Top 5 Indian destinations to plan a memorable wedding

Gone are the days when weddings meant tiresome months of tedious planning. India now celebrates a new crop of youngsters who live it up on their big day and make sure their family and friends, too, join in the celebrations.

Indeed, wedding planners have a huge contributory role to play in the destination wedding trend that's set in. And thanks to them, a traditional Indian shaadi now spells extravagance with much glamour and style.

f you are planning a wedding in a picturesque destination then give yourself ample buffer time to zero down on a good location with standard capacity to seat and host guests and then check for its availability during the scheduled time of the wedding. In India, religious beliefs define the ceremonies but destinations are often free to choose for the bride and groom.

When in doubt over a 'perfect' venue, then go right ahead and indulge in the concept of 'wedding tours' that the wedding planner can take you on. Many NRIs opt for such tours as having a wedding in their motherland not only connects them to their roots, the budgets also tend to ensure a beautiful and exotic wedding.

Destination weddings always double up into a fun holiday. Hop on the bandwagon!

TOP 5 DESTINATION CHOICES

1.      UDAIPUR: PALACE & FORT WEDDINGS

2.      JODHPUR: PALACE WEDDINGS

3.      GOA: CHURCH & BEACH WEDDINGS

4.      KERALA: RESORT WEDDINGS

5.      BANARAS & TIRUPATI: TEMPLE AND HOLY SANCTUM WEDDINGS 
 

FACT FILE

 Make a check-list of what you want at the wedding. Choose a wedding planner and share your vision to the hilt. Keep checking on the arrangements at intervals. Put aside a realistic budget for the entire wedding rentals, including a slot for photographer, florist and deejay at the reception time.

Decide on the cuisine, colour scheme, lighting and also music with the planner. If the wedding is outdoors, choose a time that is not too warm and is pleasant even in a suit or sherwani. Keep standby names and numbers of people who can help in case a need arises at the last minute.

UDAIPUR

 WHY: The Princely state of Udaipur in Rajasthan is known for its Rajput-era palaces.

The Lake Palace, for instance, covers an entire island in the Pichola Lake.

Many of the palaces here have been converted into luxury hotels, which host destination weddings with great aplomb.

NOTE: Wedding ceremonies should be chosen at a time when the weather is not too warm for the guests.

Evenings can be a pleasant option.

JODHPUR

WHY: Jodhpur is a popular tourist destination, featuring many palaces, forts and temples, set in the stark landscape of the Thar desert. Thronged by many international celebrities, the 'Sun City' enjoys bright, sunny weather all year round.

It's also titled the 'Blue City' due to the blue-painted houses around the Mehrangarh Fort. Jodhpur lies near the geographic centre of Rajasthan state, which makes it a convenient base for travel by tourists.

NOTE: This destination is so popular that booking a palace or fort for a wedding should be planned a year or more in advance.

KERALA

 WHY: Kerala has a beautiful coastline to boast of. Most resorts here enjoy outstanding scenery and also come with a good capacity to host guests. It's a good idea to avoid monsoon weddings in this destination as the weather can get extremely humid.

While selecting the facilities for the guests who are staying at the resorts during the wedding, it can be a thoughtful gesture to include authentic Ayurvedic massages on the indulgence list. Local musicians (even pachyderms) and priests can be booked beforehand for specific ceremonies.

GOA

 WHY: Church and Beach weddings are considered the most gorgeous themes by most urban couples and what better location than Goa for that big day. The beautiful beaches in Goa, including Chapora, Anjuna, Baga, Calangute, Candolim, Sinquerim, Dona Paula, Bambolim, Morjim, Mobor, Majorda and Siridao serve as excellent wedding locations. Apart from the beaches, the beautiful churches and lush tropical gardens that Goa has on offer are ideal for formal weddings.

Gardens, which are maintained and managed by star hotels are a good investment if the number of guests are fairly high. There are numerous wedding planners who can shortlist a preferred theme in the location you would eventually choose. Thematically decorating the church, beach or garden venue for the wedding ceremonies can truly add to the flavour of the ceremonies.

NOTE: One must take care to get necessary permission from the local authorities, which is needed to conduct a wedding on any of the beaches in Goa. You would need to adhere to strict timings as per the local laws and conclude your wedding ceremony by then. If your friends prefer to party late into the night then choosing an indoor location for your post wedding party is certainly preferable.

TIRUPATI & BANARAS

 WHY: Temples are one of the most preferred locations for Hindus for holding wedding ceremonies. Many South-Indian families opt for kalyan mandapams in Tirupati and Annavaram in Andhra Pradesh and other temples toward Tamil Nadu. In Benaras, temples dotting the ghats of the river Ganges or in the climes of Uttaranchal are a favourite choice by most North-Indians.

