Arranged-Love Marriages

In Indian culture, marriages are considered to be an important institution and the word of the elders of the family is considered to be final . Until recently, children had no choice but accept the choice of their parents. Nowadays, things have changed and parents allow arranged-love marriages. The concept of Indian arranged-love marriages is that, parents select and then the two are allowed to court each other and the love brews. Some modernists think that there cannot be love between two individuals, unless they know each other. Anyhow, Indian marriages have stood testimony to the fact that individuals who have not seen each other before marriage live happily for years and this cannot happen unless there is love or commitment for each other. People do fall in love after marriage and that is the beauty of arranged-love marriages.

The customs followed in arranged–love marriages in India are traditional and might include all the paraphernalia associated with a typical Indian wedding. These kind of Indian marriages are arranged marriages and have proven to be more successful than the love marriages. In the arranged – love weddings, the marriage is held according to the traditional Indian style. The same rituals are performed – the priest chants the hymns, the bride and the groom take the ‘saat pheras’ or circles around the holy fire, and finally there is the ‘vidai’ of the bride. Pre and post wedding ceremonies are present in the arranged-love marriages.

The special features of the arranged-love marriages in India are many, but one of the important features is that despite being an arranged marriage, a mutual understanding prevails between the two sides as both bride and groom have been given a chance to know each other better and fall in love. Couples do obey the religious dictum and still find marital satisfaction and this very feature adds to the importance of this wedding.

No Comments by shilpz / March 18, 2009 / Posted in: Type of indian marriages

Tagged: arrange marriage, Arranged-Love Marriages, indian wedding, kind of marriages, love marriage, wedding, wedding in india

Wedding reception decoration

Weddings are filled with customs and traditions. Planning a wedding has always been a meticulous and a time consuming affair. Time has always played an important part as one always found that it as always in short supply. Luckily times have changed and there are wedding planners who take care of every aspect of the wedding from ceremony to the reception in an absolute professional manner. Of course, the bridal couple and their families will have to sit an iron out the details.

The most important part apart is the location – whether it is indoors or outdoors. Nowadays, weddings are planned at hotels, resorts, beaches, and underwater locale … or at a foreign locale.

The physical comfort of those attending the wedding needs to be considered along with the decorations, catering music and dancing. The space chosen will have its own ambience and one will have to decide whether it needs to be transformed into something wonderful or merely complemented. One will have to take into account space itself as the guests will need to feel comfortable with adequate temperature control, seating capacity, parking and restroom facilities and a back-up in case it rains.

Flowers and floral arrangements form an integral part of the decorations; lighting too, plays an important role along with the table setting and place settings for the overall look and feel of the reception. In fact, lighting can transform a room into something magical! Other elements can include draped fabrics, fountains, potted plants, ribbons and bows made of satin or sheer organza. Balloons can add a fun touch to the celebrations especially floating from the ceiling. Ribbons trailing down add to the effect.

Themes for the wedding could run into several from an Enchanted Forest – Sherwood style, a Winter Wonderland, a Renaissance Wedding with minstrels and jesters or any other western concept. Traditional Indian weddings no matter which locale they are held it is imperative to have the torans to decorate the auspicious entrance, decorative diyas, multi-purpose thali, rumaals among others.

No Comments by monish / March 16, 2009 / Posted in: wedding ideas

Tagged: decoratin, indian, indian wedding, reception, shaadi, wedding, Wedding reception decoration

Wedding Sarees

Sarees were very much in fashion in a traditional Indian wedding. In today’s wedding functions woman prefers to wear saris in different styles. Fashion designers have come up with new ways to drape wedding sarees, which are quite popular among today’s woman. Saris always had a sensuous and elegant look at the same time. The wedding sari or Bridal sari is given a lot of importance in India.

Indian Saris come in different fabrics from cotton to silk, from georgettes to crapes, from traditionals like Banarasi to Kanjeevaram or a silk. Wedding saris are given a lot of emphasis in Indian family. It ranges from few thousands to few lakhs of rupees. Saris today have a lot of work done on them. They come in various varieties and styles. Zari, embroidery, organza, zardosi, sequence, cut work, mirror work, patchwork, pearl work, kasab, kundan, are all different kinds of work, which are found in sari.

