Marigold Events – Indian Wedding Inspirations

For today’s post, Marigold Events (ME) interviewed Graphic Designer, Carina Herman (CH), of the design studio Little Bird Creative. Little Bird Creative is a design studio dedicated to fashioning wistful stationary for weddings and events. Carina believes that stationary should emote personality and bring each occasion to life.

ME: I understand that you have an art, and graphic design background. Now, how did you get started designing your line of wedding invitations?

CH: Before I started to design wedding invitations, I worked as a graphic designer in the financial industry. The very nature of the industry I was in, limited the colors and designs to be very business like.

Following that I worked for Paper Source, where I worked with the clients’ unique ideas, problem solve and come up with custom design elements for wedding invitations. When Paper Source discontinued its custom line of wedding invitations, I launched my own business focusing on wedding invitations, by the name of Little Bird Creative.

Different colors, themes, and ideas that go beyond the traditional, are very exciting. Moreover, I love the wedding industry, where couples are always happy and positive.

Read more »

A wedding planner once told me, “Your wedding invitation is the first impression of your wedding.” That thought has stuck with me, and I truly believe, that your wedding invitation should be put together with great thought, and be a reflect what your wedding will be like. The trends in wedding invitations change every year, and it can be hard to keep up with them. One of the hottest wedding trends these days are luxury boxed invitations. Marigold Events (ME) had the opportunity to talk to Puneet Gupta (PG), who designs these kind of boxed couture wedding invitations.

ME: What is your background? How did you get started with designing wedding invitations?

PG: I am a NIFT graduate and have had a love for design since my childhood. After having worked as a design consultant for various Indian & International brands in the lifestyle and fashion industries, I finally decided to use my design capabilities, technical expertise and love for beauty to launch a luxury line of bespoke wedding invitations and favors. Since then, there has been no looking back and with every wedding invitation we produce, this passion for designing has grown stronger and my love for print novelties is getting deeper. Read more »

An Indian Wedding Planning Checklist can be a really long one, especially if you are having a multiple day celebration. While it is imperative to be organized, it is also important to relax and keep your cool throughout the process. Brides can sometimes get overwhelmed with all the various details they have to handle in order to make their big day memorable: from venue, caterer, decor, cake, to invitations, bridal wear, and jewelry; throw in keeping up with the latest trends.

Image Copyright: Rani By Neha Mahajan

While your wedding planner can take care of your venue, caterer, decor, cake, photo, video, and day of coordination; how does one get her wedding shopping done? Should you go to India, or should you look for clothing  and jewelry vendors locally? If shopping in India, It is overwhelming to get all the shopping done, while trying to maneuver through a new city, and especially if you do not have family in the city you are visiting.

Enter Neha Rani Mahajan. Neha offers a wonderful personal shopping experience to South Asians based abroad in Delhi, India. Born, and raised in Cherry Hill, NJ, Neha spent many summers in India while growing up. A graduate of Penn State, Neha moved to New Delhi in 2007 after getting married. She planned her own wedding in Delhi while she was in the US, and has many years of first hand experience shopping in India. Not only does she keep up with the latest trends, she also understands what an Indian American bride is looking for. She says, “When Indians from abroad come to Delhi, they have a long shopping list and a very limited time. Throw in the mix: haggling with the vendors, communicating in Hindi, and an unfamiliar Indian business culture. My goal is to give the South Asian brides abroad, a stress free, and relaxing shopping experience.”

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When my sister asked me to be the Matron of Honor for her wedding, I was super excited! One of the major tasks of MOH and Bridesmaids is to plan the bride’s Bachelorette Party. I decided to go all out and do a Damask theme – Black and Fuchsia DIY invitations for her Girls Night Out. In this blog post I will teach how to make your own DIY Invitations for a Bachelorette Party.

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Imagine trying out Indian designer bridalwear, while hanging out with your girlfriend and sipping on a mimosa on a beautiful summer day at a luxury hotel in Manhattan. This past weekend, Exclusively.In brought this kind of luxurious and pampering wedding shopping experience to New York that no South Asian Bride would ever want to miss!

