Find out tips on having the best of skin during this wedding winter season read through Lavanya's Blog on Skin care for this wedding season

Find out tips on having the best of skin during this wedding winter season

read through Lavanya's Blog on Skin care for this wedding season

Do you want to look like a million bucks on their wedding day?? So, start preparing in advance to get that perfect glow for “THE DAY”.

Here are some home tips shared by our Athithi wedding planners team which will help you in great extent in making your skin glow:

The winter season is and has a lot of dryness and it makes our skin dry and flaky so make sure to nourish your skin with proper diet and simple home remedies

Coconut – Coconut is a natural moisturizer which contains fatty acids that make up for the loss of moisture from the skin. Apply coconut oil completely on your skin and rest for 20 mins and then wash. The smoothness which you get will be outstanding.

Milk Cream - Milk cream has lactic acid that helps exfoliate dry skin. The soothing nature of milk cream also helps preserve the skin’s delicate pH levels. Milk cream is also an excellent moisturizer. Mix a few drops of lemon juice, one teaspoon of milk and two teaspoons of milk cream. Rub it on your hands and legs. Leave it on for a while before you take a shower. Do this once daily.

Honey N Lemon - If you are a working women and have a lot of travelling to do which causes skin tan then honey and lemon is a great solution for you. Mix equal quantity of honey and lemon apply it on the face, neck and arms and leave it for 20 mins and then wash. Continue this for one month and see the difference in your skin. This suits for all types of skin.

Roses - Roses not just smell good but also they make you glow as well. You can prepare a rose petal face pack with some roses and flower petals. Crush the rose petals with some milk for oily skin and with milk cream for dry skin. Apply the face pack for 20 minutes and wash for with Luke warm water. Roses are bound to give you rosy glow soon.

Athithi Wedding Planners team of experts along with the leading makeup artists will help you in advance in creating the perfect hair and make up for you and your family. We will make sure that your look will be the talk of the town on your special day. 

Chennai Rains year 2015... what does it remind you of.Water…water… water...This is what we saw everywhere and heard everyone talk about - Meera Nagarajan's post

Chennai Rains year 2015... what does it remind you of:

Water…water… water...This is what we saw everywhere and heard everyone talk about, but being a wedding planner it reminded us of the wedding we conducted.Conducting a wedding on a normal day is a bliss… but the wedding which I managed to conduct in Dec 2015 was challenging and enjoyable one.

Let me share my experience with you

Staging a wedding, also satisfy their expectations and requirements is the main focus of Athithi Wedding Planners. “ATHITHI DEVO BHAVA- GUEST IS OUR GOD”. This is our motto and we strive to achieve it in every wedding we conduct. When a client walks-in with hope of arranging the wedding from A-Z, we take great care in doing so.

Right from October we had continuous rains and in spite of it we organised several weddings successfully. On  November 29^th 2015, the bride’s parents confirmed the booking and the wedding date was given to us as 4^th and 5^th of Dec. Both the bride and the groom were in the US. So the menu and decors were finalized just 10 days before the wedding.   Then came Dec 1,2015. We all know what happened. Water logging everywhere, 4 to 12 feet water in the houses. All the communication/network lines were cut. On Dec 4, 2015, there was a little relief with rains subsiding. Still we couldn’t communicate or get any information from the client side.We started our work by going to the venue to check water logging. Luckily, the venue inside was clean and tidy except for the approach road. Next we went and checked the bride’s family. They were happy to see us and told us that the wedding must happen.

So we started doing all the necessary arrangements with communications as 1960’s style- No mail, no whats app, no phone… and well the dependability of our resources fell short from manpower to the vendors and suppliers. So we started visiting the vendors directly in the market and ordered vegetables and met the suppliers and vendors and gave orders.  This taught us to be more self-sufficient and work more effectively in many ways.

Finally, on 4^th night all the suppliers and vendors delivered the ordered goods. Hats off to them, in spite of their house in floods they did a wonderful job by delivering the items on time. All the relatives of the wedding stayed in the hall for 2 days and enjoyed the food and the wedding.  After the wedding the bride and the grooms family thanked us said it was one of the memorable wedding which we will not forget in our lifetime…. Same goes with us….

Find the Best Wedding Catering Service in Chennai

Success of any wedding is determined by the food served to the guests.

