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

Priya & James from FilmJones on Vimeo.

Who are you?

Wes Jones

www.filmjones.com

Wes@filmjones.com

917-568-3718

What do you do?

I mix vintage super-8mm home movie film with high-end HD video to create an artistic portrait of the wedding day, a unique and exceptional alternative to traditional videography.

Where are you based?

I work in the New York metro area, but I’ve travelled all over for weddings– from California to Jamaica.

When and How did you get started in the South Asian wedding industry?

My unique style appeals to certain South Asian brides and they have sought me out. I did my first South Asian weddings in 2008. Read more

Diya Lounge

Who are you?

Diya Fusion Indian Cuisine

Diya lounge

43 Rockaway Avenue

Valley Stream, NY 11580

(516) 872-2223

www.diyalounge.com

What do you do?

We operate a restaurant, bar and banquet hall. We provide off-premises catering from a small affair in your backyard to a formal affair in a banquet hall or hotel.

Diya Lounge

Read more

Jan and Mike of Party Booths! at Dulhan Expo (Oct'09)

Who are you?

Party Booths! (Digital Photo Booth Rentals)

www.partybooths.com

1-866-437-0297

Where are you based?

Party Booths is a Nation Wide photo booth company, servicing the lower 48 states and parts of southern Canada. We also have one international location in Israel. Because we are national, and have locations in every state, we do not charge ANY travel fees, set-up fees, or delivery charges. Read more