A look at Interesting rituals of a Parsi Wedding

Parsi’s are a small community residing in India, which are members of one of the two Zoroastrian communities found throughout South Asia. Known for their fun-loving nature, Parsi weddings are traditional and full of excitement. Simplicity marks the Parsi wedding ritual, which can be seen on their marriage invitation card too. Their wedding ceremony begins a week earlier to the marriage day and comprises of some unique and interesting rituals. 

Read below to know more -
 

Pre Wedding Rituals:
 

The first stage of the pre-wedding ritual of a Parsi wedding is the Rupia Peravanu ceremony. This ceremony marks the informal commitment between both the families. The bride is gifted by the groom’s family with silver coins and items that are considered as Shagun. Later in the day, the bride’s family visits the groom’s house and gifts him the same.
 

After this, the Madhavsaro is observed. In this ceremony, the both the families plant a tree, which is kept at the door of the house. This tree is watered every day till the eighth day after the marriage and then is planted somewhere near the house.
 

Later, the boy’s family visits the girl’s house and showers her with gifts and jewelry. This ceremony is called Adarni. The guests are welcomed with delicious Sev and Dahi, along with boiled eggs and bananas.
 

On the next day, i.e., a day before the wedding the Supra nu Murat ritual – the Haldi ceremony is conducted. In this, Haldi is applied on the girl and boy by five married women of the family. This Haldi ceremony is then followed by Nahan, during which both the bride and groom take bath and get ready for the wedding. 

Wedding Rituals:
 

The rituals of a Parsi wedding are conducted at the Fire Temple, which is called as Agiary. The groom is welcomed in the temple by the bride’s mother whole performs the Achumichu ritual. As per the ritual, the mother holds a tray that contains raw egg, coconut, dates, rice, and supra and performs an act similar to Aarti. She then circles water seven times around the groom’s head and throws it on both the sides of the groom. The groom’s mother repeats the same ritual with the bride. The girl and boy then sit opposite to each other and are separated using a cloth. This ceremony is called as Ara Antar.
 

The couple is then circled seven times by the priest using a string. After the string is looped for the seventh time, the couple throws rice grains on each other. After this, they sit next to each other and hold the seven strings that circle them. This is followed by lighting lamps and announcement of beginning of the ceremony. Rice and flower petals are showered on the couple while they exchange the wedding rings, also called as the Chero Bandhvanu. After this ceremony, the Haath Borvanu ritual is conducted. This routine sees the bride's sister inserting the groom’s hand in a glass of water and throws milk on his shoes and removes the strings in exchange for cash or gift. This is the closing stage of the wedding.

A look at Top 5 Essential Check Point in a Wedding Planning

Wedding planning has emerged as the key to pull of memorable wedding. The planning process starts as soon as the wedding date is fixed. Here, we are going to reveal the most important planning check list to ease out the wedding planning process.

1.  Budget:

Budget is the key to every planning. Decide how much you are planning to spend on wedding. Once you have decided the budget then it is time to allocate it under different heads like venue, caterer, decoration, invitation cards, wedding videographer and photographer etcetera. It would be better if you clearly allocate budget under each head. It will ensure that you don’t go overboard with the finances.

2.  Decide Kind of Wedding:

Wedding is about Bride & Groom, they have the right to decide the way they want to get into wedlock. It is an opportunity of life time, so don’t comprise. Talk to each other and decide how you want to celebrate the union of Love & Togetherness. Whether you would like it to be a splendid exotic destination wedding or want to it be a big fat wedding that becomes a talk of the town. Whether want to have a get into nuptial in a golden beach or want to it to tranquil temple nuptial. 

 

3.  Guest List:

Prepare the guest list. Organize the list into different categories like Neighbors, Friends, Colleagues and Relatives. Check your phone book and Facebook to ensure that you have not missed out anyone important.  Do ask your immediate family members if they want to invite someone on their behalf.

4.  Wedding Venue:

The venue should be large enough to accommodate all the guests. Location is another factor that you should take into consideration. Select a venue that is centrally located, it will make traveling easy for everyone. A far away venue may cost you less but it will increase the transportation cost. Also, your guests will find it easy to reach.