When it comes to wedding, there are quite a few essentials that come into play like, attire of the bride and groom, wedding cake, food, photography etc. Be it outdoors or indoors, excessive or intimate, there is always a generous supply of food at weddings. Food is what makes a celebration gratifying, after all. Having said that, in weddings the role of food served plays a vital role. Wedding trends confirm that guests are caring more and more about the food.

With that said, the right choice of catering service is important in order to satisfy the needs of wedding guests who will have different taste. Finding the best catering service in Chennai is no big deal if you ponder on the following factors like

Experience

Previous client testimonials

Reputation

It's no secret that weddings are expensive. Paying for a wedding can run into the thousands of dollars or rupees- even more!
Why compromise on quality of the food to accommodate your money needs? There are several caterers who are working hard to give nothing but the best at an affordable pricing system. When you are looking for one such service, look no further than athithiseva caterers as they are best in Chennai says a satisfied client.

A Dream Marriage Facilitated by Athithi

When Thiru Raghuraman and Thirumathi Jayanthi Raghuraman ,walked into Kalyanamalai office on 21st March, they were all in smiles. They said they are yet to come out from the spell of the dreamy marriage of their daughter. The marriage facilitated by Athithi at Raghavendra Kalyanana Mandapam, was  held on 18th March 2013. They came to the office, to personally thank Thiru Kalyanamalai Mohan and Thirumathi Meera Nagarajan, for caring every aspect of their daughter’s marriage, to make it a dreamy wedding.
We are glad to share the words expressed by them…

We had the pleasure of attending one of our close relatives marriage organised by Athithi last year. The arrangements, tasty food served and above all the caring influence of Athithi impressed all of us. That time itself we all have decided to avail the services of Athithi for our daughter’ marriage.  That is what we did after performing the betrothal of our daughter Sow Iswarya with Chi Arun, son of Thiru Ashoak and Thirumathi Uma Ashoak. We immediately contacted Thiru Mohan and Thirumathi Meera Nagarajan of Athithi, to engage them as our wedding planner.

On their advice we fixed up the Ragavendra kalyana Mandapam at Kodambakkam for 17th, 18th and 19th March. We  totally left the other marriage arrangements in the hands of Athithi. Every update from them on the marriage arrangements has  increased our interest. We started longing for the ultimate day with dreams. On 16th March Meera Nagarajan has sent us an SMS stating ‘You will not forget the next two days all through your life and start dreaming about them from now on’. Yes our dreams started unfolding one by one from the morning of 17th March.

Our surprises have started on the 17th morning with the playing of Chendai Melam and floral welcome on the entry of the groom, his parents and relatives into the mandapam. The chanting of Vedha Manthirams, by the well learned shasthira Pandits,has brought in positive vibrations in the hall. The elderly people from the girls as well as the boy’s side just got immersed in the created vibrations.

In any marriage, normally it will be the elders  who will always feel neglected and will feel humiliated, when they don’t  get the deserved respect. But, Athithi took pain to take care of  the elders from both the sides, from the day one to the last day of Kattu sadham. It also provided, separate menu for those who suffer from diabetic. Both the acts earned kudos from every one  and deserves separate mentioning.

When Thirumathi Meera suggested Iswaryam as theme for the marriage, we blindly accepted it, without knowing much of its significance, because, it matched with our daughters name. When we entered the marriage venue on 17^th morning we saw the Ishwaryam Kolam design blown into every aspect of the marriage. It was there every where, including the coconut bags given to those attended the marriage. The theme blended very nicely, with every aspect of the marriage arrangement. The unique silver coin gift idea of Thirumathi Meera Nagarajan depicting Goddess Mahalakshmi on one side and Iswarya Kolam design on the other side immediately caught our interest. The coin given in a nicely designed bag received rousing appreciation from every one. All those who have received it, wanted to keep it  in their pooja.
Another aspect noticed by all and liked by all was the regular change in ‘paruppu thengai koodu’ color to match the saree color of the bride. The four-wheel, two-horse driven chariot brought inside the mandapam for Janavasam simply amazed every one. The flower umbrella used over the groom’s Kasi Yathira procession showed us  the enjoyable extreme of Athithi’s imagination.