Black Velvet Saree with Kundan Work by Shyamal and Bhumika

Brides could try out and buy custom fitted made-to-order Sarees, Lenghas, and Anarkalis from the exclusive collections from designers such as Ritu Kumar, Shyamal and Bhumika, Payal Singhal, Satya Paul, Archana Kocchar and more.  For Grooms, there was a very elegant collection of Sherwanis.

Read more »

Hello Lovely Ladies! Wedding Wednesdays just got more interesting on Marigold Events. We get many questions from brides asking for wedding advice. We will be selecting and answering “Question of the week” every Wednesday on Marigold Events. Ask your question by filling out our contact form on the right.

Q. I really want to DIY my wedding invitations. Can you give me some advice on how to go about making my own invitations?

A. Dear Bride-to-be: It is wonderful that you want to DIY your wedding invitations – they are a lot of fun. Here is some advice on how you can go about making your own invitations.

Make Samples

Start out by test driving the whole DIY invitations project. Get ideas and inspiration from your local Arts and Crafts stores and Paper stores. Do not buy paper in bulk until you are a 100% sure that you want to go the DIY route. A lot of stores would not let you return the paper because of restocking issues. You should try to produce at least a couple of different samples before you pick the final invitation. You can have your fiance and family vote on the different samples. Read more »

Hello Lovely Ladies! Wedding Wednesdays just got more interesting on Marigold Events. We get many questions from brides asking for wedding advice. We will be selecting and answering “Question of the week” every Wednesday on Marigold Events. Ask your question by filling out our contact form on the right.

Q. I am getting married in six months and am very confused on how to plan my wedding. How should I go about my shopping. I want to have a royal wedding with traditional Punjabi touches and want to make it a memorable event. I would prefer pinks, reds and lots of gold.

A. Dear Bride-to-be: Congratulations! Planning a wedding can seem to be a daunting task, and you should break it down to smaller tasks and have a plan of action. Following is a list of things you will need to shop for:

1. Wedding Invitations
2. Wedding Outfits
3. Wedding Jewelry
4. Accessories: Bindis, Bangles, Shoes, and Purses
5. Trousseau
6. Favors and gifts for family and friends
7. Money Envelopes and other gift wrapping/packing supplies

Now that you know what you need to shop for, I would suggest picking colors for your wedding. Pink clashes with red, so I would suggest that you pick shades of red, orange and gold. These would be great colors for a traditional and royal look. You can tie in your colors in all the things you get for your wedding – from invitations, to decor, to your outfits. You can find beautiful invitations in many colors and themes on invitation websites. Here is an example of a unique invitation that I think will go along well with your colors:

For a traditional and at the same time royal look, I would suggest that you include marigolds in your decor. You can also incorporate orange gerbera daisies, red roses and chrysanthemums for accents. You could ask your decorator if he can incorporate different styles of rangoli (on floor and water) and fabrics like organza and chiffon in your wedding decoration. For shimmery look in your decor, you can ask the decorator to use strings of crystals. You could also have antique chandeliers at your venue for a royal look.

Since you are Punjabi, consider using kaleeras in your wedding decor. When you walk to the stage/mandap for jai mala, your cousins/brothers/sisters/bridesmaids will be walking along you – At that time you can have your entourage carry a “Phoolon ki Chaadar” or a sheet made of flowers over your you. You can have your decorator/florist decorate this with many different kinds of flowers, fabric and even kaleeras.

Hope I was able to provide some helpful wedding planning pointers to make your wedding memorable. Good Luck and don’t forget to have fun while planning your wedding!

Hello Lovely Ladies! Wedding Wednesdays just got more interesting on Marigold Events. We get many questions from brides asking for wedding advice. We will be selecting and answering “Question of the week” every Wednesday on Marigold Events. Ask your question by filling out our contact form on the right.

