A guide to wedding tips, trends and experiences. Marriage event reviews, Wedding venue reviews and ideas, honeymoon destination tips, photography, wedding decor and much more.

Just as we saw one of the most awaited royal weddings unfold in all its grandeur – Prince William and Kate Middleton, another Royal wedding in 2011 is in the making.

This time it’s Bhutan’s 31-years old King- Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuk. He is all set to tie the knot with his 20 year old fiancée Jetsun Pema later this year. According to the media reports, the wedding is most likely to be held in October this year. Born in Thimphu, Jetsun Pema has a distant royal connection.

The king revealed his intention to marry his 20 year old fiancée Jetsun Pema, in a parliament meet in Thimpu, the country’s capital in the presence of the members of the royal family and elected representatives. Jetsun Pema, a student at Regents College in London is the daughter of an airline pilot and second of the four siblings. Some of her hobbies include fine arts, painting and basketball.

According to his majesty, she is young, warm and kind at heart and possesses all the characteristics to make a great queen. Bhutanese people are very happy for their king, who is affectionately known as “The People\’s King” in Bhutan and “Prince Charming” in Thailand. They are looking forward to the wedding as, in Bhutan it is a hereditary monarchy, and this marriage will give them their future king.

The wedding will definitely be big. We are looking forward to this wedding – another royal affair!!

Watch this space for more celebrity wedding news and Indian wedding planning tips.

The drive from Hua Hin to Bangkok was much quicker than on the way in to Hua Hin. I am told the longer drive on the way in, was because of the long weekend in Thailand – so everyone from the city was heading out for the 5-day break!

So, in Bangkok, my first stop was Amari Watergate Hotel, an extremely popular hotel with tourists, mainly due to its central and convenient location. The hotel has a total of 569 rooms, with refreshingly bright interiors. That’s not all, should you wish to escape the hustle and bustle of the city, the hotel’s landscaped deck with the pool bar, Jacuzzi pool and loungers are the perfect way to do it.

This hotel is great for larger sized weddings; they have a number of meeting rooms and ballrooms. The Watergate Ballroom can accommodate 800 to 1000 people – perfect for the BIG fat Indian wedding! I also love that they gave me a book of photos from Indian weddings at the hotel itself along with food from the various regions of India – just goes to show that they understand the importance of food at Indian Weddings!

The next stop for the day, something I was really looking forward to – was the Wedding Fair. It turned out to be a large fair with everything possible available there – not just wedding related though! In terms of weddings, there were only photographers who had their booths there – a huge focus on engagement photography!

I then proceeded on to check in at the Holiday Inn Silom – an amazing hotel with even more amazing people behind it! Read my review here.

Dinner tonight was at the famous Blue Elephant – which is one of my favorite restaurants. This was my second time at the Blue Elephant in Bangkok – my first time there, I had one of my best dining experiences! Lets see what this time had in store. For one, I found out so many things about the restaurant this time – I love the place even more! The owner, Sandra Steppe, played the perfect host – she briefed us on the history of the restaurant, how her mum started it years ago and also guided us through the various dishes on the menu for the night!

So, the Blue Elephant started 31 years ago in Brussels (I always thought the first restaurant was in Thailand!). Today there are 12 Blue Elephant restaurants serving the most amazing Thai cuisine throughout Europe and the Middle East. The Bangkok restaurant is in a building that was built in 1903 and originally opened as the Bombay Department Store. Imagine that! Another restaurant I must mention here is the one in Phuket, which unfortunately I didn’t get a chance to see. This historic Sino-Portuguese style building was also built in 1903. It has been used as a location for several movies too. The Blue Elephant restaurant also has a cooking school, which is fully equipped and begins with a visit to the morning market, buying of ingredients, followed by cooking class and a meal to sample your very own dishes.

The Blue Elephant Bangkok is the perfect venue for one of your pre-wedding events. With space to hold up to 300 guests and its exception Thai architecture, the Blue Elephant is a popular choice. The Blue Elephant Phuket can accommodate up to 150 people on the second floor and over 1000 people on its magnificent lawns! Sounds like the perfect venue for a wedding! The restaurant also takes on outside catering only, and specializes in Thai and Indian food. They have catered for some of the biggest celebrations internationally. Another interesting fact is their range of products, which make Thai cooking at home, that much easier – they have a full range of sauces, noodles and other Thai ingredients that are available internationally.

The food was amazing as always – even better as Sandra herself picked out the menu! This had to be my favorite dining experience of this trip, and more so because I learned so much more about the Blue Elephant as a brand – they have done a really amazing job. Hope they open one in India too! Stay tuned for more tips for those planning an Indian wedding in Thailand sometime soon!