During the muhoortham every one present at the hall were given a small cover containing akshathai. Over the cover the slokam blessing the couple ‘Sarva mangala mangalye Sive Sarvartha Sathakey’ was printed to facilitate every one to shower the akshathai on the couple by chanting the manthiram. This unique and unseen arrangement again pleased every one. Similarly a separate attendant who was posted at the parking area assisted  every one to park the cars without confusion.

It will be impossible for anyone who have enjoyed the culinary of Athithi to describe it in one word  such as good or very good. The mouth-watering menu and the range of food items started right from the morning Viratha tiffin, continued till the final Kattu sadham. It is quite unbeleavable to find that except Idly, rice, dhal and ghee none of the other food items were repeated in the menu during all the days. Similarly, all the food items that were served in the first batch continued and served even in the last batch without any miss. Television fame Yugi Sethu , our relative, who was helping the guests in the food court, called it unbelievable. Cinefame Director K Balachandar who came for the Muhurtham relished the food served. Similarly the top officers from TVS group and my friends from Hyderabad savoured the servings. I relished the Appam Veg Stew and my wife still has the lingering taste of Malpuva sweet in her mouth.

Every one appreciated, the way you have served a highly nutritious food, by including the best of vegetables, fruits and lentils in the menu  expertly as a dietitian. Above all the warmheart shown by your staff, during the serving of items, the hygienic way of serving by wearing gloves, the sequence in serving the menu items and the way the quantity of items required by everyone is met, is possible only for Athithi. The silence maintained by your staff, while serving and their willingness to meet even the exclusive requirements of individuals was appreciated by every one.

The special facilities arranged for the aged, physically challenged and children at every stage helped them to take part in the marriage proceedings with satisfaction. Above all it is a gratifying fact to mention that the highest quality of food served by you did not discomfort any one.

Thiru Kalyanamalai Mohan has honoured us by his presence during important marriage timings and by his individual enquiries at the dining hall.  Our heartfelt thanks goes to Sri Vijaya Bhaskar for managing the proceedings during the other times.The receptionist girls arranged for the marriage and the staff of Athithi have completed their responsibilities with utmost patience and poise.

I would like to end this long letter with the opinion of our grand mother Swarnambal Patti. She said ‘I have participated in over 1000 marriages during my life time and blessed the couple, but never seen a marriage like that of your daughter. She further said that the marriage of deities (Meenakshi Sundareswarer) who have adorned the marriage stage was said to have taken place in Swargha and the marriage of your daughter was held in Boologa swarga arranged by Athithi. The true words came from the heart of the old lady, genuinely reflected every ones feeling who have attended the marriage.

Change in Food Serving Styles During Marriages

Indian weddings, especially the South Indian weddings, are not complete without serving sumptuous food, to the invited guests. On completing the  nichayathartham or betrothal function, the first thing that comes to the mind of both the bride and groom’s families, is fixing of a decent wedding hall and employing the services of a good wedding planner, for wedding and catering arrangements.

The food served during a marriage, plays a vital role in making the marriage memorable. It is always advisable to avail the services of an experienced wedding planner like Athithi, to serve the purpose. Such high end wedding planners, normally, will never come with pre-conceived ideas, instead, they will make an open-ended approach with their suggestions, to improve the expressed ideas of the client.

During the yesteryears, only sit-down and eat on plantain leaf or plate menu option was available. The ever changing lifestyles, have necessitated the introduction of a range of eating patterns and menu options. The most sought after eating styles include, Live Food Counters, Buffet arrangement and sit down and eat on plantain leaf or plate facility.

Live Food Counters

The Live Food Counters are the latest addition to the food serving style. The arrangement, will have a number of Live Food Counters, each catering to a particular variety of food items. The limited food items, are prepared fresh before the eyes of the guest and served hot. Some of the food items, served in the Live Food Counters include, chat items, Dosa & Vada items, specialist food items from Bengal, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjabi, Mughalai, Marwadi, Kashmiri and others. Such food counters function during the tiffin, lunch and dinner timings.

Buffet arrangement

Buffet style of dining has more or less become a norm, for the  evening reception in marriages. This self service or assisted service eating facility, either have all the food items set up in rows over a table or in smaller sized cubical arrangements, each serving a particular type of food item.

