OFFICIAL Indian 'Desi' Wedding Thread

I think a regular RSVP date is fine. Even if you set it for 2 mos in advance, people who are going to forget will still forget. Shoot for 4-6 weeks before and then start making calls - at least, that's what we did.

We put an earlier time for the ceremony as well but we surprisingly stuck very close to it. You can start without anyone who's going to be late ... as long as you and your hubby are there!

The usual standard RSVP date is about 4 weeks.

I made it 5 weeks in order to give me the extra week to legitimately call all the non-responders.

About the time issue, I was a firm believer of starting on time no matter who's not there cuz as Sonia pointed, as long as the bride and groom are there, it's ok. We started exactly on time - we had about 1/3 of the people come in after the ceremony started but we didn't even notice. It wasn't disruptive at all. I am glad I did that because then the rest of the night continued to be exactly as scheduled.

Thanks Rini!

On the RSVP cards, we put the date like 1/2 -2 months before the wedding. This gave it plenty of time to inform the caterers how many ppl. we were expecting.

okay another question for you girls.

How many ushers did you have/will have at your ceremony and reception? how many girls and how many guys? TIA!!

We're having about 800 guests and will have 8 ushers, 4 for each side of the ceremony.
2 of the ushers will probably stand in the back and help give out the programs when guests walk in. Make sure you ask people that you know will actually do a good job..Ive seen people be appointed as ushers and just walk around talking to the guests and the guests end up sitting where they aren't supposed to or just seat themselves!

I had 6 ushers - 2 women to hand out the programs and 4 guys who were seating the guests. I had 300 guests.

I chose to have the women hand out the programs since they tend to smile more.

Okay Ushers are different from groomsmen right?

Do the guys wear tuxes too? I think not...

i think the ushers can wear like a black suit.

libride,
did you have ushers at the reception? sorry for the dumb questions, but i never really noticed these things at other weddings.....

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Posted by riniko

Okay Ushers are different from groomsmen right?

Do the guys wear tuxes too? I think not...

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Ushers usually wear suits, we're getting our ushers and immediate family members carnation bouts to wear also.

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Posted by lcherian

i think the ushers can wear like a black suit.

libride,
did you have ushers at the reception? sorry for the dumb questions, but i never really noticed these things at other weddings.....

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lcherian - not a dumb question at all.

I can tell you what I did for my wedding which might not be the norm.

We had 300 guests. In our wedding, our groomsmen were different from ushers (but that's not the case for all weddings). We didn't ask our groomsmen to help with any of the seating duties. We had separate people designated for that - 'ushers'. I personally didn't give them any dress codes nor did I give them boutonierres. Since I personally wasn't there when they were seating people, I am assuming they did ok.

For the reception, I had 2 friends to help at the placecard table which I would definitely recommend esp with the larger guestlists. I gave them the entire guestlist with table assignments on an Excel spreadsheet. This way, you don't have to have 500 people crowding around the table. I had another 2 friends to help people find their tables if necessary but our reception hall's staff was also going to help with that so I didn't need to really have ushers for that.

One thing that I did when I was deciding on asking people for help - I tried to make sure that any one person wasn't helping through the whole day. I asked several of my friends and family to help (they had already volunteered) and gave them all different things to do. This way, they would all be helping at the most for 1/2 hour and would be free to enjoy the wedding.

Hope this helps you! Feel free to email me at
libryde@yahoo.com with any questions.

Hi All,
Has anyone been to Shaheen Restaurant in Queens or Sitar Restaurant in Long Island? If so, how was the food and service?

Hi Scooter,

Welcome to LIW!

I am using Sitar as the caterer for my wedding. Their food is good. I am not using/having a mandap cuz I am not Hindu.

Hi Scooter,

For mandaps in this area try Elegant Affairs or Abhishek Decorators. Both have a lot of variety and should have some simple pieces. You can find their contact info here

Thanks Ladies! I'm so happy you started this thread on LIW!

Hi Ladies,
I am wondering if any of you know a good place to purchase sari fabric by the bolt. I want to use it for my wedding? TIA!

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Posted by melijane

Hi Ladies,
I am wondering if any of you know a good place to purchase sari fabric by the bolt. I want to use it for my wedding? TIA!

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If your in NY you should check out Jackson Heights, 74th Street..It has tons of Indian stores that sell sari fabric.

If your closer to NJ I would check out Edison. Im not sure of the exact location but theres also an area there that has tons of Indian stores which sell fabric as well.

Hey girls... just a couple things coming up I thought you might be interested in.

Sunday - Bridal show in NJ by Dulhan Expo .. I just got an email about this - let me know if you want it or more details.

Payal Singhal Fashion Show in NYC - the website is Payal Singhal Invitation

Any other events I'm missing?

I know what you mean....the prices of Mandaps are not something you usually include in your budget, but you have to. I already reserved a mandap with

House of Dipali
Phone: (718)343-3700
249-12 Hillside Avenue
Bellerose, NY 11426
www.dipali.com

They have many price ranges and choices. Best part, they were very good about catering to your budget.

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Posted by shujanashanto

I know what you mean....the prices of Mandaps are not something you usually include in your budget, but you have to. I already reserved a mandap with

House of Dipali
Phone: (718)343-3700
249-12 Hillside Avenue
Bellerose, NY 11426
www.dipali.com

They have many price ranges and choices. Best part, they were very good about catering to your budget.

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Ooooo date twin!