I absolutely love get questions from our readers.  I picked out a couple to post today, because I knew that other brides would have the same things on their minds.  Feel free to email me at readers@maharaniweddings.com and I will get back to you as soon as I can.



Dear Shawna,


I am in the final stretch of planning my November wedding, and it has been really enjoyable until now.  My fiancée and I want to do table assignments, but his parents are resisting and want to do the assignments. Do you have any tips on how to resolve this dilemma? Are table assignments really necessary?


Thanks,
Payal
Chicago, Il


Hi Payal,


Table assignments are necessary, especially with events over 150 people. Without them, there are a lot of delays, annoyance, and people sitting with people they have little in common with.


I have a couple suggestions for you to make you life a bit easier:


1. I suggest that you speak to your in laws and ask them if you and your fiancée handle all of "your invites" and let his parents handle "their invites" This way, you can make sure that all your friends are sitting with others friends of yours and will have a great time. Also, if your in laws are picky about which tables their friends get versus yours - just divide them up and place your friends tables by the bar. They will like that better anyhow.


2. Another good tip is to only use round tables. A lot of brides want to use square tables, but this become difficult, since they can only be 8 people per table. Rounds offer a bit more flexibility, since they can me 8, 9, 10, up to 13. And, Indian guests always have last minute dramas like someone's uncle or cousin wants to come, or someone is sick and cannot attend. Rounds make it easier to switch, while squares make it a daunting task.


Good luck and I am sure that you will have a glorious day!


Shawna



Dear Shawna,


I am planning my wedding in the US, but it will be in India in December.  I am looking for theme ideas for my wedding day – do you have any suggestions?


Thanks,
Bhawna
San Francisco, CA



Hi Bhawna,


Thank you so much for your email. While it is challenging planning weddings from a distance, you really get to use the best of both worlds for your celebration!  The décor available in Indian is fantastic and I know you will have a gorgeous event. Creating a theme is a lot like decorating a home.  The best decorated homes in the world are not the ones with the largest budget – they are the ones that stay true to one style and make sure every detail in every nook and cranny matches.  So, once you decide on a theme, make sure you insert it everywhere!  The best themed events have a distinct color scheme, graphic design, font, and subject.


One of my favorite themes for Indian weddings is to have a “Rajastani” themed event.  To start with I would pick 3 colors that are typical of the state – saffron, rani, yellow, turquoise, green – and stick to only those three colors.  Choose your favorite to be the base color and the other two to be accents.  If you pick too many colors, it will just look like you threw all the colors of the rainbow together, and it will not look thematic.  The next thing I would do is use as much bandhani as you can find and drape it from the ceilings, around your tent, use it as table clothes or napkins...and definitely choose  a beautiful bandhani outfit for you and your groom that stay within the theme’s colors.  It will create an atmosphere and make an impact.


Another theme that I love is the mutki theme.  You can rent them pretty inexpensively, and use them in different shapes and sizes. To get started, choose a color mutki – either silver and gold, and then make that the base and add one accent color to it.  I love blush pink with antique silver, or royal purple with brushed gold.  The trick to creating a theme is simple – you have to go all in and use it everywhere for it have an overall effect.  So, have mutkis decorating the dance floor, your head table, have a mutki graphic printed on all your stationary, and definitely make sure that your florist uses a mutki as the vase for the centerpiece.  Serving kulfi on the clay mutki will complete your overall look and is sure to be a hit.


Good luck and keep us updated on your wedding!


Best,
Shawna