Earlier it was compulsory for Indian brides to wear heavy Benarasi sari for her wedding but now it is not so but still brides are preferring to wear saris for their wedding. Though the styles and embroidery has changed. Earlier it was lot more heavy work and rich now it is lot more sleek and light in fabric.

Saree makes a woman look graceful, elegant, stylish, and sensuous. But sarees should be draped properly. Here are some tips on how to buy a saree, which suits your personality.

Women who are a bit heavier should buy saris, which are light like georgette, silk chignon or chiffon. For the gorgeous option they can try heavy Mysore silk sarees or silk based Kanjeevaram, which looks beautiful and one tends to look slimmer.

For shorter women they should buy saris with small borders or no borders. They should definitely avoid big borders as big borders make one look shorter. Big border are mainly for women who have a good height. For short woman they can go for self or single color it will make them look taller.

Thin women should buy saris, which are a bit fluffy like organza, cotton fabric, tissue and tussar saris. These saris give a fuller effect and give a broad look.

Avoid large prints in sarees, as it gives a gaudy and a huge look. Delicate and sober print on a sari gives a delicate and stylish look.

Dark skin color women should generally buy dark colors like maroon, green, dark pink and avoid light colors and bright colors.

Saris can be really elegant and stylish if worn properly and with right accessories.

3 Comments by shilpz / March 14, 2009 / Posted in: Just For Bride

Tagged: bride, indian bride, sarees, shaadi, wedding, wedding in india, wedding sarees

Wedding sherwani

This is typical of North Indian and Punjabi weddings. Sherwani is long coat, buttoned up in front with Nehru collars. The sherwani falls well below the knees, and looks elegant especially if the groom is tall, and yes, the physique is perfect. Traditionally, the sherwanis worn are off-white.

Lately, color has made its foray into sherwanis. If you dare to be different, try out black and other darker shades. Sherwanis can be of various types – the Peshawri and the Baloochi, and are usually embellished with embroidery and zardozi work. The groom’s sherwani is incomplete without the ghatcholas, flowing kurtas with churidars and jooties or Indian sandals.

The Turban or Safa: Safa and wedding turbans are traditional headgear worn by the men of both the sides during wedding. Wedding safa is a necessary part of a traditionally dressed groom – a must groom attire. The colorful safas are made of various materials – chunari or sheer cotton drape, with or without zari work, and ghatcholas. The groom’s safa is traditionally red in color, and it goes well with the off-white sherwanis.

1 Comment by shilpz / March 10, 2009 / Posted in: just for groom

Tagged: dress, groom dress, groom wedding dress, indian wedding, shaadi, viavh, wedding dress, wedding in india, wedding sherwani

Perfect Hand Bag for Indian bride

Which bag to wear – from tiny clutch to spacious sling bag – depends on everyone’s individual style and the statement one wants to make. Matching the right bag with the right Indian wedding dress is the most important thing; a slim sari will not work with a baggy purse or vice versa – a heavily patterned wedding outfit will not work with a tiny bag that gets lost. Keep these five bag basics in mind before making a decision:

the strap: long, short or none
the color: matching the dress or in a universal color like white, black, brown, silver or gold
the design: crocheted, knitted, beaded or embroidered
the material: cloth or leather
the pattern: plain, with flowery designs, in pastels or bright colors

No Comments by monish / March 6, 2009 / Posted in: Just For Bride

Tagged: bridal handbag, bridal purse, bride, indian bride, indian wedding, wedding, wedding in india

Bridal foot wear

The right pair of shoes is probably the most important accessory for enhancing any Indian dress beautifully. But it is also import not to sacrifice comfort for style, especially for the Indian bride who will be on her toes from morning to night. Fortunately, flats and platform shoes are in vogue right now so that the perfect shoes can be stylish and comfortable.

Shoes should match the dress or other accessories in color – for example, a red wedding dress worn with gold jewelry will work with golden sandals. Shoes usually mean sandals or open-toed shoes that can be plain or decorated, for example with beads or stones that match the dress.

No Comments by monish / March 6, 2009 / Posted in: Just For Bride

Tagged: bridal foot wear, footwear, groom, indian wedding indian bride, wedding in india, wedding shoes