5 Ways to Make Out-of-Town Wedding Guests Feel at Home

For significant number of friends and family, arriving at your wedding means booking flights and crossing state lines. Those friends and family had to go through a lot of effort and expense to share your great occasion, so it’s your job to welcome them and keep them entertained.

1. Welcome Gift Bags

It is essential to create a welcome bag for out-of-town guests. It will be a small trinket that shows appreciation for traveling in for the wedding. It is a smart idea to include maps of the area, a list of local attractions, menus from recommended restaurants and driving instructions to the wedding location. It’s easy to gather this information and present it when guests arrive, and it will be a pleasant surprise that will alleviate stress from people who may be tired and hungry.

2. Lodging

Bride and groom are responsible for arranging lodging accommodations for their respective out-of-town guests. When suggesting hotels, it is important to consider that the venue is no farther than 30 minutes from the wedding and reception location. Decide for hotels near the airport, in a downtown location and a more scheduled area.The list should also include the approximate prices as well.

3. Do your best to keep them entertained

It is essential to keep your guests entertained. Don't leave them in the stagger with nothing to do. Arrange a welcome party and make sure there isn't too much time between your ceremony and cocktail hour or reception.

4. Make sure they know how much you appreciate them

Once you have invited your guests, do not forget to make them feel how much they mean to you. Attend each guests personally and ask them about their well-being and their journey. Raise your glass during toasting time to acknowledge those who have come from afar, and consider setting up something special for journeyers.

5. Emergency Contact Information

Assign a point person for out-of-towners to contact in case of travel delays, getting lost, accommodations issues, or any other issues. Ask a coordinator, bridal or groom party member, family member, or friend to stand by in case of any issues.

6. Post-Wedding Brunch

Its a nice touch to end the wedding festivities with a post wedding brunch. Its a great opportunity to welcome guests for travelling and plan a proper farewell. If the couple has already left for the honeymoon, the parents should oversee the event.

A wedding can be a very stressful time. However, it is essential to consider the guests and ways to make them as comfortable as possible. Accommodating out-of-town guests does not need to be difficult. The above tips should help ease the burden and make the event as enjoyable as possible.

Roles and Responsibilities of a Wedding Planner

An Indian wedding is a big fat event of about 3-4 days and is one of the most important occasions in your life of which you want to make the most of it but then it takes a lot of effort to plan a perfect wedding. Sometimes you are in great stress doing all the preparations that you are not able to enjoy all the ceremonies. In this situation, you can hire a wedding planner to plan your wedding. All the arrangements are under the care of the wedding planner. Before hiring a wedding planner you must know his roles and responsibilities in the preparations for the perfect wedding.

Insight to unique food cultures in Indian Weddings

Marriage ceremony is more than just a union of two people in India. It is an opportunity to celebrate. A Big Fat Indian Wedding is incomplete without serving some finger-licking food to the honorable guests. Apart from their lavish decorations,  Indian weddings are known for their different food culture. From starters to mains to desserts, the number of dishes is large.

Indian Weddings usually starts with appetizers, which are served before main meals to all the guests. After starters, comes the main courses. The main course meal is strictly in accordance with the culture and region served in both vegetarian and non-vegetarian. The main course is the mouth-watering among all the meals. At the last comes the desserts without which an Indian wedding is incomplete. Desserts are sweet items, which are served to ease the spicy and tingling taste of the meal.

Lets take an insight of some of the traditional food served in various regions of India.

• North Region-The guest are treated with northern traditional food mainly of paneer curry, dal makhni, chaat, pani-puri, tandoori chicken, different types of bread, raita, pulao, gulab jamun.These dishes receive great accolades for being in a wedding meal.

• South Region- the southern caterers make sure they keep dishes like Kuzhi Paniyaram, Masala Vadai, Bajji, Kanchipuram Idly, Unniappam, Adai Aviyal.

• West Region- In a western traditional wedding, food is served on banana leaves. The meal is usually vegetarian and use of onion and garlic is avoided in the cooking. Desserts include Jalebi, Shrikhand, basundi, Dhokla, Khakra Roll, Daal or Kadhi, Shaak, etc.

• East Region - A Eastern wedding culture typically consists of Muri Ghonto (a non-veg dish), Macher Kaalia (a fish dish), Potol Posto (veg), Begun and Bhaja. In dessert, we find, Roshogulla and Mishti Doi.

Common Indian Wedding Traditions which are Interesting to Know

You can't deny the fact that we Indians take our weddings very seriously. The whole affair is associated with a lot of rituals. The best part about Indian weddings is that since we're home to so many cultures, every single wedding is different. An Indian wedding is truly a sneak peek into the rich and diverse culture of our country.

Here are some absolutely crazy things that happen only at an Indian wedding:

• The bride has to carry earthen pots on her head and greet elders. This one just takes the idea of a sanskari bahu to the next level. The mother-in-law mounts a couple of earthen pots on her bahu's head and the new bride is supposed to bend and touch the feet of elders
• In Tamil Brahmin weddings, the groom has to be stopped from running away. Sounds awkward, doesn't it? But according to a custom, the groom is supposed to walk out of the mandapam right before the wedding rituals begin. He just decides he'll opt for the life of a sanyasi and the father of the bride then has to convince him to marry his daughter.
  
• At a Gujarati wedding, the groom's feet are washed and then he gets to drink the potion. However, madhuparka is another interesting ceremony where the feet of the groom are washed in milk and honey, which he has to then drink up.
• At Punjabi weddings, when someone says 'jaago,' they mean it. "Jaago" literally means wake up in Punjabi and that's what the families of those getting married tell people around them. It's another excuse to party all night long.

Everything You Need To Know About Chuda In a Brides New Life

The beauty of Indian bride is unmatched. Indian women look best in their wedding outfit with a lot of jewelry. Some bridal jewelry which is the status symbol of married women has great importance like Mangalsutra, Sindoor, Toe-ring. Similarly, the Chuda which is a set of 21 red and white bangles completes a bride on her wedding.

Things need to know about Chuda

Chuda is a collection of 21 pieces of red and white bangles crafted with plastic. The white bangles may or may not be adorned with crystals. Crystal work has gone a step ahead and now brides also have their husbands name on their chuda

• The significance of Wearing Chuda

Chuda signifies a newly married girl. It comes with a lot of blessings and is believed to bring good luck in terms of prosperity in the lives of a newly wedded couple. It is not a normal bangle that can be worn by anyone. Only a newly married girl can wear it.

• Chuda ceremony

The Bangles are dipped into milk before it adorns the bride. On the wedding day, the women from the maternal side make the bride wear chuda along with red dupatta which is drawn over the brides head.

• Wear with Western attire

In today's scenario, the modern brides wear the chuda extremely well with the western attire. Brides wear it as jewelry and sometimes for the comfort usually take off the chuda but retain a couple of bangles while sleeping.

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