Normally, buffet style serving is arranged in roomy places, to facilitate easy movement of guests. The facility, enables the guests to eat food items of their choice, while enjoying a chat or discussion with their family or friends.  The buffet style arrangement will have starters, other food items and desserts, to complete the food course.

The variety of dishes served at buffets, allows the guests to taste a range of dishes and indulge in feasting the items of their choice. The arrangement, adequately meets the requirements of those guests who enjoy eating, as well as those who are on a diet and eat less. The arrangement, enables serving more variety of food items.

AthithicateringTable arrangement

This traditional style of food serving is still valued as the best. The food is served in a pre-determined order, over a plantain leaf or plate, kept before the seated guests. The arrangement, allows the guests to taste all the food varieties served and request second serving on items of their liking. When compared to buffet arrangement, the sit down and eat facility allows serving only a limited variety of food.

Conclusion

The change in societal outlook, lifestyle, national and international level contacts, have necessitated the changes in food serving methods, during a wedding. Presently, the bigger wealthy weddings, observe comparatively increased level of rituals and enjoy more guest participation. Such weddings participated by national and international guests follow their own customized type of food serving styles and arrangements to suit the tastes and interests of the invited guests.

Insure Your Wedding Against Unanticipated Events

A wedding is always special. It is one function that brings joy to a number of families. The increased affordability has prompted a number of Indian families to go for a lavish wedding. The wedding planning industry, assists in making the weddings more enjoyable with innovations, such as theme wedding and destination wedding, temple wedding and others.

The marriages during yesteryears, though, lasted for a number of days, were simple and uncomplicated. They were not subjected to the complications and other elaborations of the current day weddings. Even the wedding receptions arranged only by very wealthy families, were missing most of the posh and lavish arrangements of today. The marriages were normally conducted within the village or city using the help of the relatives and friends living close by. Very rarely, people travelled long distances either to make a wedding arrangement or to attend a marriage.

Present day weddings, on the contrary, are more lavish with a variety of associated celebrations. The disbursals for these expensive weddings include jewellery, dresses, catering arrangement, wedding planner arrangement, payment to wedding venue, video and photographers, travel expenses and others. Therefore, successful arranging and conducting of such a weddings largely depended on a range of external sources. Failure or non-complying their part by any of the external sources,  will partially or totally affect the wedding procedures.

It is still an inexplicable fact, how most of these weddings, performed by spending lakhs of rupees and at times even crores of rupees, gets completed without major problems. There were also few instances, where the weddings cancelled due to  unforeseen circumstances have resulted in huge loss to the families that have spent a good amount of money to complete the wedding arrangements.

In India, the idea of insuring a wedding is yet to penetrate into the minds of the people who are arranging them. Normally, the parents, while arranging the marriages don’t ever wish or perceive any negative occurrence that will lead to the postponement or cancellation of a marriage. Most of them consider the very idea of insuring a marriage as negative thinking and don’t attempt to insure the marriages.
But, there is a visible change in the mindset of the people, especially amongst those who spend huge money in wedding arrangements. They have become more practicable and understand the ground realities associated with the present day marriage arrangements, where they have little or no control over any of the eventualities. The number of people thinking of insuring the marriage is expected to go up in the coming years.

In India, the insurance companies, till today, consider the wedding as an event and cover it only under the event insurance. Such a policy compensates any damage to the property at the marriage venue including the hard cash, cancellation or postponement of the wedding and sickness or personal accident to the persons named in policy. It is possible to customise the clauses of the policy to suit the individual requirements.
The policy also can cover various wedding related functions such as Mehendi, Sangeet, evening party, real wedding and the reception. It can prevent  the loss to the insurer on account of the cancellation and postponement of a marriage on the sudden death of a close relative who is ailing, food poisoning, and fire or burglary at the wedding hall. The policy also covers the falling sick of a groom or bride or any other immediate family member named in the policy and their hospitalization within a week before the actual wedding date. Though, a wedding insurance policy will not cover a wedding cancellation due to differences of opinion between the wedding parties, the policy covers the non-turning up of groom due to dispute in dowry payment.

It is possible to cover a single event of the wedding or the full wedding right from the first day. The premium to cover a wedding ranges from 0.75% to 1.5% of the total sum insured. The policy can be taken in such a way that it can come into force 15 days before the actual marriage date.

