Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Creative Desserts


A great way to have some fun and impress your guests is to get really creative with your dessert ideas. Sweet mini dessert displays are one of the newest trends (and one of our favorites!). Mini cupcakes, cake pops, and macarons are also unique and fun, not to mention delicious. Serving your desserts in creative glasses is another way to put a fun twist on a traditional dessert.  Enjoy!!







Monday, October 28, 2013

Importance of an Engagemet Shoot

One of the main vendors to book for your big day is always your photographer. Choosing a photographer is a very personal decision as you need to love their style and more importantly be comfortable with them. They are going to be around you all day on your big day and you want to make sure you can feel natural around the camera.

This is why an engagement session is so important. It's the perfect time to get comfortable with the team that will be working with you. It's a great way to get rid of your camera shyness and help you and your fiancé to learn what will and will not work for you when posing. Take this time to talk to your photographer about what are the best ways to pose so the photos can look natural. Get comfortable around the camera, remember they want to capture you, so don't feel like you need to create a different persona. Be yourself, and just like you do a hair trial or cake tasting, it is of utmost importance that you schedule time to do an engagement shoot.

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

What to Say on Your Wedding Website


Creating a personalized wedding website is a great way to communicate all of your information to your guests. Putting as much information as you can in this one central location will be incredibly helpful to your guests. Here are some ideas of what you should think of including on your own wedding website:


Creating different tabs for each of the following headings will keep the website organized and easy to use:

Welcome
This page will act as the homepage and will provide guests with some general information about the wedding. Mostly, you should use this page to welcome yoru guests to your site, tell them that all of the information they will need can be found here, and express how excited you are for the wedding!

Our Story
Here you can write the personal story of how you two met, and how your relationship grew. Don’t forget to include how he proposed here!

The Events:
Some brides choose to have one event tab and list them all under that, while others opt to do separate tabs for each event. If you would like to do separate tabs, you could do something like this:

Mehendi Event
Make sure to include the date, time, and location of the event. If you have non-Indian guests, you can explain a bit about what Mehendi is and why you are having this. Also make sure to include the dress code for the event here. Make sure to include pictures!

Garba/Sangeet event
Again, include a description of what this event is along with the date, time, location, and what to wear.

Ceremony
This can include a brief overview of the ceremony, including the date, time, and where it will take place. If the location of the ceremony is special to you for personal reasons, this is a great place to explain why. If you are doing two ceremonies (e.g. Indian & American), you can list them both as separate tabs or include them both here. If you are having a traditional Indian ceremony and some of your guests are unfamiliar with the traditions, you could describe Indian Ceremonies a little bit here. Also make sure to include the dress code here.

Reception
This is similar to the ceremony tab – just make sure to include the date, time, location, and dress code.

Calendar of Events
If you decided to give each event a separate tab, you can create a “Calendar of Events” tab where you list the complete schedule of events for your weekend. This makes it easy for guests to have all dates, times, and locations in one central location.

Accommodations
If you have already negotiated a group room rate for a specific hotel, you can list the relevant information here with instructions for how your guests can book their rooms under your room block. If not, you can list several nearby lodging options for any guests traveling from out of town.

Directions
Here you can put the addresses for all of your venues, as well as directions to them from nearby areas.

Gift Registry
Here you can put links to all of your registry sites.

Guest Book
This is a spot for your guests to write a little something to you two – whether it be how excited they are to come or wishing you two congratulations!

**If you are having a destination wedding, or if you are having a lot of out of town guests, consider adding in the following information:

Travel Information
Be sure to include the location of the local airport, how far it is from the hotel, and any car rental information here. If you have arranged for a shuttle service to the hotel, make sure to include that information here as well.

Local Activities
Here you can list ideas for your guests to do in their free time to enjoy the location of your destination wedding. Some ideas are locations of beaches, information on walking tours, and local restaurants.


All in all, make sure to have fun designing your website!  If you have created a particular brand (whether it be a monogram, color scheme, etc), make sure to include this in your website design. Lastly, don’t forget to include lots of pictures of you two!


Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Real Weddings: Neema and Vishal

We are back in chilly NYC and missing the warm weather in Arizona. This past weekends festivities were met with beyond perfect weather and not a cloud in the sky.


It all started with a colorful Mehendi event at the brides home, where guests got to enjoy getting their Hennah done as well as a preview of the amazing food that was to come the rest of the week.




Friday featured an enchanting Sangeet where family and friends went all out with performances that included 6 dances, 2 live songs and a speech! The entire ballroom at The Hilton El Conquistador was showered in tones of blue and green and the bride and groom stage looked straight out of a Bollywood movie.



Saturday started very early at The Ritz-Carlton Dove Mountain with an amazing morning ceremony with the Tucson mountains as the backdrop. Guests enjoyed a lively Baraat, a gorgeous ceremony, delicious lunch and even more emotional Vidhai. Later in the evening as the sun set guests enjoyed some signature cocktails before heading into the breathtakingly beautiful ballroom that was a vision of purple. Everything shimmered from the linens to the centerpieces, even the brides gorgeous outfit. Guests danced the night away but not before enjoying a yummy midnight Taco Truck treat.


