Trouble For Destination Weddings?

The most exciting weddings to attend are destination weddings. Are destination weddings as fun as fuel becomes more expensive? We will have to learn to cut corners without making your wedding day less special.

Recently, some domestic airlines introduced new charges for checking baggage. The first checked bag is $15, second checked bag is $25, and so on. If you have to check a bag, then pick an airline that does not charge for the first checked bag. Click here to see which airlines do not currently have fees.

I have been thinking of ways to make destination weddings less expensive for my clients. Here are a few tips:

· You could send a package via FedEx. The two-day shipping service ranges from $10 to more than $80 depending on where the package is being shipped. If you choose this option, do not leave it to the last minute. You wouldn’t want your veil arriving two days after your wedding! And be sure to track everything you ship to avoid losing important items. Also, be careful about what you decide to ship and ask for advice on the best way to package things; your place cards won’t be much use if they are damaged on arrival.

· If your guests are only staying for a few days, advise them to take a large carry-on. One that is packed correctly can hold a few days of clothes, avoiding the expensive checked baggage dilemma. Be aware that some airlines make exceptions for mothers and they are often allowed to take an extra ‘babybag’ on board- use this to your advantage if it applies!

· In order to ensure that you only pack what you need, be sure to check weather information before leaving for your trip. Hotels do have a laundry room so another option is to pack less and wash your clothes at your hotel.

· Try not to bring wedding programs and table name cards if you can get them made on location. It will be one less thing to worry about when traveling.

Destination weddings do get expensive for guests especially if there are more and more unforeseen expenses that pop up.

Our Washington D.C. wedding gets featured in The Washington Post!

On Saturday, June 14th our team went to DC to coordinate the wedding of Swati Raval and Manan Shah at The Ronald Reagan Building and ITC . This was one of the most anticipated events of this year for us. We had been planning this wedding since 2006! I could not believe how the entire day came together.

To my surprise, the next day, June 15th, The Washington Post published “Groom Turns Heads With an Elephant of an Entrance”, an article that featured Manan’s attention-getting entrance on an elephant! You can read the article here. We were so honored to be featured in The Washington Post!

Manan decided against using a white stallion in his baraat, in favor of an elephant, something he said he had always wanted at his wedding. His three year old nephew joined him as people gathered and took photos. It was very exciting! We had all the people in Downtown DC at a standstill-- traffic, joggers, tourists and of course, the guests who had no idea of any of this! It was perfect… a total surprise to everyone.

I had the pleasure of dressing Minnie, the name that we gave the elephant. I decided to get a picture with her.. who could resist? She is so cute and gentle. I told my husband, Jay, I want one in the backyard!! HaHa

Swati was truly a vision in a gold and cream lengha. She looked soooo beautiful. I got a tear in my eye when she walked down the grand staircase at the Ronald Reagan Building.
Her makeup and hair was done by one of my favorites, Bridalgal.

The entire ceremony area was changed to RED, RED, RED for the reception. The Bride wore a red lengha with a long train in the back…. Really a new look that you will not find in India. The red and gold colors complimented each other perfectly.

Swati and Manan took their pictures in front of the Jefferson Memorial and The Capitol Building. Aren’t they the cutest couple? I love the DC shots.. my favorites. The bridal party wore rust orange and gold.

From start to finish, the day was stressful but worth it. I really could not feel a thing after the 6 Tylenol that I had to take from all the walking! A day in the life of a planner…

Wedding in Wisconsin

In late May our whole team traveled to Wisconsin for the cross-cultural wedding of Seema Gandhi and Ryan Grimm. The festivities began with The garba, a night of dancing and celebration before the wedding on May 24 in Brookfield, Wisconsin. She looked amazing to say the least in her coral and pearl outfit. It is by far one of the nicest outfits I have seen.




The bride gave out cute scarves as favors for the ladies at the Mehendi. I loved the personal touch with the labels that said “SR Seema and Ryan”.

I loved Seema’s mehendi.. She wore traditional Indian gold bangles given to her by her mother.

The wedding was held the next day at the Milwaukee Art Museum… soon becoming one of my favorite venues that we have worked out of.

The Milwaukee Art Museum was such a great location for the wedding and reception. The architecture is gorgeous. I could not believe my eyes when the wing parts actually went up to the entire museum. I had to go take a photo.






We also had one challenge on our hands. Our team had to transform the area of the mandap into a complete dining area for 260 guests. With linens, centerpieces and table numbers and limited time (only one hour) this is quite difficult. Of course, without fail, the reception turned out beautiful. I loved seeing the white, white, white art museum go to lovely shades of hot pink.

Mission Accomplished.. another happily married couple!! Yeah!!

Great Ideas From Virginia!