In case of cancellation or postponement of the wedding, the insurance will cover all non refundable expenses such as travel bookings, accommodation arrangement in hotels, music arrangement, amount paid to decorators and caterer, advances paid to the marriage hall, and printing of invitation card. The policy also includes loss/damage to received gifts, jewellery, hired sets for the marriage, shamiana and other decorative materials.

It is essential for the insurer to have bills and invoices for all the payments and expenses made related to the marriage to make an insurance claim. The insurer before making any claim should have taken adequate measures to minimise the loss to the properties during such cancellation.

Travel Arrangements for the Destination Weddings & Honeymoon

A normal Indian wedding is always elaborate and continues for at least two days. Some of them even get extended to the third day. Current day weddings especially among the affluent class, while gives preference for the traditional rituals, also provides a sense of participation and relaxation to the participating guests, on all the days. During such weddings,  suitable standby travel arrangements are provided for the ready use of the guests, though, most of them may own a chauffeur driven car.

Destination Wedding
Another interesting aspect that is fast catching up is destination wedding. Such weddings have become more common among affluent business families and in cases where both the bride and groom are well employed. Exotic locations within the country or in an overseas destination have become a norm for such weddings. All the invited guests are extended with to-and- fro travel arrangement from their own places or from a common place.

For the chosen locations within India, inorder to offer travel comfort to the guests’, luxury busses or cars are arranged. Depending of the arranged destination air/train travel advance bookings are made. Some of the Indian locations that are well-known for destination wedding include Rajasthan, Goa and Kerala.
For the weddings that are planned in some of the most preferred overseas countries such as Thailand, Mauritius, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Indonesia, Caribbean, Maldives, Seychelles and Fiji, air travel and local transportation arrangements are made. Invited guests are informed in advance about such wedding to know their availability to arrange visas and complete other travel formalities.

Honeymoon
Honeymoon is the first real occasion for the couple to be all alone and on their own. A perfect honeymoon is possible only with a flawless planning. A clear understanding between the couple, about the choice of place, makes the honeymoon days happy and fruitful. Most of the time, it is the allocated budget that decides the national or international destination for a honeymoon. It is essential for the couples to refrain from allowing their individual tastes to dominate the honeymoon location choice. Intelligent couples try to have a few best locations as their choice to narrow down the choice and finally select a common place of interest.

Role of wedding planners
Making travel arrangements during the wedding, conducting destination weddings in India as well in a foreign country and providing tailor made honeymoon packages have become a part of the wedding planning services. In addition to making arrangements for wedding, most of the corporate wedding planning companies are equipped to make flawless travel arrangements. The adequate knowledge and experience in arranging such packages and the proximity to travel service providers allows the corporate wedding planning companies to make perfect arrangements.

The parents on their part find it convenient to deal with a single source ie. the wedding planner to make all the local and international travel, air/train ticket booking, completing visa formalities and boarding and lodging arrangements needed for all the occasions.

Photo and Video Arrangement for a Marriage

Marriage is one occasion that draws the largest participation of relatives and friends alike. Their participation makes a special marriage occasion into a memorable one. The services of a professional photographer and a videographer help you to capture the unforgettable marriage moments that can never be recreated. The captured moments serve you in treasuring such memories for a life time.

Unlike the earlier days, the video and photo arrangements for a marriage are not confined to just shooting of the marriage events. They go beyond that occasion, to capture the everyday life of the bride and groom, in their very own special surroundings with friends and relatives. The video shoot even goes to a step further and pictures the school, college and working place environs gracefully and include the comments of friends and relatives.

Current day wedding video and photo capturing are no more dull and do not follow the mundane old routine. They no more video or photo capture the marriage function like a documentary. The video and photo arrangements have undergone a total transformation and transition. Every frame of the photo or video passionately captures of the occasion and re-creates it with all liveliness.

The marriage related video and photo shoot starts right from betrothal, starting of the bride and groom for the marriage hall, their entry into the hall, various arrangements in the hall and every single event of the marriage. The occasions, such as bridal shower, mehendi ceremony and sangeet are also included the photo and video coverage. The coverage even describe the intimate moments such as emotion, humor and love displayed during the marriage proceedings without fail. The captured emotional and intimate moments are imaginatively edited and included in the wedding video and photo presentation.

