Need a wedding favor that’s pretty to look at and yummy to eat? Consider a candy buffet! Amrit Dhillon-Bains of Anaïs Event Planning & Design outlines the who, what, where, when and how of choosing a candy buffet for your wedding.

Selecting: Take your favorites into account, the colors of the wedding, or the way the candies complement the dessert or wedding cake being served. Given the breadth of possibilities, plan the candy buffet in conjunction with the menu planning, reception layout and color choices. A good rule of thumb is to select coordinated candy colors for a more effective display!

Ordering: Too many is never a problem but too few will absolutely be! First, determine how many jars and types of candies you want based on your guest count, available table space etc. I recommend 7-10 (or more, depending on budget) types of candies and 15-20 pounds of each variety. A great place to find all types and colors of candy is CandyWarehouse.com.

Be Considerate: Label each jar and place within easy reach. Also take into account any special dietary considerations when preparing a candy buffet for your guests.
A few ideas: gluten-free candies, vegan/vegetarian candies, sugar-free candies, dried fruits and nuts etc.

Containers: Select glassware, crystal and other jars in varying shapes/sizes to match the theme and quality of items being used. Also remember to get scoops or tongs for each container.

Bags: Get crafty with paper lunch bags, half-mint takeout containers, clear cellophane bags etc. Personalize these items as much as you can!

Display: Mini floral arrangements spread out through the display provide wonderful accents. Also consider adding a few photographs from your times as children along the table or other fun and clever signage!

Photos: Elle Jae Weddings, Rich Frye Photography

Bridal season is here, which means that wedding guests everywhere are soon going to be subjected to lengthy shaadi ceremonies and dragged-out best man speeches.

Looking to switch things up for your guests?  Take a cue from Parul and Mirab, who worked with Delack Media Group to create a hilarious short film on how they met. The film premiered at their reception and we’re sure it garnered more than a few laughs from their 500+ reception crowd. Take a look to see how the gym brought this funny couple together!

Parul + Mirab : Fit For Life from Delack Media Group on Vimeo.

You can have the most amazing centerpieces and the perfect lighting, but what’s a Desi wedding without proper entertainment? Hired artistes are great, but we always find that performances by wedding party members are always the most heart-melting. Here are some inspirational dance videos for your performers to snatch ideas from!

Group Performance at Farshid & Natasha’s Gayer Holud

The groom’s (Farshid) high school friends did a full-on spoof of the couple. The best part of this dance is that most all of the dancers are non-Desi yet pulled off the moves and the cheesy Bollywood nuances perfectly!

Solo Dance at Sheetal and Dipesh’s Reception

This girl is a great dancer, but we really love how she incorporated the bride and groom at the end.

Read more

Hey readers! First of all, thank you all so much for keeping up with our blog! We love and appreciate you all! We encourage you to ask us anything related to weddings. While it may take us a while to get back to you because of current workload or just to find the right answers, we promise to try our best to get back to you as soon as we can! We deeply apologize if it causes any inconvenience to you So please bear with us! We do appreciate your patience

Recently one of you asked the following:

Where can I find Gujarati singing groups for a wedding on the East Coast (US)? Please help. Thanks. Looking for a group of live singers and musicians for a Gujarati Hindu wedding — a group that performs traditional Gujarati geet (songs) and Gujarati garba and Hindi film songs. Please post groups, website links, and contact information if possible. Thanks.

Let me start off by saying how happy we are that you asked us to inquire into this. Too many people are used to DJs at weddings. While a DJ/MC is necessary for the after party of the wedding to be official, we seldom appreciate the fun and joy a live wedding band or singer can bring to the wedding. Not to mention it makes the experience even more unique. So below please find two very well-known and very professional wedding singers/bands based on US East Coast who not only specialize in traditional Gujrati geet and garba, but Hindi film and pop music as well:

Natwar Thakkar

999 Enterprises Inc.

58 Hillcrest Avenue

Iselin NJ 08830

732-404-1098 / 732-283-0256

info@999enterprises.com / natwarthakkar@hotmail.com / kaushal_n_t@yahoo.com

Ritesh Rathod / Rupali Acharya

Medley Entertainment Inc

291 Pinelli Drive

Piscataway, NJ 08854

347-385-8587 / 732-356-1204 / 347-724-5202 / 718-205-2016

1-866-9MEDLEY

party@medleyentertainmentinc.com

We would like to thank our awesome friend the world-renowned DJ Magic Mike from Magic Sound for providing us with all the information! Thanks Mike!