5.  Wedding Invitation Card:

Remember to select a stunning wedding cards invitations. If you are tight on budget then go for budget invitation card. It is easy on pocket but looks great. Strictly, say no to e-invite. It seems more like a mere formality. It doesn’t have that authentic touch that paper invitation cards have. Get the card hand delivered with pack of sweets. For distant friends and relatives courier the card and then follow up with a phone call to grace the occasion. 

6.  Menu for Food:

Food is one of the major attractions in a wedding. If the food served is not delicious then guests will not enjoy the evening, no matter how good the décor and music was. Selection of the right menu is bit tricky, if you want to play safe then go for traditional food. It is evergreen option. If you want to spice up the menu then make it a blend of different famous delicacies from different part of India and the world. Don’t keep more than 8 to 12 delicacies otherwise it will just lead to waste of food.

5 reason Customized Wedding Invitation are Popular

Customized weddings that suit the couple and their personality are gaining popularity these days. Preparations for such customized weddings begin with designing an invitation card that perfectly depicts the theme of the wedding. Personalize the card and let the world know about your marriage in the most creative way possible! 

1.  A design to suit your personality:

A customized wedding card is a perfect medium that portrays your personality and the wedding. Hire an invitation designer that will create a design that is one-of-its-kinds. For instance, with photos of you and your spouse as the background, such a Online wedding card will introduce your soul mate to friends and family. Similar concepts can be thought, to bring out the best of your invitation card. 

2.  Uniquely-shaped invitation card:

Bored of the usual and commonly found round or square shaped wedding invitation card? Then, you can consider a unique shape and design for your wedding. Designing such an invitation card might be a bit expensive, since the designer has to make a new template, however, it is certainly a concept you can try your hands on. A uniquely designed invitation card will attract your guests. 

3.  Eco-friendly design:

If you care about Mother Nature, and want to organize a wedding that is eco-friendly, then a ‘Green’ design for your card is a perfect choice. Green invitation cards are made using environmentally friendly raw materials, such as soy-based inks, recycled paper etc. Such materials are easily available in the market; however, you will have to do some research to find a printer who prints such cards. It is suggested to ask your designer to get the card customized for you. Distributing such wedding cards among friends and family will pass on a healthy and social message. 

4.  Do-it-yourself card:

If the number of invitees for your wedding is less in number, then you can consider designing a ‘do-it-yourself’ invitation card. It might get tedious, but you can always request your friends or family to give you a helping hand. This option of an invitation card is perfect, since you do not have to depend on a designer and his whims and fancies. Moreover, you also have a choice to customize or make changes in the card, anytime an innovative idea strikes your creative mind. It is not essential for all the cards to be identical. What matters the most is that the content in it should be the same. In addition, it is cheap and budget-friendly. 

5.  Create a exceptional impression:

Customized wedding cards invitations are an innovative concept and generally every card has one-of-its-kind design. Personalized keeping in mind the personality and the theme of the wedding, a customized card is made giving utmost personal attention and care. Every element of it, the color, the shape, design and the content is unique and personalized. These cards certainly will create a long lasting impression on your friends and family. Moreover, it can also hold a special part on the wall or showcase of your bedroom.

Top 5 questions to ask a Wedding photographer

Interviewing the potential photographing vendors for your wedding could really be a tough job until you know these questions to ask him. Photographs will store the visual content of the whole wedding and only an efficient wedding photographer can portray a wedding journey through his lenses. 

The top ten questions to be asked him before hiring are:
 

1.  Whether he is a professional wedding photographer?
 

Many freelancer photographers also offer to click for the weddings. But it is always wise to hire a professional one. If the photographer is found to be a professional one then he should be questioned about his wedding photography exposure. An experienced professional photographer is always reliable.
 

2.  Since how long he/she is been in to wedding photography?
 

The tenure of his career is too asked next. Experience counts in these cases. Photographers covering wedding events for a long time are aware of the minor technicalities, which could be missing in the new ones. Wedding photography involves a lot more to know than others. The first dance, the cake toss, the ring exchange, the daddy and daughter dance, the vows everything has to be captured perfectly to save in the memory forever.
 