Q. I am having a small Sikh-American wedding in California. My fiance and I are planning our wedding on a budget and want to keep things simple but beautiful. How can I get Indian outfits in the US without spending an exorbitant amount of money? How should I go about selecting a venue? How can I save money on decor? What do most people do with their centerpieces after their wedding? I have looked at different Indian Wedding Invitation websites – is there a catch to them?

A. Dear Bride-to-be: Congratulations on your engagement! Here are some recommendations on how you can have a simple, and elegant wedding within your budget:

Look for Indian Outfits and Jewelry Online

Making a special trip to India or Indian Clothing and Jewelry Stores in the US for wedding shopping does require a higher budget. There are many Indian clothing and jewelry websites which can assist you here.

Here are some reasonably priced websites to order lehengas, sarees and beautiful Indian costume jewelry from*:

Home India: Bridalwear
Your Designer Wear
Utsav Sarees: Lehenga Section
Utsav Sarees: Jewelry Section

*Please note that Marigold Events is not affiliated with any of these websites.

Venue Selection: Questions to ask

When doing your venue research, it is important to check the following with the venue:

1. Do they allow outside/Indian catering?
Tip: Sometimes venues, like hotels, have Indian catering packages. Ask for them.
2. Can you have an outside decorator? Any special permission needed to install a mandap or for lighting a fire?
3. Does the venue rental cost include event rentals, such as tables, chairs, linen, china, glassware, flatware etc.?
Tip: Event rentals’ costs add up very quickly and will definitely increase your per person cost.
4. Can you bring your own liquor? Will you need a liquor license?
Tip: If your venue does not have arrangements to serve alcohol, and they allow outside alcohol, you can save money on liquor because you pay for what you use. You can always return the unopened bottles and it is not a fixed per person cost. Make sure that your venue does not charge corkage or bottle opening fee.
5. Will you need event insurance?
6. Which vendors will need permits and insurance?
7. Check with the venue if they will provide complimentary cake, centerpieces, votives, champagne toast etc.
Tip: Ask your venue if they will charge a cake-cutting fee.
8. How many hours will you get your venue for? Will that be enough time to do set up and breakdown?
9. If it is an outdoor venue, you should ask about a rain location.

When doing your venue research, it is important to keep the above questions in mind. Do your budget and cost calculations based on the answers you get.

Decor and Centerpieces on a Budget

If you want to save money on decor and centerpieces, I would suggest that you go for a venue that provides complimentary centerpieces and votives. You can also look into DIY Decor projects. For DIY centerpieces, I would suggest buying flowers from the whole flower stores to save money. Every big city has a wholesale flower market.

You can reuse some of your wedding decor for your reception as well. At the end of your reception, you can ask your florist to wrap your flowers for your guests to take away. Usually the rentals are taken back by the decorator. For example, if they used a big vase in the centerpiece, they will take it back.

Here is a list of Indian Wedding decor items.

Invitations: Online and DIY

The catch to the online wedding invitations is the shipping cost, which ends up being as much as the invitations. Here are some tips to remember when selecting and ordering your wedding invitations.

If you want to save money on your invitations, you can design your own. Here is DIY tutorial for making your own wedding invitations.

When planning a wedding on a budget, it is very important to stay organized and be on top of your budget. Before I sign off, here are two references for you: Indian Wedding Planning Checklist and Indian Wedding Budget. Good Luck with the planning process!

Should you put your registry information on your wedding invitation? How about putting “No boxed gifts” on your wedding invitation? Isn’t it a norm to give cash as gift in Indian Weddings? What is the proper etiquette? In this post, I am going to add to my previous post which touched upon this subject.

In order to address these etiquette topics, my first instinct was to check what Emily Post (Renowned American Author about Etiquette) had to say about it. Here is a tip from Emily Post, paraphrased from her book “Emily Post’s Wedding Etiquette” (Fifth Edition):

While a gift is typically expected in return of a wedding invitation, it certainly does not mean that you advertise a list of things you want or places you registered at on your wedding invitation. It is certainly in bad taste. This information should be communicated through word of mouth by family and friends.