At present the movie style video presentation is in vogue and it is catching every one’s attention. The entire wedding event is videographed in sequence using a number of cameras, edited for crisp presentation and included with apt sound track to add value. Candid photo and video shoots have become regular during the marriages to capture the unexpected and finer moments for inclusion in the album.

Pre-wedding photo and videography is no more a taboo. Photographers use the digital cameras to follow and capture every movement of the couples right from the day one and all the time during the marriage to seize the special unexpected moments in film as they unfold.

It is vital for one to exercise utmost care in selecting the photo and videographers for the marriage. It becomes essential to cross check their experience and earlier work execution with provided samples and by interacting with those who have hired them in the past. Always select someone who will listen to your requirements and exceed your expectations.

Finally before signing a contract discuss the terms of package to understand the type and the number of cameras used to cover the function, various lighting options, and the video and audio quality specifications.  Also, get to know the number of DVD and photo albums included in the package and the cost for extra orders.

Arranging a Theme-based Wedding

Indian marriages are no more confined to marriage halls or temples.  Current day brides and grooms consider their marriage as very special and look forward to celebrating it in a most fitting and novel way. The wedding couple does not hesitate to try various marriage ideas and themes. The theme-based wedding is altogether a new idea, based on western marriage concepts. It is fast gaining acceptance and momentum among the marriage aspirants in India.

The theme-based wedding while continue to have all the ingredients of a traditional marriage, it adds colour and value to the marriage to make it more vibrant. It is becoming popular even among the conservative elders because it continues to keep the orthodox values intact. It provides a different and pleasant type of marriage experience to the participating relatives and friends.

Some of the popular themes used for theme based wedding include royal wedding theme, fairy story theme, fiction or illusion based theme, romantic theme, and colour based theme. If you choose dark red and golden colours as colour theme, then every marriage arrangement such as the decoration, flowers, and invitation cards will bear the identical theme colour. The wedding planner who offers theme wedding will even ask their staff at the marriage hall to wear the same theme colour as uniform.

Similarly, for the families who consider the bride as one who brings illumination to their house, then ‘Lighting’ will become the thematic concept. To go beyond the theme traditional lamps will be kept light up at all the places of the marriage hall. Even the wedding invite will have the lamp in design. If the family considers the arrival of the bride to the arrival of the goddess Mahalaxmi to the family, then lotus flower the symbol of the goddess Lakshmi will be used in all the decorations.

Points to remember in choosing a theme

• It is advisable to choose a wedding theme after doing a thorough research. Always choose a theme that fit the tastes of the bride, groom and their families. Better choose a theme that falls within your budget.
• Discuss the theme atmosphere with your family, especially with the elders to make sure that it will not hinder the religious rituals. Furthermore, make sure that the theme is comfortable for the kids who attend the marriage.
• Always choose a theme that can accommodate both pre-wedding and post-wedding requirements and the reception.
• Settle for a theme that looks natural and not offering a kind protruding unnatural look.
• If you hire a wedding planner, it is advisable to discuss your mind and take the expert guidance of the planner in choosing the wedding theme.
• Do not forget to find out the functional feasibility of the chosen theme at the hall or location arranged for the wedding. If more open space is available at the locatio, then the theme arrangements also need to cover such open space with lighting as well as decorative material. Such an arrangement will naturally increase the allocated budget.
• Never attempt a wedding theme half-heartedly and confine it to the wedding hall only. Have it introduced at all the places of the wedding location uniformly.
• Choosing a flower theme is a convenient choice. The flowers such as gerberas, marigold, carnations, orchids, jasmine, rose, etc., offer a range of arrangement options. Use of flowers as a theme will give an authentic feel for an unconventional theme.

While most of the to be married  opt to celebrate a theme-based wedding in a hall some of the adventurous type among them  even try to experiment and have their marriage at exotic locations. Such ideas include forest marriage, hill-top marriage, sea front marriage and marriage even in the deep-sea.

The Changing Face of Wedding Invites

Wedding is one event that introduces a lasting relationship to two people and their two families. It is one among the most revered religious and cultural event in India that brings in large participation of relatives and friends.

