Wedding Shopping In India!!!

Good Morning Brides!

I haven't updated in a while but now that I have organized myself, I'm ready to go! As of December 21, 2013...I officially have 6 months to go. Now, with that being said I think me and the FH are on top of our game...mostly because of me, of course! I have pretty much planned a lot of what I want but I will have to go over this many times to really narrow it down. Now onto the topic of my post...Wedding Shopping!

So back in October, I went on my first trip to India with my mom, aunt, and her mother. We went for 17 days and our main spots were Delhi, Varanasi and Jaipur. I did go to Agra because of course I had to see the Taj. I wish I can go to India every year to do shopping. The stuff there are so amazing. Before I headed on my trip I had done a lot of research. Did I use any of my researches? No...I did not. I had printed out about 10 pages of various stores to go to. Majority of my stuff did come from Delhi but I did get some stuff in Varanasi and Jaipur. I had a pleasant shopping experience thanks to my mom and aunt. They are the pros when it comes to bargaining and getting the best price for something. The shop owners were too friendly and very helpful. They were definitely honest and helpful. I did read a lot that many times they go above and beyond to make you happy. I experienced this many times.

So that's my trousseau shopping! Between my mom and I, we managed to leave with 2 suitcases and return with 6 + 2 carry on! It was definitely a lot of shopping and a lot of money was spent! I must say, I know I saved a lot of money. If I had to buy some of these things in New York (Jackson Heights or Hicksville), I would be paying a pretty penny.

For West Indian weddings, there are different events and functions. I basically needed a week's worth of clothing with  matching jewelry. I kept an open mind before I went to India. I did not want to confine myself to colors. However, my bridal saree I would wear had to be something different. I had my eyes set on something similar to Sneha Reddy's wedding saree. Here's her pic from Google:





Image on Google

 





This is not a great picture, but anyways I came across her wedding pictures while gathering pictures for ideas. I'm a huge fan of iridescent colors. Supposedly I'm supposed to wear yellow to get married in. I am not wearing yellow...but have opted for a gold. I really had my eyes set on this color but it was too hard to find. This is more of a tissue silk saree which is not very common in the areas I went to. I was able to find a beautiful rich gold silk saree. The saree I opted for does have some work on it and rhinestones but I will be adding more to it. I have paired it with gold kundan jewelry. I have never owned any kundan jewelry and totally loved the look of it. It looks very bridal. I'm also all about the heavy look, especially with a non-heavy saree. I can't wait to see how this turns out.

 Here's a list of all my items:

Wedding Saree - Gold Silk with beads and stones
Rose Pink and Antique Gold Lehnga - first pooja on wedding day
Red Bridal Net Saree (very heavy) - for leaving my parent's home with my hubby

Cream Saree with Pink and Green Border (light work) - for Haldi Ceremony/Maticoor
Orange, Royal Blue, Rani Pink (multicolor) lehnga (light work) - for Mehndi Night
Purple Lehnga (extremely heavy) for my Reception

FH Sherwani with stole, turban, and shoes

Needed silk fabric for FH - this is needed to make his jora jama (doing a Jodha Akbar style)

Jewelry for FH (this included the turban pin, pears for a belt, and pins for his stole

Stoles for dads and brothers (total of 4)

All jewelry - sets, belts, earrings, bangles, etc

Favor envelopes - these are so beautiful! They're velvet pouches with peacocks on them. The bride's side has to basically pay for mostly everything and it's a great way to gift out your money. The downside was that they were really heavy...I went overboard and bought 40 envelopes haha!

Lots and lots of new sarees! I mean lots...I've added about 10-12 new sarees to my already overflowing collection :) Thank you mommy!

INVITATIONS! Prior to going to India, I was in touch with someone in India for wedding invitation. He was very pricey but I still decided that I liked his work. I ended up meeting with another printing company while in India and they totally customized my invitations to what I really wanted. They incorporated lots of colors, tissue paper, and they gave me a few boxed invitations! Love them!

 

My mom was able to get all of her stuff. She needs two (2) yellow sarees; one for the maticoor and one for the wedding. She got really nice ones. She opted for a very beautiful pumpkin colored anarkali. It's gorgeous! For the reception, she has opted for a periwinkle and blue anarkali. This one is gorgeous as well!

 

I will not have a bridal party. I do not see the reason to have one in a Hindu wedding. I do have some very close cousins that I know will be helping a lot for the wedding. Instead of paying them for their services or help, I did gift them a saree to wear for the wedding. I have brought them all in the shade of Rani Pink. I was able to get around 5 in the same shade but different styles.

 

I did some shopping for my brother - got him about 6 kurtas. He needs the sherwani style ones, so go that done.

 

My miscellaneous items are trims, beads, stones, ribbons, and some peacock stuff of course.

 

More posts to come soon!

xoxo!

Favors or Gifts

I've been trying to think of some really neat and unique favors to give out for all the various functions. Google opens you up to many ideas as there are many websites that specialize in these favors. Favors are also can also be chosen by theme, season, region, etc. I still have not liked any of them because in my opinion, they're not "different". I'm looking for something that people can use and/or remember our event by. I've gone to a lot of events and have received tons of favors. But as I look back at these things, I can't even find any of them. Most of them took up a lot of space and we didn't have much need for them. Yes, a coaster with your faces is cute, but I wouldn't lay them out for my guests. Neither would I ever use the glasses with your names etched on them. The only favor that I've probably used up all of are the candle ones. I let these burn and when they're done, they're gone. I was trying to do away with favors all together at the reception but the fiance feels that we should have them. UGH!

Anyways, I've been going crazy trying to find out what's unique, what's elegant, what's classy, what's different. I've gained several headaches from this. There were hours upon hours of of Internet Search that went into this thought.