So the last hotel I stayed at on my trip in Thailand – Holiday Inn Silom – turned out to be simply outstanding – for more reasons than one!

Greetings and check in was done very smoothly with the usual cold towel, welcome beverage and wrist garland, as done by all the hotels on this trip. This garland, though, was spectacular – I even carried it back to India! The intricate Thai floral design – amazing!

The rooms at Holiday Inn Silom are comfortable and in great condition. They have been renovated just a couple of years ago. I also hear that this hotel is very, very popular with tourists especially those here for business due to its central location, just minutes from the expressway and a few minutes away from most major attractions as well as the business and shopping areas. For weddings, the hotel has the huge Silom ballroom as well as the Crystal ballroom and other smaller rooms. The hotel also has an Indian restaurant called Tandoor – so they are very well equipped to handle Indian wedding food!

So, I enter my room and am greeted with a gorgeous bouquet of flowers and a traditional Thai sweet basket (remember the little Thai sweets in the shape of fruits, I mentioned in my earlier post?). Only, this one was much larger – way too much sugar to go through!

That’s not all, on night two after a long day in Bangkok, I enter my room to find a hamper of goodies on my bed and two bottle of Singha (local Thai) beer chilled in an ice bucket! So, at this point, I am beginning to think – these guys are really spoiling me! Night three, the hotel staff surprise me with some local fruit juices in an ice bucket and my favorite Thai dessert – Mango with sticky rice. I am getting quite used to being pampered by now :-)

On my last night in Bangkok, the Holiday Inn Silom put together an Indian night – beautiful décor in shades of pink, a fabulous Indian singer and musicians and great Indian food too. That’s not all, the staff at Holiday Inn, including the General Manager, Samir, were amazing – we even partied the night away with together!

So, my stay at the Holiday Inn Silom ended and as if that wasn’t enough. I was gifted a beautiful Thai hand painted mug and my favorite gift – cartoon me hanging out of a Tuk-Tuk! Love it!

It’s sitting on my office desk right now… I\’m hoping my articles on Thailand will help more clients realize the benefits of a destination wedding in Thailand! Stay tuned for a review of the hotels I visited on my last day in Bangkok from a wedding point of view!

Day three began nice and early with traveling to Hua Hin, which is a three-hour drive from Bangkok and is a quiet, relaxed destination with a typical Thai ambience.

First stop – Sheraton Hua Hin, which is very, very popular as an Indian wedding destination. What I loved about this hotel was the HUGE lagoon style swimming pool that spreads over the center of almost the entire property! That’s not all, among the 240 guest rooms, 54 of them are Lagoon Access rooms!

This hotel has it all – vast ocean views, pristine beaches, lawns, grand ballrooms and even @BLACK – a ready set up venue with a chic club ambience. Lunch at the restaurant here was amazing – a great selection of Thai food – I was happy! And that’s not all; there was a selection of Indian food too, which was simply outstanding!

Next stop – Hua Hin Marriott Resort & Spa – This traditional Thai style resort is located directly on the beach! That, along with its impeccable gardens makes it an extremely popular wedding destination.

In addition to this, it also houses the Mandara Spa, which is always popular especially with honeymooners.

Now on to Hyatt Regency Hua Hin where I checked in for the nights stay. Lovely property, you can check out my complete review here.

Holiday Inn Cha – Am was my last stop where I also enjoyed a lovely meal at a restaurant overlooking the beachfront. The hotel took utmost care with presentation – I loved especially my name on a leaf tucked into a napkin fold – a very unique place setting!

The property is HUGE – they have a number of ballrooms and even outdoor venues! This is a great hotel for events or weddings with large numbers and is perfect for a beach wedding.

I ended this long day with a visit to the Night Bazaar – no trip is complete without a little shopping! Here I picked up the nicest little Thai handicrafts at great prices too!

A long, long day in Hua Hin – but next stop – Bangkok! Stay tuned for more tips for those planning beach weddings in Thailand!

Night three in Thailand was spent at the Hyatt Regency Hua Hin. This property is made up of low-rise buildings; beautiful gardens and pools spread over 12.5 acres and is a beachfront resort that makes it perfect beach wedding destination. The pool is an interconnecting, lagoon style pool with a waterslide. I was so tempted to try it out, wish I had more time!

A unique feature of this property is the award winning destination spa called THE BARAI. The spa has eight exclusive residential suites in addition to its spa facilities and Tranquility Court – peaceful garden retreat and swimming channel. A stay in one of the residential suites includes a healthy breakfast, choice of a daily 60 minute treatment, an in suite aromatherapy steam and a milk bath prepared by your suite butler as well as pre dinner drinks with snacks. Wow! Sounds perfect!