Personalization and price are two factors a wedding is planned around. Little details can make the event memorable but expensive. In our recent wedding in Richmond, Virginia we found some great ways to personalize the details without breaking the bank!

For Nishma's centerpieces we cut 50 oranges, submerged them in water and floated a candle on top.

It looked great and was very inexpensive.

Nishma also personalized her dandiya sticks by attaching ribbons with their names on them.

All the kids looked adorable at the garba, and they had so much fun joining in the raas with everyone.

Wedding Season 2008 Is In Full Swing

Well, the traveling for wedding season has started. Two weeks ago, our entire team went to Richmond, VA for the wedding of Nishma Patel and Neerav Jadeja. We had been planning that wedding for over 9 months and it was so exciting to see the entire event come together. With a guest list of 700, we took our team of 6 staff members (and myself, of course) to organize their garba, wedding and reception. Everyone was so nice and the bride and groom looked amazing.
The centerpieces were a new twist for us... CARNATIONS... yes, the forbidden wedding flower, carnations are back in style... It was great. We did a sky blue and crisp white color scheme for the bride.

I am at the airport in Philly right now waiting for my flight to our next wedding... Milwaukee, WI. I would never even think to go to Milwaukee if it was not for this wonderful wedding for Seema and Ryan. I can't wait to meet her entire family and get his family ready for the baraat and traditional Indian customs. The space, The Milwaukee Art Museum is so great and I cannot wait to see her colors, chocolate brown, turquoise and hot pink all come together in the all white Art Museum. Stay tuned for the photos.. Oh, I got a new camera as well.. actually, my wonderful husband, Jay, got me a brand new camera for this wedding season.. he is so sweet.

Cake Cake Cake

It was a week full of cake tastings with brides last week. It is always so much fun.
Gone are the days that brides just walk into a grocery store and order a cake.
Cakes are as important to a wedding as the flowers. It really makes a statement
and represents the bride and the groom (let's not forget the groom).
We had one of our brides who did her cake tasting recently.
The cake maker let me hold one of these delicate flowers... I was so amazed at how real these sugar flowers look! Check it out.

Also, I went in this week to meet one of my favorite cake makers in New York.... Mrs. Silvia Weinstock. I just love her.. so cute she is with those fun glasses. Her cakes not only are a work of art but they TASTE SO WONDERFUL. There is so much to choose from white cake, yellow cake, chocolate cake; so many flavors- blood orange, coffee, raspberry, mocha, apricot, and on and on and on.

I really tell our brides not to forget the groom on this one. We have more and more bride's doing a groom's cake. This is really a Southern Traditon but now our Indian Brides are doing this as well (my husband, Jay, loves the Yankees, I would probably do a Yankees hat since this really would show off a team he loves).

All My Trips This Month

I feel like I have been everywhere in the last few weeks. In March, I went to Birmingham, AL to meet Sheetal and her family who are planning an Indian/American Wedding at the Marriott Ross Bridge. This was my first time in Birmingham and all I have to say is, "It is not NYC for sure!". I was really not knowing what to expect but Sheetal and her family was so wonderful and so gracious. It was as if I had known them for so long. What an extravaganza that is going to be; 500 guests for all over the world. We have a Mehendi event where we a converting a regular into a Moroccan Tent. Then the Garba full of color and then the wedding and reception the next day. I love the three and four day events but soooo much work.. each event has to be diff and unique. You have to put your creativity hat on. The funny part is that Sheetal and Ryan live in L.A., I live in NYC and the parents are in Birmingham, AL. I have never had and Indian Bride with a Southern Accent.. so cool!

After that trip, I was on to Dallas, TX to meet Vani and her lovely parents. She is getting married at the beautiful Fairmont Hotel in Downtown Dallas. Again, both her and I live in NYC but the wedding and parents are there. She is so super cute. I was there for 2 days and every two hours we had appointments. We got so much covered from Photo, Video, DJ, Hair & Makeup, Florist and that was just Saturday. On Sunday, we did the rehearsal dinner location and lighting. We hit on all the major topics.

Then I was on my way to Upstate NY... Utica... to be exact where I met with Mrs. Mani. We are planning her daughter's wedding in Utica. We finalized her flowers and actually had the florist do the mock centers so Mrs. Mani and her daughter (who lives in San Fran) can actually see them.. I took photos to send to the bride.

Finally, it was on to Washington D.C. for two table showings and a tasting at my fav place the Ronald Reagan ITC.

What a month! Thank goodness for all the help I have from our great team of Katherine, Neeti, Camille, Beth and Ellen who always are there to help me when I am traveling all over the place. Also, I can't forget my husband, Jay, who calls me every morning and every night to say Good Morning and Good Night.

Which is what I should be saying... GOOD NIGHT!