Managed to run thru most of the posts today and noticed lot of newbies around… reminds of myself who was once a lost and confused bride, especially trying to grasp a totally diff culture.…
My warmest welcome to all newbies and I hope I can chip in to help as well..
Saw a few enquires here and there from all the old friends.. sorry I was a little pre-occupied by the prep.. will answer them as much as possible.
.. hope all brides can find it useful..
Rany>> Hiya.. hope the wedding prep almost done deal. i love the same purple saree with stoneworks that ur bought at Fashion palace too…
in fact I was contemplating if I should get that or the other Kungumam one at Haniffas.. I also saw a similar one at Jinders… but much more pricey.. so ended with Haniffas’ cos everyone agreed that the color is more suitable for me.
Re. Fasting> Yes, u start on the Bangle cermony day which should be on 31st May if ur temple wedding is on 2 June. U only “break- fast†after the temple wedding. U can start fasting a little earlier cos different individuals have diff. body adaptation.. my cousin in law felt a little giddy on the actual day so she had to drank lots of glucose to keep her sugar level..
..Some will feel hungry all the time so u tend to snack quite a bit… I was like this when I started one mth before the wedding.. but I snack on apples and cherry tomatoes, so it’s still a healthy choice…
another advantage for me… I lost weight! Abt 5kg..
.. My saree blouse which I collected 10 days before wedding was so loose, could not hang on my shoulder, keep falling off.. the MUA had to put 2 pins to fasten the top and lucky thing that I sew buttons on the shoulder area to hook on the bra strip, so basically my bra was the support of my top. The minus point, chest size was 1 size smaller.. I turned “C†cup now….
Re. List of things to buy for 3 ceremonies (bangle/thaali/actual temple), have it in writing only.. don’t worry, I will be typing in softcopy.. will post here or email u once done.
Re. Music for the actual day, SIL got a CD from a friend which she bought from M3 called the “30 most romantic songs for valentine dayâ€. Other cousins helped to toast a CD of the latest songs from MP3 downloads. If u want, I can pass u a copy. I also brought a few English and Mandarin CDs there to play at the function hall cos MIL said since this is a “multi-culture†wedding, there are quite a few Chinese and Malay guests so the music can keep them company.
We played some Jazz/ brazilian/Lounge easy listening collection ( from Michael Buble, Diana Krall, Ono Lisa, bossa nova..etc) at the beginning of the wedding.. it really helps to ease my mood too..
I ended up singing along in the Makeup room while waiting for the ceremony to start.. Indian songs then was played after the ceremony. TIPS: please get someone to be in-charge of the CDs u brought to the hall so that he/she is responsible to collect back for u. Remember to give him a list.
Re. the note to include for “money Gift†for the invites… don’t think pple around practice that.. I only had an apology note for me to include in the invites to the friends and distant relatives that I had to mail them instead of giving them by hand.. Don’t know whether is rude to include the money gift note in the invites….I think the guests will understood that the “angpow†is the most practical gift for the wedding function.
...I received all angpows from the Indian/Muslim guests, but some Chinese/foreign guests does not know wat is appropriate, so u have to forgive them if they turn up with gifts and shopping voucher. It happened to me though.
Re: Window period for the temple wedding> As far as I know, temple wedding only give u 1 hr “auspicious†period which u must have ur “maangalyam†or “Thaali†tied.. Usually they will advise u to have the ceremony cut short.. my friend skipped the changing of the wedding saree so she just worn it when she come temple… If u want the full version, u have to start a least 1 hour earlier (tat means at 8am so that u can complete the typing before 10am.For me, I started 630pm so we finished on-time at 830pm.
Re: Bangles> If u have not buy urs, u can get it at this shop next Jothi . I bought some nice bangles before at this shop (can’t remember the name) but it’s in front of the lane at komalas, walk straight and is a small shop beside this sewing shop. It’s run by this Bengali lady and she can match beautiful bangles with stoneworks type and all.. abt the same price with Jothi shop. Abt $50-60 per set. Meanwhile u can check if she carries any glass bangles
Re: Ananda Bharan > I heard ur mum had ordered food from them, to be frank, they do serve some nice menu for wedding.. BUT the service SUCK!
BIG mistake that we order from them. They FORGOT my order on my wedding day..
In fact I heard from my relatives that they had forgotten a couple of orders for house function and celebration. For my wedding, I had non-veg and veg food..My brother in law called the main office @530pm when he realized that their food was not there at the Kalsah. The Manager claimed that there was no such order and after we verified with the order receipt, they said that the order was not keyed into the system. So they apologized and quickly arrange for the food to come. They kept saying they will be there half hour time… by 845pm, the food reached us, half the non-veg crowd had left, leaving us so much of embarrassment cos the relatives waited almost 2 hrs for the food to come and they went home empty stomach. The best was that they served us whatever food from the retail restaurant which was not wat we ordered. It was total crap and the food was cold…
Lucky thing we only ordered for 150pax.. can’t imagine if I ordered for all 1200 guests. We did not pay them a single cent, they refunded our deposit of $200. Hubby was so MAD
.. he wanted to sue the restuarant.. the manager (I can’t put his name here), he begged and offered additional $50 as compensation. It was never enuf to cover the humiliation
we got from the relatives.. my poor ILs…it was the topic for the week when relatives came by to our house.
I told hubby.. don’t expect me to eat their food again.
Well, this is my true experience. Perhaps we did not cross check the order 1 day bfore the wedding. Maybe It can be avoided. So gals, no matter how busy u are, please make at least 2 reminder phone calls to check your order if u have separate catering for food. TIPS: Call them at least 3-4 days before,make sure they get the right number of pax + the menu ordered + the wedding date/time/venue and have their order input in their “systemâ€â€¦ (actually pointless to be computerized when they don’t make sure of it)