Here are my $0.02 on this:

Your guests should not be obligated to select a gift from your registry, or for that matter, be forced to give you cash! Choosing a wedding gift is a guest’s prerogative – it is something that should come from their heart. You, as a bride, should see a registry as a wish list. If you get something from your wish list, then that’s awesome, if you don’t, then you get a surprise.

While inserting information about your gift registry on your wedding invitation is in a poor taste, mentioning “No Boxed Gifts” is even in a poorer taste. Even though a lot of Indian couples may be doing it these days, but to your guests it implies that money matters most to you. Guests belonging to a different culture, may be even confused or appalled by such a statement.

That being said, cash is considered an appropriate gift for an Indian Wedding. Most Indian Uncles and Aunties prefer to give cash! Why be rude and ask for it then?

Before I sign off, here are the final do’s and don’ts of asking for wedding gifts:

DO NOT:
1. Do not mention anything about your wedding registry or gift preferences on the wedding invitation.
2. Do not mention “No Boxed Gifts” on your wedding invitation. If you want money, let your family and friends tell others. Do not initiate discussion about your desire for monetary gifts.

DO:
1. Do mention a link to your wedding website on the wedding invitation. On the wedding website, you should put the gift registry information.
2. Do spread the information about your wedding registry by word of mouth through friends and family. Always add in the end, “We will treasure anything you may choose to give. Thank You for thinking of us.”

I love shopping in Delhi! When I got married, I did all my shopping from there and really enjoyed my experience. The amazing choices, affordable prices, and VIP treatment are just a few reasons why you would go there for your wedding shopping. In this blog post, I will talk about the various shopping districts in Delhi and some of my favorite stores shopping for wedding trousseau.

• South Extension (Part I and II): Conveniently located in South Delhi, South Extension is a shopping area full of big stores:

1. Ushnak Mal: Great for Lehengas, Salwar Kameez and Chudidars. Highly recommended!
2. Nalli – Famous for South Indian Saris, especially Silk Kanjeevarams.
3. Regal: Wedding Shoes, purses and accessories. Comes recommended!
4. BG’s – Purses, clutch bags, bindis, and accessories. Very stylish!
5. Wedding Weaves – Men’s sherwanis. Amazing designs – Highly recommended!
6. Big Joes - Accessories
7. Jass Jewelers: Great for silver jewelry, accessories and gift items. Pricey, but recommended!

Shoes by Regal

Greater Kailash I: This area is also located in South Delhi, but comes with a big price tag. Worth checking out though.

1. Laffaire: Nice sarees, but a little pricey.
2. Street Hawkers: Check out the hawkers on the side of this shopping area for amazing accessories.
3. Champalal Jewellery: Beautiful diamond, and polki jewelry. Highly recommended!
4. Hazoorilal & Sons Jewellers: Nice jewelry, but a little pricey.

Diamond Jewelry by Champalal

Hauz Khas Village: This shopping area, located in South Delhi, is full of small and unique boutiques.

1. Rewaz Boutique: Amazing collection of sarees! I bought three gorgeous sarees from here for my wedding.
2. Ogaan: This is a fairly new boutique for Indian outfits.

Crescent Mall: This mall is full of designer labels and is located on Mehrauli Road. Very exclusive collections by Manish Malhotra et al!

Lajpat Nagar: Located in South Delhi, this area is full of big and small stores. Don’t forget to check out the street hawkers for some amazing accessories.

1. Roshan’s: I love the stuff here! They have the most amazing suits and lehengas at great prices. I bought my reception lehenga from here. Highly recommended!
2. Shakuntalam: Very stylish lehengas and suits.

My Reception Outfit by Roshan's

Karol Bagh: Karol Bagh is another major and oldest shopping district located in West Delhi.