That was just a little preview of what’s in store at THE BARAI! Added the Hyatt Regency Hua Hin to my holiday wish list already! The hotel also has a Grand Ballroom and smaller meeting rooms for a variety of functions. A lovely surprise here, the tour ended with a complimentary massage before check-in.

Back that night for a good nights sleep, I had a lovely mini Thai basket of sweets in my room. They looked so delicate and perfect; I just didn’t want to eat them.

Stay tuned for more from Marry Me – The Wedding Planners. Read my review of all properties I visited in Hua Hin here.

India – a land of cultural pot pourri where the use of ingredients, cooking styles, herbs and spices vary from region to region. Soaked in tradition and history, every region boasts of some unique dishes. The cuisines of India are as rich and diverse as its culture. Dishes are made according to the season and are based on the availability of products laying stress on the use of fresh produce. In India, food is linked with various beliefs and religious sentiments and dozens of unique rituals and emotions. Like on happy occasions it’s a given to indulge in sinful Indian desserts.

Every celebration in India calls for an extravagant fare and no celebration will be considered complete without great food – especially The Big Fat Indian Weddings. In India, wedding food is given utmost importance.  Indian weddings usually have lavish spreads and great care is taken to serve delicious food to the guests.

The wedding menus in India are based on religion, region and culture.  In most Hindu marriages, the wedding food is limited to vegetarian but some communities like Christians and Muslims include non-vegetarian dishes in their wedding menu. Bengalis on the other hand serve fish at weddings despite following Hinduism. The culture of a region has direct impact on the food. The cuisine and style of serving mainly depends on the region the couple is from.

Wedding cuisines have changed drastically over time. People are moving away from the traditional preparations and opting for International spreads at Indian Weddings.

We would still suggest keeping it simple…stick to the traditional fare for the wedding ceremony and go overboard for the wedding reception.

Watch this space…more coming up on regional cuisines of India!!

After a good nights rest, day two in Thailand began with a visit to the JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa. The hotel is spread on 27 acres of tropical gardens and natural preserved coastal wetlands. Just 15 minutes from the airport, the hotel has 265 guest rooms, which are luxuriously furnished with rich fabrics like Jim Thompson silk. Also, popular with guests is the award winning Mandara Spa. The interiors of this hotel, more specifically the distressed feel of the lobby furniture are what really caught my fancy.

The JW Marriott Phuket is truly a dream-wedding destination! The hotel has already handled a very large number of Indian weddings, which make them a preferred choice, well equipped with the knowledge and efficiency to handle a large scale Indian wedding. The hotel has quite a few venues to choose from – beachfront, tropical gardens or grand ballroom. A great feature here is Reflection Pond, which is the perfect spot for your wedding Mandap. I fell in love with this spot – it is the perfect romantic setting to getting married! Also, I must mention the very friendly and extremely knowledgeable hotel employees here. They were just so courteous and went out of their way to help! On leaving, instead of being handed a brochure to lug around – I was given this super cute turtle usb. Huge plus points here for being so thoughtful!

Next up, the Renaissance Phuket Resort & Spa – a serene retreat on the Mai Khao Beach. The hotel is a fairly new property with a smaller room inventory as compared to a lot of the other hotels visited, but its contemporary design, great service and outstanding food make it a preferred destination for its guests.

I had lunch here and thoroughly enjoyed it! The hotel is also home to the famous Quan Spa, with a range of body treatments to pamper you. This hotel is well suited for a more intimate wedding celebration with both indoor and outdoor venues.

My last hotel visit in Phuket was the Indigo Pearl, which is a 5 star boutique resort. The unique feature here was that the entire hotel, right from the installations in the lobby to every tiny detail in the guest rooms and restaurants was designed on a tin mining style concept. Renowned architect and interior designer Bill Bensley is the main behind the striking design of this property. The bold art, the lush rainforests and direct access to the beach make this a one of a kind property – a MUST visit! I had dinner here, with a selection of Thai and Indian dishes specially prepared for the night – they even have an Indian chef on board!

A lovely spot here for an outdoor ceremony, was the grass lawns in various levels almost perfectly created for your exchange of vows! The almost private beach is also a great spot for a barbeque dinner or event of your choice.

Phuket also has some stunning yachts and villas available for wedding celebrations. In addition to all the properties I visited, I also met some interesting local vendors and had some interesting chats about collaborating on upcoming weddings.

To sum it up, Phuket is great for destination weddings – outstanding hotels, white sandy beaches, million dollar villas and yachts, and even pristine chapels to choose from. Along with this, there are a large amount of activities to keep everyone busy – a number of tourist spots to visit, cruises, water sports, horse riding and shopping.

