed cake topper. Monogrammed cake toppers are a classy and elegant way of making every aspect of your day reflect who you are.

Here are some beautiful options:

Wedding Collectibles

Topper With Glitz

Monogram Cake Toppers

Just Cake Toppers

Top 10 Cake Cutting Songs

The cake-cutting is a traditional symbol and one of the most romantic moments during your wedding! And because the first undertaking the couple will handle as husband and wife will be to cut the cake, their song has to be as special as the couple!

Here are some of the most popular cake cutting songs of all time.

1. Sonny & Cher - I got you babe

2. Dean Martin- That’s amore

3. The four Tops-I can't help myself (sugar pie, honey bunch)

4. Frank Sinatra - The way you look tonight

5. The Rolling Stones- Brown sugar

6. Armageddon- Aerosmith

7. Barry White- You're my first, my last, my everything.

8. The Beatles – I want to hold your hand

9. Bee Gees- How deep is your love

10. The Searchers - Sweets for my sweet

Favorite Mandaps from 2011

2011 was a year of many beautiful weddings. Our clients took us all over NY, Miami, California, even the Caribbean. What we love is that no two weddings are ever the same from the decor to details each bride has her own look.

Here we share our favorite Mandaps from 2011, each one very different from the next.

Top 10 Floral Trends of 2012

Every bride knows the importance of beautiful flowers at their wedding. When planning you big day make sure to keep in mind the top 10 Floral Trends for 2012!

The Rustic style was huge in 2011, but for 2012 look for that rustic style to have a more modern flare.

Unusual Bouquets

A return to simple elegance

Elements of surprise: plants instead of flowers, feathers, fruit, tree stubs.

Patterns

Bringing the outside indoors

Bright Colors

A touch of whimsy

Garden roses: the hot flower for 2012

White & green: Such a classic combination, this trend seems to be everywhere this year.

You’re in good hands !

Because our brides deserve the best for their wedding day, here at Sonal. J Shah Event Consultant, we have made a fine selection of our favourite henna artists decorating an Indian bride. We love their work and professional services and we would love to share them with you !


Henna Studio. http://www.hennastudio.com/




Mehendi styling. http://www.mehendistyling.com/




Kenzi. http://www.kenzi.com/ArtistsBridal.html



Akiyo Henna. http://www.akiyohenna.com/



Mimixa. http://www.mimixa.com/

Garba Venues in NJ

There are many pre-wedding functions in a Indian wedding. Among these, one of the most popular ones is the Garba. Many of our NJ brides like to have their wedding in NYC but choose to keep the Garba close to home. Here are our top venues in NJ for the Garba:

1. DoubleTree by Hilton, Somerset, NJ
2. Sheraton Meadowlands, East Rutherford, NJ
3. Hindu Samaj Mandir, Mahwah, NJ
4. Milan Banquets, Garfield, NJ
5. Akbar Restaurant, Edison, NJ
6. Chand Palace, Parsippany, NJ
7. Cedar Garden Banquet, Princeton, NJ
8. Royal Albert's Palace, Fords, NJ
9. Courtyard Edison Woodbridge, Edison, NJ
10. Renaissance Woodbridge Hotel, Iselin, NJ

Let The Colors Speak

When it comes to your wedding, yes, you do want to focus on your nails. Not only does it complete your wedding look but your nails are in almost every single wedding photo. And because photographers will capture the memories that will last a life time, your nails have to be perfect

Our suggestions to you :
Deep-Red BloomsWhat’s better than a Deep-red nail polish to accompany your roses!




Gold and Cream


Nude polish tones are a sophisticated, modern way to set off these bright saris !

Good to know: The deeper the color, the shorter the nail, so if you love your length, go with sheer pink, cream, or champagne. !

Delicious in Pink.

In the summer, why not try an electric pink to give a pop to your dress !


Last but not least !

The french manicure : a classic you can trust whenever you want !

Photo and Video Teams

We are always looking for new vendors to work with, especially for photo and video. These might be 2 of the most important vendors you will have to choose as they will capture the memories that will last a life time.

We love working with companies that do both Photo and Video. Booking a company that does both can be very helpful because they can combine elements of both for your final product. Plus you can always negotiate and get better pricing when booking both at the same time.

Here are a few of our favorite photo and video teams in the NY/NJ Area:

The Wedding Central

Unique V Studio

Dreamlife Weddings

Vig Designers

Guy Heart

Cute little cups !

Check out these little cups we’ve found for you ! They are all made from favourite American dishes twisted in a different way !

A S’mores Bar.
Such a family friendly idea for your wedding !

Lasagna cups !
This is just the super cute version of plain lasagna.

Individual Seven-Layer Dips!
Perfect for parties !

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Shot Glasses :
Take your shot and eat it too!

From Our Photo Album

We were reminiscing in the office this week about all the great Destination Weddings we had last year and we wanted to share some great photos with you guys.

Enjoy!

Miami

California

Turks and Caicos

Puerto Rico