Marigold Events – Indian Wedding Inspirations, Wedding Lenghas, Invitations, Cake, Decor, Wedding Blog and 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!

Finding Indian bridesmaid outfits can be a major challenge. You may want the exact same sari or lehenga for your bridesmaids, or if you are having a hard time finding exact outfits, then you may want something that goes well together. I strongly recommend that your bridesmaid saris match the colors of your wedding. I would stay away from buying the same sari in different colors. If you are having trouble finding the exact same sari, I would go with one color with a slight variation in pattern. I strongly believe, that one color looks more elegant. Here is some inspiration for bridesmaid saris:

Magenta Bridesmaid Saris with a turquoise border

Blue bridesmaid outfits - Although the outfits are different, they blend well together

Vermilion Colored Bridesmaid Saris

Orange Bridesmaid Saris

Mustard-Green bridesmaid saris

Maroon bridesmaid saris

Sea green bridesmaid saris

Fucshia bridesmaid saries

Pink bridesmaid saris

Plum bridesmaid saris

Red bridesmaid saris with golden work

Lavendar and pink bridesmaid saris

Purple bridesmaid saris

Gone are the days when there was just one boring style to wear a saree blouse. Today, there are a number of options to choose from. Everything in a saree blouse is customizable from the cut of the neck/back to the style of the sleeves. A saree blouse is a statement! Here are some blouses for inspiration when you are choosing a blouse style for your wedding outfits.

Image Credit: IndianWomenClothing.com

This is a traditional choli style blouse with hooks to secure and a string to tie the blouse at the back.

Image Credit: Indiwo.in

Another choli style blouse, but this time with a very deep back!

Image Credit: indianwonebclothin.com

A halter style net blouse with embroidery.

Image Credit: SareeDreams.com

Looking for a blouse that is more fashionable? Check out this halter blouse which has a collar and is secured by hooks at the back. If you like deep backs, you will love this blouse!

This halter blouse is made of brocade. A brocade blouse goes with almost any sari. If you do not want to wear your matching sari blouse and want something more trendy, then brocade blouses are definitely the way to go.

Check out this gorgeous bikini style blouse! Love the embroidery on the brocade.

Image Credit: SareeDreams.com

Check out this beautiful turquoise net blouse with stone work border on the bottom edge.

Image Credit: Flickr - radhikasarees

Check out the puff sleeved blouse below! Love the work on the blouse.

Long sleeved blouses are in! Whether it was Vidya Balan’s blouses in the movie Paa or Kareen Kapoor’s choli in the Bollywood hit 3 Idiots, long sleeved blouses look very elegant and stylish.

Check out Deepika Padukone donning a long sleeved blouse in Om Shanti Om:

Music and Entertainment are indispensable from Indian Weddings. But how do you set the tone for a wedding event with music? Bollywood movies are full of great songs for weddings. It’s always good to be prepared and have a playlist ready for your wedding functions. Here I am going to discuss the events you need music and entertainment for and how to go about selecting it.

• Mehendi: The “Mehendi” function is a very fun and festive ceremony. Music, when selected appropriately, can add a great ambience to this function. If you choose to do the music for your mehendi yourself, you can make an iPod, iTunes or a Winamp playlist of your favorite mehendi songs to play. Alternatively, if you are having a DJ, you can hand over your list to them. If you can find someone who can play a dholak and sing folk songs, then that can add a very festive mood to this function. Here is a list of few songs to get you brainstorming:
  • Mehendi Laga Ke Rakhna (Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jaayenge)
  • Mehendi Hai Rachne Waali (Zubeida)
  • Mayi Ni Mayi (Hum Aapke Hain Kaun)
  • Mehendi Ki Raat Aayi (Models)
  • Mehendi Lagaaongi (Vibha)
  