We want to thank all our amazing vendors for helping us make this such a successful weekend: The Rad Photographer, DJ Raj, Wendell Florist, Jay Bharat Foods, Lishma Patel, Mountain View Tours and 5th Ave Productions.

Congratulations to the happy couple, thank you for letting us be a part of your special day!

Monday, October 21, 2013

Arizona - The Perfect Spot for Destination Weddings

We just arrived back to NY from a wedding in Arizona, and we can't stop talking about how perfect it is for weddings. Many of our brides come to us looking for advice on where to have their destination weddings, and for those who would prefer to stay stateside rather than go international, we always suggest Arizona. Arizona is the perfect spot for a US destination wedding - the natural scenery of the desert is so gorgeous and unique it will definitely set your day apart. A great plus of having your wedding in Arizona is that there is beautiful weather year round, allowing you to have a gorgeous outdoor wedding in the winter! We have done some beautiful outdoor weddings all over Arizona, and here are some of our absolute favorite venues:








Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Bridesmaids Gifts for a Cause

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, which means pink is everywhere, and for a good cause!

This is the perfect time to give your bridesmaids a gift with a little more meaning. A lot of your favorite brands are donating proceeds to some great Breast Cancer Awareness Organizations. This is a great way to thank your favorite girls while also giving back. Whether you're a survivor, want to honor a friend or family member or are just an ally of the cause, here's a few ideas for your bridesmaid gifts that support breast cancer awareness:

Lily Pulitzer, $118. The proceeds go to the American Cancer Society.



Essie, $8. A portion of the proceeds from the nail polish go to Living Beyond Breast Cancer, it's the perfect shade to add to a bridesmaid wedding day beauty bag!



Nordstrom, $79 for 1.7 oz. A portion of proceeds will be donated to the National Breast Cancer Foundation.

Ann Taylor Loft, $40. Ann Taylor Loft partnered with Giuliana Rancic to create a limited edition jewelry collection. During the month of October 60% of proceeds will go to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation.



Coach, $228. 20% of the purchase amount will go to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation.



NEST, $28. Inspired by the memory of the found of The Breast Cancer Research Foundation, 10% of proceeds from candle sales will be donated to the organization.


Arizona Here We Come

After over a year of planning we are super excited for the wedding of Neema and Vishal!

Our entire staff is on it's way down to Arizona for what promises to be a weekend full of dancing. We look forward to working with The Hilton El Conquistador for a phenomenal Garba and The Ritz-Carlton Dove Mountain for an unforgettable wedding and reception.

 We will be posting photos later this week so stay tuned! 

Monday, October 14, 2013

Our New Book!

We can't believe it! After 5 long years of blood, sweat, and tears, we finally get to see the cover of our book! After being in the industry for 10 years, we wanted to share some of the tricks and common mistakes that we've come across with all of you. The book will be released before the end of the year, but be sure to check back here for some more sneak-peeks until then! We're so excited to see this finally coming together.

Friday, October 11, 2013

Bling Table Numbers

When your guests arrive to your reception and are looking for their seats, they will be on the lookout for their table number. Using creative table numbers is a great way to catch their eye and personalize your wedding. Adding a little sparkle and charm to your table numbers will accent your table in a fun and elegant way.



Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Fall Inspired Centerpieces

The Fall is upon us, and what better way to embrace it than by adding a little autumn flair to your wedding! Adding some yellow, orange, and deep red flowers to your centerpieces will bring a subtle fall accent to your tables. Or, if you're loving the season as much as we are, you can go all out and include leaves or even small pumpkins!








Monday, October 7, 2013

Late July Chips

Looking for the perfect snack to put in your welcome bag for your guests? We have you covered! Our newest, favorite snack is Late July Chips - they are organic and Non-GMO, not to mention delicious! Best of all, 10% of all of their proceeds go to the American Camp Association, directly helping to send children to camp. What a perfect way to treat your guests to a delicious snack while also doing something good!



Friday, October 4, 2013

Top 5 Mistakes Brides Make

We are so honored to have been featured on Maharani weddings earlier this week! It's always a treat when they ask us to collaborate with them.

To learn what we think are the Top 5 Mistakes Brides Make check out Maharani.com

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

DIY Centerpieces

Many of our brides want to save their budget for their reception centerpieces. But, don't forget, you still have Mehendi, Garba, lunch and cocktail hour centerpieces. It all can add up very quickly. How can you save on your budget? Call up some of your best friends to help you make your own centerpieces. With stores like Michaels and Etsy making your own pre wedding centerpieces can be super easy. Check out Pinterest for some inspiration and even some step by step tutorials. 

Here are some of our favorite DIY Centerpieces