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.

In recent times, eco-friendly weddings have become all the rage. Although you may want to entirely go the lavish way on your wedding day, it doesn’t mean that you can’t be a bit more considerate to mother Earth. And, environmentally friendly weddings can be a lot of fun. Think green! Think pebbles straight out of a Zen garden! Beautiful picture isn’t it? If you plan to go in for a green wedding, you can get really innovative in almost every area when planning you wedding day. Read on to get a better idea about what we are really talking about!

Invitations

Your wedding invitations could be made from 100% recycled paper available in beautiful and rich textures. You’ll find a wide variety to choose from in India itself. Get these cards printed using vegetable inks such as a soy-based ink or water-based inks if you want to go all out to help preserve the beauties of nature!

Wedding Décor

You can get really creative in this area of wedding planning. Transform your wedding venue into a lush paradise using lots of fresh flowers, pebbles and earthy, organic materials for your drapes, table cloth, napkins and tents. Or if your partner and you are really hell-bent on reducing your carbon footprint due to the wedding, why not host it in a garden or park, and go in for a garden themed wedding. Perfect for those getting married in Spring!

Spread some light and create an ambient glow at your wedding by lighting up bees-wax candles and tea-lights all over the place to complete the look of your eco-friendly wedding.

Wedding Favors

There are many “green” ideas when it comes to deciding your wedding favors. After all the merriment, let you guests leave on an eco-conscious note by giving away a mini potted plant or a packet of seeds. The pot holding the plant can be customized to match your wedding theme and so can the packet of seeds.  How about a pack of natural bamboo coasters? Or even a beautiful bee’s wax candle. The sky is the limit here as you can get very innovative in this area when planning your great Indian wedding.

Catering

You can never get as green as you would want to in the catering section of your wedding. Besides the feast of a many non-vegetarian dishes, why not have an additional section that has soy-based foods, lots of salads etc.

Green Honeymoon

And finally, plan your honeymoon and head to some place natural rich in wildlife and lush greenery. Perhaps a beach? Or the country side? Or maybe even to an eco-sanctuary. There are many found in Rajasthan in India. You’ll find a lot of options to book your honeymoon on the Internet.

So if your lifestyle and mantra is to ‘Go green!, it won’t be too hard to implement that sentiment into your wedding planning.  There are many wedding planners who can help you Go Green. Whether you plan to have a small gathering or a large party, you now have some tips to go ahead and make less of an impact on our planet on your big day!

Your partner and you have set the wedding date and the guest list is just about coming together. And, with your wedding budget set to prioritize nothing but the most important factors (like your wedding gown!) you in all probability won’t have much funds to spend on something as plain as a wedding web site. But, in today’s age, everybody has their own wedding web site and there are many good reasons why. Below you’ll find all the right reasons to get your partner and yourself a wedding-dedicated web site. And, you’ll also find the necessary ways to get it up and running.

Why should we have a Wedding Web site?

Even though the concept of a wedding web site is quite a new phenomenon, it has definitely taken the world of weddings by storm! Today’s wedding web site builders allow one to do a lot. Here are the benefits of a wedding web site!

1. A wedding web site offers your partner and you the best platform to tell your story to your friends and well.. possibly everyone on the Internet! It is one place that you can share every detail about the day you both met and of course about your wedding plans. It can be especially useful if you will be inviting people who don’t know your spouse-to-be very well yet!

2. Photos, photos and more photos! Don’t we all just love them? Well, your guests can get access to the uploaded photo galleries of both of you, your family, pre-wedding parties and the actual wedding itself. They’ll be able to enjoy the fun before they even reach the wedding destination, if they haven’t already. It’s also nice for those guests who couldn’t make it to your wedding.

3. Another great reason to get your own wedding web site is that it keeps your guests informed of the wedding schedule way in advance. So if your wedding is in Mumbai, India, they will be able to make advance plans just by looking at the information on the web site.

4. A wedding web site also provides a good way to deliver vital information such as a digital map of the location of your wedding and other ceremonies. You can also place photos of the wedding venue, giving your guests a sense of the location. Plus, you can also add some hotel options for out of town guests.

5. You can create a specific email address just for your wedding! Thus, guests will be able to reach you and your partner there with no form of miscommunication.