Wedding invites announcing the wedding are used to invite the relatives and friends seeking their participation in the wedding. The invite cards were traditionally extended to the relatives and friends personally by the bride and groom’s parent. Such invitation cards merely gave information such as  on who marries whom and the name of the parents. Some of them even went to a step further and included the names of close relatives in the card. Such wedding cards did not offer much room for innovation and change.

Present day invitation cards have become trendier, informal, and lively and are designed to carry a surprise element. The younger generation is looking for something beyond the conventional invite. They are looking for small changes that can make a big impact. The families of the wedding couple are opting for card a design that gives the guests a glance into the grandeur of the planned wedding. The conventional invitations are continued to be printed for distribution among the close relatives.

The marriage arrangements are also undergoing changes. More number of wedding couples now opt for theme wedding by adding some imaginative element to the otherwise normal wedding. Such introduction of theme adds luster to the wedding. The chosen theme or color clearly depicts the concept of the wedding.  During such weddings the designed wedding cards invariably match and reflect the theme of the wedding.

In the case of couples who have studied are living and working in a foreign country, they regularly choose an invite that goes well with their friends living in that country.

Another concept of wedding invite that is fast catching up is 'E-invite'. Such invites can be designed cost effectively and quickly. Couples who are hard-pressed for time and have a number of relatives and friends living at far off locations prefer designed E-invites. While, the e-invites guarantees delivery with a correct mail address they also help to find out whether invited relative or friend will take part in the marriage.

It is also a practice among some of the newly engaged couples to create their own exclusive wedding website, They update the website with wedding information and photos right from the betrothal day to wedding. The regularly updated website with current information is also used to invite relatives and friends. The advance information sent about the setting up of a wedding website also enables the invited guests to take part in the proceedings virtually from far off locations.

Catering Arrangement for a Marriage

Most often, the food served to the guests during a marriage, determines the success of a marriage. It is essential to contract with a talented caterer, to serve the invited guests, with quality and delicious food. Parents are willing to spend more money, in hiring a well known reputed contractor, to serve quality and succulent food during the marriage. Most of the present-day parents, instead of engaging an exclusive caterer, prefer to sign up with a wedding planner, who provides complete arrangement for the marriage.

Before hiring a caterer or a wedding planner, have discussions to quantify the estimated number of guests to be invited and likely to attend the marriage. Prepare the approximate number of guests likely to attend during each occasion of the marriage. This will help you to decide on your budget for catering. Based on your budget, you can arrange to have a contract with the caterer or wedding planner.

It is always advisable to have a choice of preferences in fixing the catering contractor. If the date of a particular contractor is not available, it will become easy for you to try the others in the list. Make researches  on the services of a caterer or wedding planner and collect opinions about the quality of services before signing the contract. Most of the reputed wedding planners or caterers will not be opposed to share their clients list and suggest you to make enquiries if needed. They also will be even agreeable to share the photos taken during the marriage functions managed by them. Some of them may invite you to taste the food served at their catering services on other locations to have first-hand idea about their services..

It is essential to discuss your preferences about the type of serving style, i.e., buffet or sit-and-eat type of table meal for various occasions during the marriage. If you plan to have special food arrangement for kids and elders discuss it with the contractor for making the arrangement.

The menu and variety of food play an important role in the marriage. Check with them the type of food varieties and items they serve for various occasions of the marriage. Discuss with them the kind of food you wanted to serve and have their suggestions. If you have any special preferences do not hesitate to share it with them to get it improved and implemented. It is advisable not to be overzealous about your ideas because the experienced caterer may have better viable suggestions in place of yours. You may ask for their special food serving and order for it if it is convenient and suits your budget.

Ask the service provider about the number of servers and other helpers available during food serving. Most of the current-day caterers prefer to serve hygienically using gloves where required. Also, the people who serve the food wear uniform as a practice. You can get it confirmed with the caterer.

Never be ambiguous about the timing/dates during which the caterers presence is needed at the marriage hall. Be aware of their time requirement to set up and start their work and wind-up their work at the end of the function. Furthermore, consult your purohits about the timings of muhurtham and various wedding related functions well in advance, discuss the details with your caterer to utilise his services in a better way. This advance information also will help you to decide on the menu.