3.  Whether he/she has ever worked at your wedding venue before?
 

Photographers who have worked in the same location before will be more comfortable with the camera exposure and angels. His idea of taking pictures in the floor will be more accurate. He will more aware of the dance floor, the seating arrangements, wedding place, light reflection etc. These experiences have a big impact on the overall product. The capture of the moments in the pictures is much more superlative when clicked by such a photographer who has worked in the same venue before.

4.  If he/she is available on the wedding day and his charges?
 

Dates have to be finalized with the photographer before hiring him. Whether he will be able to deliver still pictures and the video has to be ascertained. The printing paper quality and the design of the wedding album have to be chosen from his early works. If he is available then the next big question is how much he charges and what he has to offer. Photographers offer discount if they are hired for the engagement too. The final package has to be negotiated sitting in talks with him.

5.  The big question - when to expect the delivery of the photos?
 

Most of the couples have immediate honeymoon plans after the wedding. So it’s important to know the date of delivery of the wedding photographs. These things have to be ascertained from the photographer before hiring him. What most of the photographers do is to give the soft copies of the photographs, which have been clicked to the couple to choose their desired ones. The wedding slideshow, the Face book teasers and the online proofs are all selected by the couples from the bunch of clicked photographs.
 

If you are going for a customized wedding cards invitations then also make it a point to check the photographer’s previous work.

Top 9 Tips to Cut Down Expenses on Wedding

While you still continue to select a wedding venue spread across the bustling city, it is always an instinct of many families to conduct the wedding ceremony at a lower budget. The money saved is very useful when starting the new life. 

Here are top 9 tips that can help you to save on your wedding budget. 

1. Organize the nuptial on a weekday or any other day on which most of your mates have a holiday. Remember the holiday could be a day which is celebrated rarely. If you choose a Saturday then, one might have to sign a high quote. Exclusive rents of the venue are available on either Sunday, Friday or any other day. 

2. When it comes to the venue, keep the venue for wedding and reception at the sample place. It will not only help you save considerable amount of money and time. 

3. Keep your guests list short. Invite people who are close. When it comes to friends you can give a skip to people whom you have not met for years. Believe us, they will never complain. If not being in touch has not been a problem for so long then it will not be a problem in the future. 

 4. Remember to select the venue according to the number of guests. If your guests list is short then go for a small venue, it will cost you less. 

5. Design your own wedding invitation cards. Instead of communicating your creative ideas and getting them painted by a design firm, alternatively, to cut down the expenses you can customize the cards by downloading the pre-designed templates available on many portals. Once done, you can get them printed with the help of a supreme quality printer on a slightly thick glossy card paper. 

The wonderful option is to go for Budget Wedding Invitation Cards. You will come across heartwarming varieties of them in online wedding invitation stores. 

6. Music makes the event complete. Rather than hiring a DJ you could be set up a HiFi music system that supports enhanced audio effects. The nuptial is truly personalized then as you pepper it with those sweet tunes. These tunes can be downloaded at no extra cost from safe websites. Finally, you can be joyous and happy with the best choice of ear-pleasing compositions. 

7. Food is integral part of wedding celebration. Don’t keep more than 7 to 12 dishes in your wedding. Avoid introducing new dishes, because not everyone loves experimenting with the food. In case, they try and don’t like it then it will surely go to the bin. 

8. When it comes to jewelry rather going for new ones, go for your heritage jewelry. You can get them modified or polished to shine like new on the big day 

 9. Finally, you can save a significant amount on gifts and apparels needed for different functions in bulk from one store. Don’t forget to visit online stores, most of the stores gives discount round the year.

5 Smart Wedding Planning tips for Modern Bride

Organizing a wedding is a tough task. It takes perfect planning and execution. What makes it tough is the fact there are different sets of people working on different aspects like florist, caterer, and photographer, etc, you need perfect coordination between them to pull off a remarkable event. In spite of all planning some issues arise at the last moment, which creates tense moment for the bride. 

 

Here, we are going to reveal 5 Smart Wedding Planning Tips for Modern Bride. These tips will help the bride for handling issues arising at the last moment. Knowing them will help her to have a stress-free wedding

1 Chart out a time table:

It is  important to be ready at the right time for various functions whether it is Mehendi, Sangeet or any other wedding related ceremony. The guests will arrival at the venue according to the time given in Wedding Invitation Card. Hence, keeping guests waiting is not the right thing. The right move here would be to chart out a timetable that contains all your appointments. It will ensure that you don't miss out anything and will be ready on time for festivities.