Now let’s get down to the creation of such a wedding-dedicated web site

You’ll find tons of wedding web site creators on the Internet itself. But most of them either provide you with very few pages and drab templates. Try out Wedorama and Bridal Bell, two separate sites that offers a personalized web address, user-friendly web page builder, advanced planner tools and CD Keepsakes purchase options. They offer a 2 week free trial for those who might want to change their mind.

An Indian site called FirstPhera is also a good option since they offer ethnic design templates, the ability to write in a regional language and more importantly an easy to use interface. You can also create your Gift Registry here for all to see.

If your partner or you happen to be an HTML expert, then you can save your money and create your own web site for free.

When should I create my Wedding Web site

Well, if the date’s been set or even if it hasn’t, there’s nothing like getting way ahead of time and creating your own wedding web site. This way you’ll have plenty of time to organize it before you actually send out the link to your guests.

It’s a good idea to send the link to your wedding web site on your Save the Date cards. Guests and family will then be able to be in regular touch with the progress of your wedding.

All in all, the benefits of having a personalized wedding web site are high. After all, planning a wedding can be very stressful at times. So why not make it a less stressful experience by having an online wedding web site!

 Wake up! Your wedding is just 5 months down the line. Wedding ring shopping. Check! Bridal gown and Groom’s suit. Check! Caterers, photographers, musicians, location must all definitely be in check by now, it being just a few months away to your big day! Now that all the major bookings for your Great Indian Wedding have come into place, it’s time you and your partner get down to the finer details, which are not so tiresome! Let’s have a look at some of the smaller but very vital things to do as the countdown to your wedding begins!

1. Now is the time to send out your invitations and Save the Date cards if many of your guests will be coming from out of town. Check in with your printer and have the cards delivered as soon as possible.
2. Wedding favors! Don’t we all just love them! Get down to shopping for your wedding favor gifts. Think pretty candles or a box of candies held together in a box matching your wedding theme.
3. Is your beauty regime going as planned? If so, continue and add in some more pampering as the months are only drawing closer to your big day! If you’ve not made time for yourself, well it’s high time you did! Reminder: You DO want to look like a million bucks on your wedding day!
4. Check with your wedding planner about rentals that need to be looked into. For instance, if your caterer isn’t providing you with chairs, tables, tents and linen, it’s time to get down to booking them.
5. Also, you may want to check in with your wedding planner regarding modes of transportation for some of your guests, if not all. It’s also time to book the wedding car of your partner and your choice or if required horses for the arrival of the groom.
6. Check in with your out of town guests and arrange for a choice of accommodation for them. During the wedding and festive season, it may be difficult to secure places to stay.
7. And we can’t possibly fail to mention the booking of your wedding cake. Select a wedding cake with your spouse-to-be.
8. Check in with the location manager whether you can bring in your own alcohol so as to save on excess expenses. If this is not possible, talk about them about the possibility of bringing in the more expensive variety of alcohol such as champagne and a good brand of whisky and leaving the rest up to them (wine, vodka and other alcohol which is drunk less).
9. Book a mehandi artist along with your hair and make-up stylist.
10. Check in with your bride maids and organize a first trial if you already haven’t done so. Also make sure you have a bridal gown fitting.

Whew! There’s so much involved in putting together a wedding! But, once the above steps are accomplished, you and your partner can settle down into period of calm because the worst is over! Stay tuned for our next check list for 2-3 months down the line, which will help you accomplish the very last of your duties in putting together your big day.

Now that you’ve managed to book you dream location for your great Indian wedding after setting the theme et al, it’s time to move on to the smaller but highly important things to do before your special day. If you’ve hired a wedding planner, he/she will already have a list of choices regarding caterers, floral decorators, bands/musicians, photographers and videographers for your partner and you to choose from. So let’s get started with a few other things that you need to begin doing as the months get closer to your big day