1. PP Jewellers
2. Hari Shankar Sunil Kumar Jewelers
3. Beli Ram: Silver accessories and gift items. Highly recommended!
4. Janak’s: Great men’s traditional outfits as well as suits.
5. Wedding Weaves: Same as the one in South Extension.

Chandni Chowk: Chandni Chowk is the oldest shopping area in Delhi. Located in North Delhi (Very close to Lal Quila), it has a charm to it. Got to be careful of “eve-teasers” and the traffic, but otherwise if you are looking for great prices – it’s a must check out!

1. Surya Sarees: Amazing collection of sarees, and lehengas. I bought my wedding lehenga from here. Very unique and amazing prices. Highly recommended!
2. Champalal Jewellers: Same as the one in South Extension. Again highly recommended!
3. Rati Ram Ram Vinod: Lehenga and Sarees.

Rajouri Garden: This area is located in East Delhi and has big and small boutiques and stores.

1. Meena Bazaar: Good collection of suits.
2. Shakuntalam: Same as the one in Lajpat Nagar.

Other Places worth a mention:

1. Shapur Jat: Great for kurtis and tunics. Nice little shops for shoes as well.
2. CTC Plaza: Its a huge mall selling traditional Indian clothing and accessories.
3. Dilli Haat: If you are looking for favors and stationary – this is a great place to visit.
4. Janpath: Awesome and highly recommended, if you want custom table linen, favors etc. for your wedding reception.
5. Chawri Bazaar: Invitations and Stationary – great prices! Close to Chandni Chowk.

Looking for unique invitations? Don’t want to go to India to get your invitations? Looking for eco-friendly invitaitons? 3 Bees Paperie is your answer. Indian weddings consist of many events, and putting together multiple invitations can get expensive. I spoke with Reena Vadehra of 3 Bees Paperie – A stationary company with unique invitation collections, printed on high-quality lush paper and inspired by contemporary South Asian Designs – like peacocks, mosaics, paisleys and tribal designs.

3 Bees Paperie have two wedding collections:

1. Couture weddings: Ready-to-order wedding invitations. These are already designed invitations, which can be printed with your content very quickly. The ready-to-order collections are eco-friendly, printed on FSC-certifed paper with recycled envelopes.

2. Made for You: For custom wedding invitations. These are completely customized to your wedding theme, motifs and color pallet. These can use different types of printing like offset, letterpress, screen printing or digital.

In addition, they also sell Thank You card sets on their Etsy store.

Reena said that 3 Bees Paperie invitations use unique color combinations that you don’t commonly see in Indian Invitations: Orange and Plum, Turquoise and Green, Yellow and Plum etc.

Check out the entire collection on 3 Bees Paperie’s Website.

Planning an Indian Wedding just got easier! When I was planning my wedding, I hunted and hunted for a wedding planning website for South Asians. I was looking for a resource, where the wedding planning tools and forums were customized for Indian brides. Well guess what – now that resource is here. It’s called Indian American Weddings, and has been launched by Neha, owner of Marigold Events & Launching Frog (that’s me!) and Payal, owner of Intell Marketing.

Indian American Weddings began as a vision aspiring to make an Indian Bride’s wedding planning experience easy and enjoyable. The inspiration and ideas have stemmed from Payal and my personal experiences, when we were planning our own weddings and discovered a lack of planning resources for Indian Weddings in the US. We envision brides benefiting from a social network that would enable them to share thoughts and ideas with each other and communicate interactively with vendors.

Indian American Weddings is a unique wedding planning community for engaged couples and their families. It is the first interactive site to enable brides to network with other brides and vendors all over the country. It is, in essence, a virtual wedding expo, where brides can virtually see vendors’ products and services, communicate with them, and network with other brides – all without shelling the expenses of travel or time to a wedding expo.

In addition to the social networking aspect, the website offers to brides and couples all the tools and resources needed to help design, organize and plan the perfect unique Indian Wedding. The word “Indian” is the key – not only do we help you customize your planning to include all the Indian glamor and nuances of an Indian wedding ceremony, but we can also help you customize any other Indian event you may want to include like Engagement Party, Mehendi, Sangeet, etc.