My Options So Far:

1) Candle Pins - I'll search around and see what my options are and see how fancy they are. I want something that symbolizes the Indian Culture or Indian Wedding. These are usually depicted by Elephants, Peacocks, Flowers, etc. I've even gone as far to create my own candle pin. They would definitely be more customized that way. :)

2) Kundan Wine Charm for Stemware - This was a neat idea that I discovered in a conversation with one I was collaborating with in India. They were creating wine charms for their guests with Kundan-type stones. This definitely had an "Indian" touch to it. I took a trip to my local craft store and picked up some supplies.
I created a trial of a pair. It will need some final touches but I think they're super cute. I could even change up the beads to match a color theme. Check out the work below!

Kundan and Bead Wine Charm

Kundan and Bead Wine Charm

Kundan and Bead Wine Charm

I really liked how these came out! Now I'm a little bit iffy about it because I'm not sure if everyone uses Wine Charm and if they'll use them. They look lovely in person because of the AB Crystal Main Stone. It's not exactly Kundan bead but it's a Teardrop (Raindrop or Waterdrop) Shaped Bead. It's also very lightweight and will not cause any damage to the glass itself such as scratches, etc.

3) My last option would have to be some decorative candle of some sort. Even if I have to custom that with some art work or something. I am still brainstorming some ideas.

What are some unique favors you guys love? Any other ideas to add to my very small list?

xoxo!

Wedding Wear

Here are some pictures of "lighter" saris that are more manageable because they're not weighed down with a lot of beading work and stones. Those babies not only jack up the cost of the sari but add to the weight of the sari. Sometimes it's a bit too much.

Take a look at these lovely saris in beautiful colors perfect for the wedding season!

Red and Dark Blue Georgette Sari

Light Blue Sari with Red Design

Ombre Sari - Lime Green, Green, and Purple Sari 

Ombre Sari - Lavender, Mint, and Red Border Sari

Caribbean Blue Sari with Purple Border 

Wedding Wear

Well we have stepped into the Wedding Season! It's April and many people probably have a bunch of weddings to go to. What do you wear? A wedding is one place where you want to go and not be under-dressed, especially Indian Weddings! I believe the sari is an elegant and classy option for a wedding. I've built my collection to over 200+ with many different shades of colors. I love wearing them all!

Those of you that are familiar and are used to wearing a sari  should opt for a sari with a decent amount of work on it.
Look at this picture below for an idea:

Green Chiffon Saree with Red 

 This is  a beautiful green sari with intricate work on it. This includes stones, sequins, mirrors, etc. Don't stop there. Check out an up-close shot of the designs on the pallu. Velvet is incorporated into the pallu. It is truly a beautiful sari and with the right jewelry can definitely make a statement  This color is absolutely gorgeous for the Indian Wedding and perfect for any time of the day or evening!

Paisley Motif on Green Saree

Wedding Invitations

As the time is coming nearer, decisions must be made. This means the invitation has to be picked!
Check out these beautiful invitations which feature a rich silk brocade fabric for the wedding invitation box.

I have not visited many wedding invitation sites because the variety is TOO MUCH! I have looked at sites such as www.parekhcards.com, www.allweddingcards.com, etc. This makes it very hard to choose something. Of course when you are working with a budget, these sites are good because they do break it down by price ranges. Another thing about shipping your invitations from India is the damn shipping charge! Not only that, you have to ship them out to people when you get them because obviously they are not standard postage. I did finish all of my friend's invitations, and the postage charge came up to $2.31 exact for a "package" with a weight of 5.2 oz. Go figure. The heavier the invitation, the more it's going to be.

Invitations, I believe, set the standard of your wedding. They kind of give your guests a preview of what your grand day will be like. Why not? Many couples spend an extraordinary amount of money on everything else! Why stinge on your invites? I'm all about setting the standards with my stuff. I'm the kind of person that will spend money for something really nice, and on top of that, add more to it. It's just that creative touch which you won't get anywhere else. Yes! Unique is what I like!

Anyways, look at these beauties!

I think the invitations that I have posted so far are enough options for me. I should look no further before the decision gets harder. I am in love with that gold brocade fabric in the sweets tray box. 

DIY Unique Accents for Your Wedding

Happy Monday to everyone out there! Wedding planning is in full swing for many people that I know. I've been working on a few projects for one couple and I will post pictures on what I've been doing. I'm always open to adding to a product to make it your own. Some people might call it too much, some might call it a waste. I find it very satisfying to know that it will become an item that has a unique touch to it. So what's the DIY project for all those interested??

Well it involves your items, tacky glue, and AB Crystals (could be a color of your choice). That's it!

Here we have peacock feathers that have been cut to suit the wedding invitations. These are just used as an additional decorative item in the Indian Wedding Invitation and definitely make a statement. As many of you will come to know, I'm peacock obsessed! Make note of the mini crystal in the eye of the feather. Cute little touch huh?

Now onto the other job. This one was more time consuming and I did a total of 600 favor boxes. The turnaround time for this was 2 days. This included shipment of labels, design/print labels, embellish labels, and stick on favor boxes. Check out the job below!

This is after they have been printed and the crystals have been glued on. It's always a good idea to let them dry completely before attempting to do anything with them. 

Note: The other pics did not upload, will have to update this again later. Sorry guys!

What are some other DIY additions are you all doing to personalize your weddings? I'd like to know!

XoXo!

Vee

Wedding Invitations!

Hello to all the brides out there! Well I have some beautiful pics coming up! Check out these wedding invitations that are affordable!!! Can't beat the price! These included Wedding Invitation Pads, Wedding Invitation Folios and Wedding Invitation Boxes. Let me know what you think!

XoXo!

Vee