• Sangeet: This is the night of entertainment! Full of fun performances and lots of dancing. There are plenty of ways to add entertainment to this event. You can hire performers, performances by family and friends (my favorite!), live singing, or hire a DJ. When it comes to family performances, they can get very creative – You can enact the couple’s story with music and dance, You can do a skit, You can have a theme, the possibilities are endless! You can also add a traditional touch with dhol, garba, dandiya raas and bhangra. Here are some of my favorite Sangeet Songs:
  • Kala Shah Kala (Traditional Punjabi)
  • Baari Barsi (Traditional Punjabi)
  • Eli Re Eli (Yaadein)
  • Sajan Ji Ghar Aaye (Kuch Kuch Hota Hai)
  • Pehli Pehli Baar Dekha Aisa Jalwa (Silsila)
  • Nimbooda (Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam)
  • Maahi Ve (Kal Ho Na Ho)
  • Bole Chudiyan (Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gum)
  • Dholna (Shubha Mudgal)
  • Yeh Ladka Hai Allah (Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gam)
• Baraat: Baraat, which is a procession of the groom and his side of the family, is an age long tradition. Dance and Music are must! Dhols are perfect way to set the tone for this event. Some appropriate Baraat songs could be:
  • Le Jaayenge Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jaayenge
  • Nach Baliye (Bunty Aur Babli)
  • Dholi Taaro Dhol Baaje (Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam)
  • Aaja Nachle (Bally Sagoo)
  • Chunari Chunari (Biwi No. 1)
  • Shava Shava (Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gam)
• Wedding Ceremony: The ceremony is the most traditional event in all the festivities. Hence, the music should be apt for that. The tunes of shehnai, santoor and bansuri can really set the right atmosphere for a wedding ceremony. Consider buying some Classical CDs or music online. For joota chhupai ceremony, my favorite song is “Joote Do Paise Lo” from Hum Aapke Hain Kaun.
• Reception: For the reception you have to select songs for a number of things:
  • Cocktail Hour: For cocktail hour, your guests would be mingling with each other and there will be conversations. Its better to have music which is not too distracting and is just there for background. Usually slow and romantic numbers work the best. Here is what I recommend:
    • Hey Shona (Tara Rum Pum)
    • Teri Ore (Singh is King)
    • Khuda Jaane (Bachna Ae Haseeno)
    • Saanson Se Saanse (Hum Tum)
    • Aapki Nazron Ne Instrumental
    • Chura Liya Hai (Yaadon Ki Baraat)
    • Zara Sa (Jannat)
  • Introduction of the Bridal Party: Music that introduces the bridal party, parents and bride & groom should be fast paced and upbeat that gets the audience to cheer along and lets the bridal party show their personality. Here are some suggestions:
    • Kya Mujhe Pyaar Hai (Woh Lamhe)
    • Deewangi (Om Shaanti Om)
    • Mundiyan Tu Bachke Rahe (Punjabi MC)
    • Dil Dooba (Khakee)
    • Twist (Love Aaj Kal)
  • First Dance: There are so many songs to choose from for the first dance. Frankly, it depends on the couple. If they have a favorite song that has a special meaning then they can always go with that. For the first dance, couples usually choose to do a slow ballroom dance. The couple can also choose to do a fast number followed by the slow dance to surprise the audience. Here are some suggestions for First Dance:
    • Pehli Nazar Mein (Race)
    • Hey Shona (Tara Rum Pum)
    • Love Song (OST 50 First Dates)
    • Now that we found love (OST Hitch)
    • Everything I do (Bryan Adams)
    • Here are some more Classic Song ideas on The Knot (http://wedding.theknot.com/wedding-planning/wedding-music-ideas/articles/50-classic-first-dance-songs.aspx?MsdVisit=1)
    
  • Cake Cutting:
    • Come What May (Moulin Rouge)
    • The Sweetest Thing (U2)
    • Sweetest Thing (Lauryn Hill)
    • Find some more on Wedding Wire (http://www.weddingwire.com/wedding-songs/cake-cutting-music)
  • While Guests are eating: For the time the guests are eating, I would again play music that is there in background and something similar to what is played during the cocktail hour. You can also choose to do a slideshow of your pictures during this time.
  • Dancing: Dancing is something that everyone looks forward to at the wedding. Hiring a DJ is a must to make sure that your guests have a great time. I would strongly suggest that the brides have a must play and do not play list for this part of the reception. In fact if you are very meticulous, you could make a spreadsheet with categories like Bollywood, Punjabi & Bhangra, Hip Hop, Reggae, 80s, Classics etc. You have to make sure that the music caters to everyone in your audience, from the young crowd to uncles and aunties. Here are some of my favorite dance numbers:
    • Where is the Party tonight (Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna)
    • Jhalak Dikhla Ja (Remix)
    • Rang Barse and Other Amitabh Bacchan Music
    • Only You (112)
    • Turn Me On (Kevin Lyttle)
    • Girls Just Wanna Have Fun (Cindy Lauper)
    • Electric Slide
    • The way I are (Timbaland)
    • Mauja Hi Mauja (Jab We Met)
    • Don’t stop till you get enough and Most Michael Jackson Songs
    • Dancing Queen (ABBA)
    • Kangna (Dr. Zeus)
    • Don’t Be Shy (Rouge)
    • Glassy (Ashok Mastie)
    • Ishq (Sukhbir)
    • Billy Jean Vs Husn
    • Rail Gaddi
    • Most Jay Sean, Rishi Rich and Juggy D Music
    • Give it up to me (Sean Paul)
    • Crank That (Soulja Boy)

Feel free to add more to this list!