Website’s Highlights for brides:

• Your Personal Profile Page with Photogallery: Create a detailed personalized profile of yourself and your upcoming wedding. Upload photos, and write about yourself. The wedding planning tools are linked to your profile. Your wedding planning research can be accessed by you through your username and secure password from any computer.
• Planning Checklist: Manage your wedding planning tasks and track the important details so you don’t miss a single step.
• Create your Budget: Set up your wedding budget and track all your spending to keep your wedding expenses in line.
• Create your Guestlist: It’s a Guest Database! Manage Guests, input their addresses, track Guest info (invitations, RSVPs, gifts, seating, thank you’s) – all with our Guest List Manager.
• Appointment Book: A handy tool to record all your appointments and reminders so you are perfectly scheduled for each day of your wedding planning
• Create Events and Invitations: Send out your save the dates for each of your wedding events with a click of the button and manage the RSVP’s from here.
• Planning Calendar: Your wedding planning is a calendar view and organizes all your appointments, upcoming events and due checklist items in one place.
• Research Binder: Your Wedding Planning Notebook where you can save notes, links, images of products and services you are considering but haven’t yet finalized.
• Guestbook: Post on your buddies’ walls and keep them up to date with your wedding planning. Post on a vendors wall to make inquiries or contacts.
• Get advice from other brides on the forum: Network with other brides, share tips and ideas, post questions. It’s amazing how much you can learn and share with others just like you.
• Add buddies: Friend other members of the site and them to your buddylist. See where other brides are in their planning process. Look at the profiles of your bride and vendor friends, check out their photogallery and write on their guestbooks.

There is a plethora of Indian vendors offering products and services to meet the Indian wedding market needs, however, they have always competed with families traveling to India to fulfill these needs. To these vendors, we offer a revolutionary new channel to market their products and services to a targeted customer base and form affiliations with other vendors in the business.

Website’s Highlights for Vendors:

• Free Business Page and Listing: Design your personalized business page highlighting your products & services and offering exclusive promotions and sales.
• Guestbook: Post on your buddies’ walls and keep them up to date with your services.
• Photogallery: A picture is worth a thousand words. Showcase your products and services with a collection of photos and images.
• Appointment Book: A handy calendar with customer appointments and reminders so you are perfectly scheduled for each day.
• Planning Calendar: View all your appointments in a calendar view.
• Manage Clients: A client database that manages client names, profiles, addresses, interests.
• Interact with other brides on forum: An Online vendor expo – interact with brides interested in your products and services. Make customer contact online!

The website has been beta launched, and we would really appreciate your feedback!

This DIY tutorial will illustrate some unique techniques to create invitations. We will talk about rubber stamping and embossing. I will make some product recommendations, and also go through the steps.

Our end product will look like this:

Pointed Flap Enclosure with Embossed/Rubber Stamped Invited

Supplies:

1. Pointed Flap Enclosure (Chocolate)

◦ 5 1/2″ x 8 1/2″

◦ Special Feature = Makes a lovely presentation for wedding invitations and other special occasions.

2. Flat Paper (blue, lavendar, fuschia, white, ivory, cream)

◦ 8.5″ x 11″

3. Outer Envelope

◦ A9 ( (5 3/4″ x 8 3/4″)

4. Rubber Stamps (Same pattern, but in 2 different sizes) – Big Rubber Stamp, Small Rubber Stamp

5. Ink Pad, Clear for Embossing

6. Embossing Powder (We will use gold for this example)

7. Embossing heating tool

8. Paper Cutter

9. Pair of Scissors

10. Pencil

11. Ruler

Steps to create the invitation:

1. Open a word Document in Microsoft Word on your computer. Change the orientation of the document to landscape by going to Page Setup.
2. Make a table with one row and two columns on the document, such that one cell is 5 1/2″ wide and 8 1/2″ long in dimensions.
3. Type out your invitation text in each of the cells using your favorite font. You can use Da Font to find some beautiful fonts that are not available out of the box.
4. Print out the document on the Flat Paper (8 1/2″ X 11″).
5. Using paper cutter, cut out the paper along the edges of the document you created.
6. Now take each individual invitation, rubber stamp and ink pad. Apply clear ink to the smaller rubber stamp and apply it at the top center of the invite.
7. Now we will begin the process of embossing. We will take the gold embossing powder and pour it over the stamped area. The powder will stick to the stamped portion. Now remove the excess powder by pouring it back on another sheet of paper.
8. In order to emboss the stamp, we will use the heating tool. Plug the heating tool and test the temperature on your hand. Once its hot enough, then use it like a hair dryer over the stamped area with the embossing powder on it. You will notice that the stamp area will start getting embossed.
9. Repeat the last three steps on the flap of the pointed envelope with the bigger stamp.
10. Once the embossing has dried out, you can place the invite, along with the enclosures for RSVP, in the pointed inner envelope.
11. Use the outer envelope to address the invitation.
12. Note: Please make a sample or two before you buy supplies in bulk. Also, you can get the printed paper cut in bulk at Kinkos.

Your invitation is now ready! It is simple and elegant. The stamp looks Indian, but contemporary. Get ready to wow your guests!

Are you a creative bride? Do you want to add your personal touch to your invitations? Do you want your invitations to be unique? Look no more! We have the perfect DIY invitation ideas, which will set your wedding invitation apart.  I will show you some techniques and point you towards some resources, with which you can make your own invitations very easily. Most of the supplies and inspiration that I have used for the invitation created in this blog post are from Paper Source. You can order your supplies from their online store, or go to their many locations around the country.

Our end product will look like the following:

DIY Wedding Invitation with Decorative Handmade Paper and Ribbon

Supplies:

1. Half Moon Enclosure
   • 5″ x 7″
   • Special Feature = The half circle cut out allows a portion of your invitation to peek through the top – a great place to include a small graphic element.
2. Flat Paper (white, ivory, cream)
   • 8.5″ x 11″
3. Flat Card in color of your choice
   • A7 (5″ x 7″)
4. Outer Envelope
   • A7 (5 1/4″ x 7 1/4″)
5. Decorative Paper (or Handmade Paper)
6. satin ribbon in color of your choice
7. Paper Cutter
8. Pair of Scissors
9. Double Stick Tape
10. Pencil
11. Ruler

Steps to create the invitation:

1. Open a Word Document in Microsoft Word on your computer. Change the orientation of the document to landscape.
2. Make a table with one row and two columns on the document, such that one cell is 4 3/4″ x 6 7/8″ in dimensions.
3. Type out your invitation text in each of the cells using your favorite font. You can use Da Font to find some beautiful fonts that are not available out of box.
4. Print out the document on Flat Paper (8.5″ x 11″).
5. Using the paper cutter, cut out the paper along the edges of the document you had created.
6. Mount the Flat Paper on the A7 Flat Card using double stick tape. This creates a contrast and a layering effect.
7. Now take the decorative paper and cut out a strip of paper that is 3-4 inches wide and long enough, such that it wraps around the half moon enclosure completely.
8. Using double stick tape, adhere the decorative strip around the half moon enclosure. This adds a beautiful accent to your envelope.
9. Now take the wide satin ribbon which is 2.5 times the length of the half moon enclosure (approx. 12.5″). Make sure you cut the ribbon into a “V” shape, so that the edges don’t fray. It also makes it look more professional.
10. Wrap the ribbon length wise along the invitation card, right in the middle, and insert it in the half moon envelope. The invitation can be pulled out using this ribbon and adds a nice touch to the invitation.
11. Now put the invitation in the outer A7 envelope.
12. Note: You can create your other enclosures for RSVP, directions in a similar fashion.

Your invitation is now ready to wow your guests! Let us know what you thought of this DIY tutorial.