1. You may want to formally announce your engagement to your friends and family if you haven’t done so already.
2. Plan a fun get together with your family, friends and members of your wedding party. The first of the celebrations has definitely begun!
3. Now is a good time to shop for and purchase your wedding bands if you haven’t done so already.
4. Start trying out and experimenting with your beauty regimens. Go in for bleach, wax and skin peelers and figure what suits you the best.
5. Now’s the best possible time to hunt for your bridal gown or lehenga and your partner should do the same. If you are planning to get a tailored gown, also gather your bridesmaids to get their dresses stitched according to the color of your choice.
6. Start discussing the type of music you’d like to be played at your wedding. There are a good number of wonderful live bands in India itself who specialize in jazz and upbeat music. It’s better if you get the band booked right away.
7. You’ll be spending a lot of time with your wedding planner. You both will now be finalizing some of the finer details such as floral arrangements with your floral designer. You may want to check if the flowers you have in mind are available at the time of your wedding.
8. Book the caterers of your choice and discuss the food options.
9. Time to book your photographer and/or videographer of choice.
10. And finally, simply enjoy as your partner and you decide on your honey destination! You might want to check if both your passports are up to date. There won’t be much time to figure these small but vital things closer to the wedding!

By now, your partner and you will definitely have formed a good bond with your wedding planner. After all, you both will be spending a lot of time with him or her! Lastly, enjoy all the time you get off planning your wedding!

 Marry Me was happy to part of a wedding show at Dios, Mumbai. On display were beautifully designed wedding invites, sarees, a makeup artist and even a tarot card reader.

We enjoyed setting our little area where we displayed just a little bit of what Marry Me is about – customised packaging, cupcakes, invites floral arrangements and much more ..

Good food, great conversation and a selection of wines by Ralph Craven wines. Stay posted for future events …

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Planning an Indian wedding can be very exhilarating not to forget stressful, what with the many elaborate events that it comprises. As a bride-to-be, you in all probability must have never planned a wedding before, so the entire process must definitely be very daunting.

Keep those worries away, because we’ve prepared a detailed hindu wedding planning checklist of things to get done to make sure that all goes well on your wedding day. This article (part of a 4-part series) will help you with all the activities needed to be completed at least a year before your wedding takes place.

1 year away

So he’s popped the question and you’re all aglow! Now begins the preliminary planning stage for the big day. A lot of progress can be made once the wedding date is set. It’s also time to get connected with your wedding planner of choice. Once done, your partner and you will be spending a lot of time with your wedding planner and it goes without saying that the sooner you do it the better!

Set the tone of the wedding: Now is the time to decide whether you’ll want to have a formal, casual, destination of themed wedding. You both might also want to mutually decide on the religious ceremonies involved such as a church wedding, Pheras, and other pre-wedding functions & rituals like the mehndi or a cocktail party.

1. The next step will see you drawing up a tentative wedding guest list with your partner. Perhaps at this stage, having parents from both sides sit down with you’ll, will help to finalize the wedding guest list.
2. It’s time to set the budget for your wedding. You can leave the nitty-gritty of it all to your wedding planner. After all, the bride and groom are not really expected to plan their own wedding, rather they get help!
3. Now you must decide on your bridal party. You’ll be the best judge of who’s to be your Matron of Honor and brides maids. Have your partner select his groomsmen too.
4. Your wedding is still a year away. So make the best of this time by looking up photographers and videographers. In India, wedding photography of the artistic and natural kind has become quite the trend over posed and planned photography. If you have a photographer in mind that is based out of India, it’s time to contact them and finalize your queries.
5. Your partner and you need to keep your wedding theme in mind when deciding the invitation style. However, you don’t’ really need to get them printed at least four months before the actual day. Since the wedding date has been decided upon, you may also want to send ‘Save the Date’ cards to your friends who are out of India.
6. Start discussing the type of music you’d like to be played at your wedding. There are a good number of wonderful live bands in India itself who specialize in jazz and upbeat music.
7. You want to look like a princess at your wedding, don’t you? So it’s time to figure out make-up artists for yourself and your bridal party.

Now that both you and your partner have most of the information, the planning can actually begin. If you have a wedding planner, then your work is almost done! Stay tuned for the second part of this 4-part wedding checklist series, because you’re only getting closer to the big day!

There are so many things to do before your wedding day. But the key is to get most of it sorted out as soon as possible so that during the time leading up to your big day, you have nothing to really worry about. You should use the immediate run up to your wedding day to prepare yourself both mentally and physically. After all, Indian brides are the epitome of grace.