NOTE: Stay facilities at the kalyan mandapams and temples are basic. Enquiry and bookings can 
be made through the trust that run these temples. The trust also offers priest service, prasadam or satvik food and floral decorations.

Happy Wedding!

Shubh Vivah- The wedding Planner

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Monsoon Wedding!!

Wedding ceremony is an important event of everyone’s life. So, everybody wants to make his or her wedding ceremony special. They want to celebrate the function in such a manner that it will be remembered for long time. A “Theme Wedding” is the most recent trend that is in fashion and makes a wedding ceremony special.

Monsoon is considered as one of the most beautiful seasons because everyone gets relief from scorching heat. It is also referred as the season of love blossom and creativity. The season of monsoon is always linked with love and romance. It can be very stimulating to arrange the marriage at a time that blends lovely weather, fresh air and blossoming flowers.

The festive wedding tent that are loaded with flowers, rich red and gold colors everywhere, sitar music, smells of incense memorizes us Indian wedding - a monsoon wedding.  A monsoon wedding theme is truly unique which can make an important incident of your life most memorable. Monsoon wedding most probably takes place in India.

Wedding stationery can be designed keeping in mind the weather. This is also the best way to inform your guests to dress casually and come prepared to enjoy the rains.

In case of traditional cakes, you can go for cakes with a crystal or pearl finish with a beautiful themed topper. You can add umbrellas, boots, raindrops, clouds and any other rain elements to make this more interesting.

Umbrellas and rain boots are images you easily call to mind when you think about the rains. Using these things in your décor will not only be unique and refreshing but will also bring in splashes of color and the element of fun to your décor.

Brightly colored umbrellas can also be used to line walkways leading to your main venue or hung randomly inside your venue.

Similar to white paper lanterns, white umbrellas with lights strung across the venue also looks very dramatic and pretty. You can also use umbrellas in pretty prints or solid bold colors for an equally stunning effect. This will look best in an outdoor venue or indoor areas with high ceilings.

Happy Monsoon! Happy Wedding!!

Shubh Vivah- The Wedding Planner

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Wedding theme: themes are the in thing today

A wedding theme is like an extension of your personality. Little wonder then that couples are no longer content with just the choice of flowers and backdrops giving those gathered an insight into their tastes. What were once indoor themes have now spilled out into the open. 

However, couples should pick themes that reflect their tastes.

TOP FIVE INDOOR Wedding Themes of 2012

Retro: Bollywood in its '60s and Elvis Presley for the Hollywood of yore. Retro themes never really fade out and can light up weddings instantly. 








Movie mania: Twilight Saga, Mamma Mia, Alice in Wonderland, Matrix Reloaded... pick your favourite movie and start replicating. 








Restaurants: Buddha Bars across the world or Chez Georges in Paris — if you can't go to the bar, recreate it where you are! 

Circus: Aerialists flying around, the bride and groom in horse carriages — it's one of the novel themes! 

Colour specific: Pick your favourite shade and go all out. Pink, blue, red, black or white, the choice is yours. Thematic decor looks beautiful. 


Happy Wedding!

Shubh Vivah- The Wedding Planner


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Lisa Ray to have traditional Indian wedding in California

Actress Lisa Ray, who is all excited about tying the knot with her American fiance Jason Dehni in California, says she is planning her wedding in typical Indian style.
    
The 40-year-old "Water" star will marry the management executive on October 20 at Napa Valley and will have the reception in India.

    
"I have never been so happy before in my life. I am nervous and at the same time excited as the wedding is approaching. I am shopping a lot in India. It will be a typical Indian style wedding," Lisa said.
    
"My fiance and I have planned my reception in India for my friends here though we haven't decided the venue yet," she added.  Her wedding gown is being designed by Wendell Rodricks with loads of Indian embellishments in it.

"I was in Goa few days ago for my fitting session with Wendell. He is a dear friend of mine. He told me that he will use some Indian embellishments in it. In my sangeet and mehendi, I will be wearing Indian dresses," said Lisa, who was in the Capital last night to launch Swiss watch brand Rado's avant-garde collection.

Happy Wedding!!

Shubh Vivah- The Wedding Planner

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Singer Mohit Chauhan ties knot with journalist Prarthna

Singer Mohit Chauhan tied the knot with Delhi-based journalist Prarthna Gehlot in a hush-hush, low key affair in Solan, Himachal Pradesh (HP) on the same day. Chauhan, 48, a native of Nahan in HP, had a simple wedding ceremony at a hotel of the state tourism department at Barog, a district in Solan.