Indian Weddings are known to be elaborate affairs, where families spend a lot of money to entertain their guests and celebrate. No matter how big of an amount you are spending on the wedding, there is always a budget. So how do you come up with a budget for your wedding? Start by compiling a list of finance sources, which could be you (the bride), the groom,both sets of parents, as well as other generous family members or friends.

In this article, we will go through all the steps to decide how to plan your wedding budget. So start with coming up with a realistic figure.

Enter total budget: ________________

Once you have a realistic figure for your budget, we will divide that amount into various categories.

Image Courtesy: Flickr (soo12)

Ceremony: 5%

• Cost of the venue
• All transportation like horse carriage for Baraat, limos etc. for guests, family and bridal party to and from the hotel/house of the bride and groom to the ceremony site.
• Enter Ceremony Budget: ______________

(Multiply total budget by 0.05)

Reception: 40%

Your Wedding Reception will take up the bulk of your wedding budget. The budget for your reception will include:

• Cost of the venue
• Event Rentals (Chairs, Tables, Flatware, Glassware, China)
• Catering and Servers (including taxes and tips)
• Bar and non-alcoholic beverages
• Wedding Cake
• Valet parking, if applicable
• All transportation like shuttle service, limos etc. for guests, family and bridal party to and from the ceremony site to the reception venue.
• Enter Reception Budget: ______________

(Multiply total budget by 0.4)

Music and Entertainment: 5%

This includes:

• Baraat and Ceremony Music – Dhol, DJ
• Cocktail hour – DJ, Live Performers
• Reception Entertainment and Music – DJ, Dancers, Live Performers
• Enter Music Budget: _______________

(Multiply total budget by 0.05)

Decor: 15%

In an Indian Wedding, decor takes up a good chunk of your budget, especially because there are so many elements that go into it. This includes:

• Mandap and Ceremony decoration
• Chair Covers/ Sashes
• Overlays/ Table Linen
• Bride and Bridesmaid’s bouquets (if applicable)
• Boutonnière’s for Groom, Groomsmen, Ring Bearer and both Fathers (if applicable)
• Flowers for both the Bride and Groom’s Mother (if applicable)
• Flowers to decorate the Flower Girl’s basket and petals to toss
• Reception centerpieces and decorations
• Flowers for the Wedding cake (if applicable)
• Sweet heart table/ head table
• Enter Flower Budget: _______________

(Multiply total budget by 0.15)

Wedding Attire and Jewelry: 15%

• This includes:
• Bridal Saris/ Lehengas for the Ceremony and Reception
• Bride’s lingerie
• Bride’s jewelry for Ceremony and Reception
• Wedding Bands
• Bride’s shoes
• Hair and makeup (including Mehendi)
• Groom’s Sherwani/ Tuxedo and Shoes for the Ceremony and Reception
• Enter Wedding Attire Budget: _______________

(Multiply total budget by 0.15)

Photography: 10%

This will include:

• Photography
• Videography
• CDs or other digital media with all the photos
• DVD of the Wedding Video
• Engagement portraits
• Ceremony and Reception – album package
• Additional albums / photographs for gifts

Enter Photography Budget: _____________

(Multiply total budget by 0.1)

Stationery: 4%

This includes:

• Invitations and enclosures (R.S.V.P. cards & envelopes, maps, etc.)
• Announcements
• Thank – you notes
• Postage
• Wedding Programs
• Enter Stationery Budget: _____________

(Multiply total budget by 0.04)

Miscellaneous: 6%

This is where all those random “little” items add up. Make sure you have an extra cushion for all those extra expenses.

• Gifts for the bridal party (if applicable)
• Wedding gifts for each other (if you choose to do so)
• Favors for the guests
• Welcome baskets for out-of-town guests
• Hotel room / “Honeymoon Suite” for the wedding night
• Marriage and other licenses
• Dakshina/ Fee for the Priest
• Enter Miscellaneous Budget: _____________

(Multiply total budget by 0.06)

I hope this worksheet gave you a good idea on how to plan your wedding budget and will be helpful.