If you have plans to supply yourself the vegetables and other provisions required for the marriage, have it discussed with the caterer. Though most of the caterers will agree to your proposal and cut down their charges, but, it is not advisable to do so. While, you may be saving a few thousand rupees by taking such responsibility, it is not a prudent idea unless you have a group of relatives or friends to share the task.

Discuss and understand the items to be brought by them to provide the service and to be supplied by you to complete the services. Know the extra amount to be paid in-case extra number of guests turned up. Know the cancellation policies and refund procedures. Get everything written as a contract, pay the advance and have it signed. Always retain a copy of the contract for reference.

Printing Wedding Invitation Cards

Most tech-savvy youngsters of today look forward to announcing their marriage in style. Present day wedding invitations have become very informal, lively and always carry a special surprise element. A best conceived and printed wedding invites invariably set the right tone for the marriage. The theme based invites just gives a peep into the grandeur of wedding.

It is heartening to note that traditional wedding invites to continue to get circulated among the relatives especially among the elders. Such traditional invites carry the symbol and holy verses belong to the religion of the couple.

Present day couples who are entering wedlock desire the marriage invitations to reflect their individuality while setting the right tone for the marriage. The invitations while expressing warmth and hospitality also create an indelible impression in the mind of the invited guest.

More importance is given to the paper or other material used for printing the invite. Current day cards are not confined to the old twofold or four-fold formats or the square or rectangular shapes. Apart from the papers available with assorted textures and color the linen and cotton cloth are also used for printing the invite.

The actual printings of invitation cards offer a range of printing options. It is no more confined to only the offset type printing. The engraving option gives an upcoming look to the letters of your invite and makes you believe that the printed letters speak. The embossed invitations use thin metallic sheets to get embossed over the paper. The thermograph option looks similar to engraving but uses a different technique. The costliest invitation printing uses letterpress, which needs a special paper and ink. The spending capability of the couple often decides the choice of wedding invite.

If you plan for a theme wedding and have chosen a color and logo for the theme, then the wedding card should reflect the theme. The choice of right paper, color, ink, and printing quality should get along with the preferred theme. If anyone among the couple or both of them employed in a foreign country, it is always preferable to have a design idea that goes well with the locals.

Take adequate care about the use of words in the invite. It is preferable not to use any negative words or funny words that may give a controversial meaning.

Booking a Marriage Hall or Marriage Location

It is hard to believe for any one that in olden days the marriages took place at the palatial houses of brides. A marriage at a village was almost celebrated by all the families at the village. Relatives and friends of the bride’s family were very much willing to offer accommodation for the guests attending the marriage.

In the present vertical living atmosphere where majority of the families live in small flats or houses such a luxury is no more possible. For them the available alternative is conducting the marriages in public community-hall or a privately owned marriage accommodation.

Booking of a suitable marriage venue plays an important role in the conducting of a marriage. As soon as fixing the wedding the parents seek for at least three to four muhurtham day choices to fix the marriage hall conveniently.

While fixing a marriage hall the factors such as the proximity, facilities, total guests expected and the budget for such an arrangement plays an important role. Also, sentiment factor about the marriage halls is also need to be taken into consideration.

The affluent younger generation looks forward for a theme wedding and tries to book a hall that suits their wedding theme. Some among them even opt to have the wedding at exotic location or at a simple temple city.

It is a very pleasant experience to see that some of the younger generation gives more importance to marriage halls that are more convenient for the use of elders who attend the wedding.

Whatever be the choice of your wedding place, booking the right venue immediately after the fixing of the wedding dates allows you to proceed with other aspects of the wedding with ease.

Hello World

Welcome to the blog of AthithiSeva a wedding planning services company that steadfastly believes in the saying Guest is our God. With over 30 years of exposure to wedding planning and catering, we have seamlessly adapted to all the changes that have taken place during the years to stay ahead of time.

We are aware of the time constraints faced by the current-day parents in conducting the marriage of their daughter in a fitting way. We step in to help such parents in conducting the marriage efficiently. We offer our services to both limited budgeted and lavishly arranged marriages. We make sure for a tension-free participation by the parents in the marriage.

We plan to discuss everything related to WEDDING PLANNING and more in this blog. We look forward to you to read our blog and offer your valuable feedback.