The ceremony was kept completely secret and the media was not allowed to enter the venue. Chauhan arrived at the wedding venue dressed in a golden sherwani, along with some selected guests from his elder brother’s house in Solan.

No one from the film industry was  spotted at the venue.

 Mohit's wife works with an English magazine and 

hails from Dehradun in Uttarakhand.

Born in 1964 in Nahan in Sirmaur district in 

Himachal Pradesh, Mohit did his postgraduate

degree in geology from Dharamsala. 

He started his music career as the lead singer

 for the Dharamsala-based band - The 

Hijackers. But Among his many 

performances, Chauhan is known best for his 

playback singing in Rockstar.

Happy Wedding!!

Shubh Vivah- The Wedding Planner

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Esha Deol, Bharat Takhtani set to tie the knot...

Esha Deol's wedding to businessman Bharat Takhtani on June 29, at a suburban five-star hotel, promises to be a grand affair. The bride and groom are personally involved in planning the four-day extravaganza, with their families helping out. While Esha's mother Hema Malini has been busy shopping for the perfect Kanjeevaram sari for her daughter in Chennai, younger sister Ahana is busy organising the sangeet and a surprise party for the happy couple. And last but not least, father Dharmendra with his sons Sunny and Bobby, and their families, will be attending all the festivities, starting June 25. 

Bride's parents' guestlist
The film families of B-Town will be in attendance. The Bachchans, the Kapoors, the Khans and the Chopras, Dilip Kumar and Saira Banu, Shatrughan Sinha and his family, Anil Kapoor and his family, Mahesh Bhupathi and Lara Dutta, Rekha, Dimple Kapadia, Bipasha Basu, Celina Jaitly, Fardeen and Zayed Khan and their families, Shilpa and Shamita Shetty, Vashu Bhagnani and family, Harman Baweja, John Abraham, Dino Morea and  Nandita Mahtani, Raveena Tandon, Vidya Balan, Riteish Deshmukh and family.

The wedding invitation

The invitation comes in a golden box with the initials 'E' and 'B' intertwined on the cover. There are separate invitations — all in gold — for the sangeet, mehendi, wedding and reception. The box also contains motichoor laddoos made of pure ghee and dry fruits, especially selected by Bharat. The box also contains a Radha-Krishna painting (both Esha and Bharat are Krishna bhakts) that the couple sourced from an American painter.

Sangeet (June 25) Venue: A suburban five-star hotel.
Guestlist: Select friends from B-Town, family and close friends. In total, there will be about 200 people, including Ajay Devgn, Arjun Rampal and Hrithik Roshan.
Decor: Red-and-black colour scheme with a retro touch, flashing disco balls et al! Dress:Esha will wear a traditional ghagra-choli in orange, red and indigo with gold zari work, designed by Rocky S, while Bharat will wear a blue velvet sherwani with gold zari work designed by his close friend Simone Khambatta. 

A special dance act has been put together by Esha, Ahana and Karan (Mani Ratnam's assistant), where both families will dance. While Hema will dance to her famous Dream Girl song, Esha will perform on tracks like Tauba Tauba and Dhoom Macha De, and Dharamendra's Yamla Pagla Deewana will also be played.

Mehendi (June 28)
Venue: Hema Malini's bungalow in Juhu.
Guestlist: About 150 women, including Esha, Ahana and Hema's friends from B-Town.
Decor: Traditional South Indian, with lots of flowers, incense and diyas.

Dress: Esha will wear a mango-coloured lehenga-choli designed by Neeta Lulla, while Bharat will wear a yellow and brown sherwani with a waistcoat. Mehendi artist Veena and her team will design Esha and Bharat's mehendi, after which Bharat will give Esha gold bangles specially selected by his family. In the evening, there will be a mehendi party at a suburban club with a DJ and Punjabi nagadas.

Wedding (June 29)

Venue: A temple in Juhu at 7.30 am.
Guestlist: Only family.
Decor: Deep gold-and-red colour scheme with marigolds, roses, and jasmine adorning the canopy. The pillars will be wrapped with floral garlands and silk drapes in coordinating colours. Plantain trees will be put at the doors of the hall and mango leaves will line the doorways, along with decorative clay pots known as pallikais.
Dress: Esha will wear a traditional silk Kanjeevaram sari in red and gold with heavy traditional South Indian jewellery. 