Keep reading more about planning an Indian wedding in Thailand for day three coming up – on to Hua Hin…

Image Courtesy : Anil Tohani

The traditional outfit of a Gujarati bride is a saree draped in the Gujarati style. There are two basic types of wedding sarees in Gujarat the Panetar, which is a white sari with red bandhini border and the Gharchola, the traditional bandhini sari red in colour, with crisscrossed woven gold squares, enclosing small ethnic bandhini motifs or auspicious symbols like a lotus or a peacock embroidered in gold in the center.

Image Courtesy : Anil Tohani

During the wedding ceremony the bride wears a Panetar which is considered to be the last garment she receives from her parents. During the ceremony her mother in law gifts her with a Gharchola which signifies that the bridegroom’s family is ready to take all her responsibility from that day on. Most Gharcholas have traditional patterns like \”bavan bagh\” that is Fifty-Two Gardens or \”Ras Leela\” which is the depiction of Lord Krishna dancing with his Gopis and are woven and dyed in Kutch, but the final red color is given in Jamnagar. According to an old belief the waters of Jamnagar are said to have auspicious properties which when used for dying a bridal Gharchola saree will produce the most brilliant shade of red that a bride can ever have for her wedding ceremony.

The Gujarati bride is decked with royal and expensive gold, kundan and diamond ornaments. Her hair is tied back neatly in a stylish bun or braid over which the dupatta is attached with a pin. A matha tikka is pinned through the parting of the hair with a chain. A bindi is put in the centre of the forehead below the matha tikka. Heavily jeweled necklaces along with equally heavy earrings are worn. A bajuband or armlet is tied around the forearm and a combination of gold and glass bangles are worn on the hands. A waist band is tied on the waist. The bride also wears anklets and toe rings around the feet. The most beautiful ornament which beautifies the brides look is the nose ring known as nath. This is put on the left nostril which has a long chain and the end of the chain is attached to the hair.

It is believed that the tie and dye technique was brought to Kutch from Sindh by Muslim Khatris and the locals have inherited this art and incorporated it in their lifestyle. Hence the bride wears a bandhini saree which is highly unique to the region. Stay tuned for more on Indian weddings from Marry Me\’s Wedding Planning team on Brides Of India!

Last week, I had the pleasure of visiting Phuket to explore the location for destination weddings. Phuket is today one of the world’s premier tropical destinations.  It is Thailand’s largest island with white sandy beaches and clear blue water of the Andaman Sea. No wonder then, it is increasingly popular for Indian weddings.

Phuket is merely a one-hour flight from Bangkok – Air Asia has some amazing low fares for this sector! Laguna Phuket is Asia’s first integrated resort comprising of five deluxe hotels. I was lucky to be staying at the Banyan Tree, tucked away in a tranquil corner of Laguna Phuket. I enjoyed the experience so much, inspite of my busy schedule there – but I know one thing – I have to go back to really experience the property at leisure! Read my complete review of my stay at the Banyan Tree as well as the Banyan Tree as a wedding location here.

The next property I visited was Le Meridien Phuket Beach Resort. The hotel is a 45-minute drive from the airport and is spread over 40 acres of tropical greenery. The resort has 470 rooms, which overlook the pool, sea or gardens.

The fact that this hotel has its own private, secluded beach, makes it unique and more often preferred over hotels in the area for a wedding celebration. Lunch at Le Meridien was great – a lovely buffet of canapés and a Monoglian live food counter among much more. And enjoying this lovely meal right on the beach – unbeatable!

Next up, was the Hilton Phuket Resort which in one word is – HUGE! The property is spread over 75 acres facing the Andaman Sea and has a total of 676 rooms.

The property has a variety of rooms for events, from the Grand Ballroom to smaller meeting rooms, or even a marquee in the outdoors. Perfect for the BIG fat Indian wedding!

The Dusit Thani Phuket was the next hotel I visted. This hotel was beautiful, it almost seemed like a blend of Thai and Portuguese influenced design.

The hotel is well suited for a more intimate wedding with a small to medium guestlist.

My last stop for the day, Royal Phuket Marina –is a stylish and unique location for your wedding celebrations. The boardwalk as well as the Town Square can be utilized to recreate the perfect ambience to set your theme. The convention centre right on the waterfront is huge too. Here I enjoyed a lovely Indian dinner; they have an Indian chef on board. If you are looking for an exclusive location for your event, this Mediterranean style marina is the perfect choice!

More hotels in Phuket – wedding venue scouting continues, Day Two – coming up right here!