Look fabulous in your wedding attire

With the wedding preparations in full swing, it’s highly probably that you’ll get easily side tracked from your fitness plan. A couple of months before your great Indian wedding, you might want to begin working out (if you don’t already) and stick to a healthy diet. After all, you do want to look ultra-fabulous in that one of a kind Indian wedding dress now don’t you!

Many fitness gyms in Mumbai, India offer special fitness packages for brides-to-be. These involve a strict schedule that combines a good dose of exercise and diet, rather than having the bride-to-be starve herself or stress out.

If you are one who cannot bear to step in to a gym, then why not take up dance classes with your partner. Not only will you both stay in shape, but you’ll also learn a good number of dance moves like salsa and ball room dancing, perfect for your wedding ceremonies!

Wedding Makeup & Bridal Beauty Tips

It’s said that you are only pretty as you feel. But when it comes to prepping for your wedding day, we suggest you pamper yourself with a good number of beauty treatments  that will not only bring out your true beauty but also make you feel it!

At least six months before your wedding while you’re deciding or checking on your party favors and other wedding-related activities, you should also take some time off to work on your beauty regimen.

Drink up on a lot of water and green tea for stress-free skin that glows luminously. Visit your beautician for regular skin facials and peels. It’s also time to consume nutritious foods that promote good skin.

Beauty salons and spas in Mumbai, India offer specialwedding packages  for brides-to-be. These include facials, body peels, manicures and pedicures.

The Indian Wedding Dress Stress

Shopping for that perfect wedding gown or lehenga can undoubtedly be a fabulous adventure in itself, but it can also be stressful. Perhaps you’ve always had a mental picture of the perfect wedding dress since you were a child. Or maybe, you have absolutely no idea what your gown should look like. Either ways, you should keep in mind that your perfect dress is somewhere out there. You just got to find it!

It’s a good idea to begin at least 6 months in advance and when you do, you must keep in mind your body type and the comfort factor. Also look out for a pair of shoes that will compliment your wedding dress.

Once done, you need to get started on dresses, shoes and corsages for your brides maids. Most importantly, you may want to help your mother find that perfect ‘mother-of-the-bride’ gown.

Wedding Hair Styles & Makeup

Once you’ve selected your make-up artist and a wedding hair stylist , you need to discuss with him/her your cosmetic requirements and hair style. If you want to grow out your hair or have it colored, now is definitely the time to talk to your stylist. 

Pamper yourself

Now that preparations for the wedding day are underway right from wedding invitation cards, to wedding photography  to beauty regimes, you need to step aside from the stress of it all and simply unwind. Take time off when you can to pamper yourself at your local day spa. Indulge in skin treatments like body wraps and scrubs to ensure that your overall skin is aglow come your wedding day. And don’t forget to take regular hot oil massages for your hair and body.

Above it all, take time out when you can to meet up with your friends over tea, read a good book, watch the best wedding movies or simply put on your dancing shoes and simply unwind!

Another Bazaar & Bling at Candies Bandra..

Whew! What a day! From funky handpainted clothes to scrapbooking, personalised stationery to colorful flip flops – Bazaar & Bling had it all. Our favorite were the beeswax candles especially in the lemongrass scent.

Take a peek at just some of the stuff for sale..

All this and FREE foot massages all day! Stay tuned for the next Bazaar & Bling at Candies on Marry Me\’s Wedding Planning blog. For more information, contact Candies (Bandra West, Mumbai) at 26424125 or email info@candiescafe.in

This post comes a little bit late, but nevertheless, I absolutely had to blog about the wonderful evening we had at Bonobo a couple of weeks ago.

The event was organised by Nikhil Agarwal (All Things Nice) and has to be one of the nicest wine tastings I have experienced. Nikhil is extremely enthusiatic about wine and food and made sure we all left feeling the same way. He led the wine tasting and made sure it was informative but yet very fun and casual. My favorite was the Chateau de Fontenille Bordeaux. I will be definitely stocking up on that one!

Post this tasting, we realized how nice it would be to have a wine tasting at an Indian wedding. Probably when the women are busy with the Mehendi ceremony, the men can enjoy some cigars and a wine or whiskey tasting .

It was a great evening with excellent food by Bonobo and lots of good wine and conversation. Stay tuned for more events by All Things Nice on Marry Me\’s Indian wedding blog!