Hema had specially flown to Chennai to pick the wedding sari. Neeta Lulla, who designed Esha's wedding outfit for her character in Na Tum Jaano Na Hum, has reworked the sari and blouse for the occasion. While South Indian weddings usually have the groom going bare-chested wearing only a lungi, Bharat will wear a white sherwaniwith zari work and a turban designed by Neeta. The ceremony will take place at 7.30 am in traditional South Indian style, as it's been Esha's dream to be married in a temple.

Reception (June 30)
Venue: A suburban five-star hotel.
Guestlist: The reception will be attended by nearly 1,000 people, including Hema and Dharamendra's political, social and spiritual contacts, apart from their B-Town friends. Hema is leaving no stone unturned to ensure it is one of the grandest weddings of the year.

Decor: European style with a white colour scheme — including white flowers, drapes and candles. The food has been specially selected by Esha and her close friend and chef Shilarna Vaze, and will have all kinds of cuisines, including Indian, Thai, Chinese and Continental.
Dress: Esha will wear a rose pink corset blouse with a mermaid-cut ghagra richly embellished with Swarovski crystals, designed by Rocky S, while Bharat will wear a grey tuxedo with a white shirt designed by Simone. A week after the wedding, the couple will take off for their honeymoon to an undisclosed destination for a month.

They make such a beautiful couple. We wish them best of luck!

Happy Wedding!!

 Shubh Vivah- The Wedding Planner

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Tonight is the Begining of Big Fat Indian Wedding of the year

India is all geared up for

                        Big Fat Indian wedding of this year. 

Indian media are having a field day over the Mega Wedding of Chiranjeevi’s son. Ram Charan Teja, the famous south Indian actor is tying the knot with his girlfriend Upasana Kamineni.

Hyderabad is all set for the biggest wedding of the year. Actor Ram Charan and Apollo heiress Upasna Kamineni will kickstart their wedding celebrations with a grand sangeet to be held Today.




According to a source close to both the families, the grand affair will be hosted at Annapoorna Studios and the entire Tollywood fraternity will be in attendance.





Grand preparations for the lavish wedding of Ram Charan Teja and Upasana Kamineni is on full swing and both the families aren’t leaving any stone unturned to make the wedding an affair to remember. Imported chandeliers, crystal ware from London, a food court with Balinese-themed decor, a celeb-studded guest list, foolproof swipe card invitations -- all this and a lot more could be expected at the wedding of Ram Charan.

What’s more. We can expect some filmi-style celebrations at the event. ” Allu Arjun, Shriya Saran and Tamannaah are some of the names who are said to be performing at Charan and Upasna’s sangeet.“
We also hear that comedian Ali may dance to the popular “Kajra Re” song at the sangeet.


“Ali performed to the song at the wedding of Chiranjeevi’s older daughter a few years ago and it was the talk of the town then. Chiranjeevi now wants him to do an encore at his son’s sangeet too,” adds the source.


Upasana’s outfit for the sangeet night is reportedly designed by the ace couturier Manish Malhotra, while Ram Charana Teja will don an outfit by Rajesh Pratap Singh.

According to sources, ace designer Manish Malhotra has been roped in to design the trousseau for Upasna and Charan. The bride-to-be has been paying minute attention to every outfit she'll don — right from the various functions to the nuptials. Yes, every piece is couture.

The wedding invites, each costing 1,200 INR have been designed by Upasana’s aunt and include a personalized message from the bride. The wedding will take place on June 14 at Domakonda Temple, followed by a Grand Reception. Upasana’s outfit for the wedding will be designed by none other than Tarun Tahiliani who’s planned a beautiful Kanjeevaram saree for the bride, with tints of gold.


This 'mega' wedding is planned as a private affair and a grand reception is likely to be hosted in Tirupati the next day for 'mega' fans.

Reportedly, Congress supremo Sonia Gandhi and her son Rahul will attend the mega wedding function along with many film stars, political bigwigs and business tycoons. The Bachchans are also likely to grace the event.

Wedding venue is likely to have a decor like British Royal Wedding.“The centrally air-conditioned venue will be done up mostly in white, adorned with crystal decor imported from UK and chandeliers from China”.

The run-up-to-the-wedding reports are published not only in the papers down south but also in Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata editions of popular newspapers. Who would have predicted Tollywood weddings making it to the front section of popular






Page 3 tabloids? Well, this amount of coverage is expected when the wedding budget is touted to run in crores and half of the Bollywood being in attendance.




Shubh Vivah will keep eye on every moment of this Mega Wedding and will update daily....stay tuned for Mega Wedding 2012.....It's just the beginning...!!

We wish Happy Sangeet to Ram & Upasana....may they have blast tonight...!

Happy Wedding!!
 Shubh Vivah The Wedding Planner

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