2. Designate someone to collect gifts:

Well, some of you would be thinking – do I need to designate such a small responsibility to someone? No doubt, it seems a trivial task but can make things very difficult on your wedding day when you would be flooded with gifts.  You would be busy with meeting the guests, posing for the camera and exchanging pleasantries. Taking care of gifts in between all these thing is a pretty tough job. The right thing here would be to assign the responsibility to a young cousin or a friend. Don’t forget to inform them well in advance so they can be prepared and make necessary arrangement. 

3. Talk to vendors:

As the wedding day approaches, you would be surely worried about the wedding preparation. Did the florist get my favorite flower?  How is the décor going on? Numerous questions like this is going to pop your mind. The right thing here would be to keep in constant touch with your wedding vendors. It is not important to meet them personally as you can stay connected via smartphone. The other option is to designate responsibility to one of your cousins to go and see the progress. 

4. Rehearse beforehand:

If you are planning for a special entry, then make sure that you are well practicing your moves. Practice with light effects, music, and a similar outfit, it will help you get the act right. Similarly, train hard for your dance performance in Sangeet Ceremony, remember a bride’s performance is always the center of attraction.   

5. Be cash-rich:

Although today is the age of credit cards and debits cards, but it is still good to keep cash in hand. You are not going to get credit cards swap machine everywhere, so here cash in hand would come as handy. You can hand over the extra cash to one of your trusted aides. It will keep you at bay from last minutes hassles.

4 Popular lettering styles used in Indian wedding cards

Indian wedding cards have a reputation of being one of the most fascinating invitations meant for all communities. The designers ensure that the customers can bring in their own ideas and creativity. A play of mix and match of ideas definitely make the Indian Wedding cards the perfect item to make an entry into the hearts of your friends, colleagues and the nosy relatives. While most Indian wedding cards boast of myriad designs and patterns, one thing that carries the signature of a wedding theme is the ‘Lettering style’.

Check out the 4 ardently popular lettering styles used in Indian wedding cards. They continue to rule roost in the segment of Indian wedding cards even years after they were digitally mastered into physical blocks and dyes.  

1.    Bella Donna

Undoubtedly, the most extravagant of lettering styles, Bella Donna is used widely in reflecting the status ofIndian wedding cards confined to the business groups, politicians and celebrities. This style of lettering offers minimum dots per inch (dpi) when the wedding invitation cards go under the printing process. While it is usually scripted in Bold, Bella Donna is an attractive curling style that ranks among the top metropolitan etching of characters.

   

2.   CASTELLAR

When you have an event as grand as Indian wedding, the announcements and Itinerary have to be at par with the preparation as well. The class of Indian wedding cards have that have embossed character styling use Castellar as lettering over the pages. It is type set to Bold and Capitals. It looks enthralling over the Indian Wedding cards owing to the double strokes following the central line of alignment. It is a symbol of flattery. Despite its orthodox appearance, Castellar continues to remind about the medieval culture. It is a strong reminder of the nobility of Indian landlords who splurged on their wedding events.

 

    3.   Calligraphy of Lucida

It is easily the most charismatic lettering style that projects the grandeur of an auspicious occasion as big as an Indian wedding. It is available in numerous variations. The Indian wedding cards would not have made a big impact on the International stage, if it was not for the classic calligraphy of Lucida.

Many digital graphic designers offer a variety of styles ranging from the carvings inspired from Gothic prints to the curls from Arabic. It is impressive in its own segment of Indian wedding cards when matched with golden threads and silver borders. In short, lettering style dominates the theme of the Indian wedding cards like nothing else.

4       Devnagari

When you have made up mind to inject the wedding venue with an Indianized theme, consider an option that belongs to the land itself. Devnagari is the script derived from Sanskrit and is the basis of Hindi language. Choosing Devnagari as the lettering style is a far-reaching option owing to the kind of impact it makes in the guests, especially those who know Devnagari. Dazzle with the horizontal strokes, the vertical strokes and the humble curls and rounds to set loose your creativity on the docket of Indian wedding cards.