Zoya Couture Invitation Suite

Who are you?
Arti Anand
ZOYA Couture
1-866-611-ZOYA (9692)
zoyacouture.com

What do you do?
Wedding Invitations (Custom Design and Ready to Order), Event Stationery (Place cards, table numbers, Menus, Programs, Signage), Marketing Collateral.

Where are you based?
Washington, DC – but we often work with brides around the nation. Samples are mailed, design and proofs discussed over phone and e-mail, and final orders sent via FedEx.

When and How did you get started in the South Asian wedding industry?
I grew up around weddings! My parents owned a South Asian wedding decor company and I spent my weekends helping them with the creative design and set-up. I had been doing freelance graphic and web design for several years before I decided to apply it to the wedding invitation industry.

Why do you do what you do?
I love weddings – there’s something magical about them. While South Asian weddings in particular are so glamorous, most couples in the States have a hard time selecting invitations that marry their South Asian heritage with their modern, chic lifestyle. I love working with couples to find their individual styles and translating that to invitations that they have envisioned.

Do you work exclusively on South Asian weddings?
Not exclusively, but a majority of our brides are of South Asian descent.

What are some mistakes you see most South Asian brides (and families) make?
Playing by the rules. Throw the rule book out! Brides and families begin their discussions with how they’ve seen other people do it, or how things have been done for generations. Don’t be afraid to get creative and try things differently. Create a wedding that’s beautiful to you, as its yours to experience and remember.

Do you only cater to certain budgets only?
We try our best to work with all budgets, but find that most of our brides are generally looking for exclusive, luxurious invitations that no one else has seen or done before. From silk folios to engraved coins – our creative brides always find unique ways to make their invitations stand out!

Describe a particularly memorable wedding you’ve worked on.
The invitation suite captured in the attached image (captured by Regetis Photography) is for a South Asian destination wedding in Puerto Rico in early 2010. It has been so much fun working with the extremely creative couple and their wedding planner. They have great style and will be reflecting this design theme throughout their wedding day materials. We’re excited to see how the events come together!

What’s your number one wedding tip?
Enjoy every minute of it. Wedding planning can get stressful – but don’t let little setbacks bring you down. Remember that at the end of the day, the purpose of the day is to be united with the one you love! Best wishes with your wedding planning!

Gaye holud written in Bangla

Gaye holud or haldi also known as a  turmeric ceremony, is a traditional preparatory celebration, which takes place before the wedding. It is the tradition of applying holud or haldi (turmeric paste) on the bride and groom’s skin in order to beautify them for their wedding. Holud is an antiseptic which not only kills germs and bacteria, but also has a yellow hue which gives skin a unique color and glow.

A pre-wedding ritual involving the application of turmeric to the bride and groom is a wide-spread tradition throughout South Asia and in West Indian culture,  it is a very important custom particular to Bengali weddings and sparks a huge celebration by Bengali Muslims, Hindus and Christians. This is also known as the henna/mehndi night in Northern parts of India and in Pakistan. To West Indians, it is known as dig dutty, matti khor, or simply dye rubbing. However, henna/mehndi night itself is also a preparatory celebration in South Asian weddings, where henna/mehndi is used to decorate the bride’s hands and feet as well as the rest of the female guests. This usually occurs only for the bride and usually attended, only by women. However, some do choose to combine the gaye holud and mehndi night together into one ceremony. Read more

Courtesy of Chocal8kiss

Who are you?

Chocal8kiss

Pastry Chef/Owner: Sonam Sondhi

1-888-YUM-CAKE

www.Chocal8kiss.com

Facebook Group- Chocal8kiss

What do you do?

Specialize in custom created wedding and specialty cakes, desserts, and hand made chocolates. Read more