Brideshare Brilliance

Lifestyle Wedding, Fashion & Beauty
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I was just browsing through DIY projects for weddings and found an amazing idea - atleast it sounds really good to me. I don’t know whether it would work out in a desi/Pakistani wedding but it is still inspiring.

While blogging about her upcoming wedding a bride-to-be found another bride who was to have her wedding on the same venue the day after the first one’s ceremony. The had similar ideas, colour schemes and decided to share most of the decor and split the cost.

The best part is that they get to save money with this mutually beneficial arrangement and also get to reuse or recycle almost every purchase that wouldn’t be of any use afterwards.

In my opinion: SIMPLY BRILLIANT! :flower1: :wub: :flower2:

I think I would love to plan along with a bride who has similar ideas. How many of you think that this is practical?

If anyone has DIY ideas for a desi/Pakistani wedding, please do share.

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Re: Brideshare Brilliance

hrm, it might work in theory, but the brides would have to be pretty similar-minded for it to work practically. i can see it working out on a limited scale- like if both of you wanted chandeliers for your wedding inside your tent- then they'd only be hung up once.
but i can also see vendors having issues with it because they'd only be paid once instead of twice, so again, it would be limited.
just because i'm anal like that, i'd have to get a contract with the other couple to make sure they honoured their half of the bargain.

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I know that there would be vendor issues and that is why I decided to have the wedding on a vacant plot instead of hiring a hall. The planner I went to loved the idea and told me that she would only charge Rs 1,50,000 for the decorations including the stage, entrance and centerpieces. I fell in love with your centerpiece idea and wanted to use it with flowers and candles (tea lights) and yet create cheaper decorations. Problem is, if I order that many jars, I simply won’t have the place to kep them afterwards. Gosh, I thought sooo way much!

One thing lead to another and then I found the idea that I posted above.


This would cost an average of $75 per table:


This one is just with a little water and food colouring:

I love the colours:

This is totally not practical here. Children would demolish these in a sec:

Maybe, I can use it to share ideas before I plan out anything. But where would I find someone who is willing and knows how to put all ideas in practice?

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Re: Brideshare Brilliance

you know, i bought all my vases from a wholesale supplier. they were $3 for the smaller ones and $5 for the larger ones. my orchids only cost me about $5 for each large bloom (i had 2 per table) and $3 for a stem of the smaller ones (i had 3 stems in the long vase). the lily grass was so cheap, it was under a $1 per leaf. the pieces of white marble in the base we picked up from home depot for dirt cheap. the florist assembled everything and set it up at the venue.

it was very reasonable so i was able to have what i wanted, i.e. 3 centrepieces per table and alternated white candles in white candle holders between each vase.
the candles/candle holders i picked up from the wholesaler too- they were long burning tealights- went for 8 hours with no need to relight them!

as for the jars, you can always give them away to your guests- play a game like taping a coin to the bottom of one of the chairs at each table. at the end of the night, have people turn over their chairs to see which one has the coin- the one that does, wins the centrepieces. the vases are really contemporary and the ones i gave out i've seen in my own house and friends/families houses still being used.

as for children, i hired two babysitters from craigslist to take care of the little munchkins at my wedding- there were 7 of them, all under 10. i really didn't want to deal with screaming kids during my speeches, or cake-finger-poking, etc. the sitters were awesome, only too $150 for the full evening, and kept the kids so well entertained that we sort of forgot they were there! hahaha plus all my aunts/uncles had a super time cos they weren't running around after their brats.

is the wedding in karachi or US?

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ohhh i love the babysitter idea. i dont want kids at my wedding at ALL lol

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it honestly was the best *and most *valuable usage of money at my wedding! and both of them were first aid/cpr certified which was awesome to know.

don't get me wrong- i love my cousins, but they do have a tendency to run around like unharnessed banshees. that i don't love. especially at weddings :p

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Oh god , the average desi will have u hung if u ever so much as insinuated that their little angel might need GASP A BABYSITTER :hayaa:

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The wedding is in Karachi and the guest list has 500 people. The planner said that they arrange 250 seats for 500 people but will be providing 300 for us because she liked my ideas. and I always thought that I was dumb LOL! Anyways, if 10 people sit on one table, then I would be needing centerpieces for atleast 30+ tables. Hmm.... I should go and check out shops now and see if it would still cost me the moon.

I told you that you have brilliant ideas and the babystitter move was a clever one. I want to keep all those children at bay including my own so that they wouldn't disturb the arrangements like they always do. But I do think people would fly off the handle if I suggest a babysiter (no mom will trust them and they'll be harried in no time).

I was thinking about keeping a small corner separate for them with a sea-saw or swing of kind (like they have at birthday parties here) or maybe giving out coloring books and pencils for them to use (Already have loads to that stuff because I buy them bulk for my daughter as she is a coloring demon. LOL!). Placing a few elderly aunts around them would be good as they would be familiar with them.

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hrm... coloring pencils, kids, and dressy clothes? do you really want to do that? lol it could end in disaster.

i don't see what people's issues with babysitter's is... after all, the mom's would be relaxed and get a chance to enjoy the wedding, and frankly, don't people have "maee's" at home anyway for their kids?

if orchids are too pricey in pakistan (although they should be cheaper cos they're mostly shipped from thailand - at least for canada - and thailand is way closer to pakistan than canada!), you can always take the concept and sub in other flowers - i think submerged bouganvillea's would look gorgeous and they have the rich ruby color too- i remember that bloom being really common in karachi. and of course, theres always roses too. try varying the heights of the vases too if you're going to have round tables - that way, you might get away with two small-ish ones and only one tall one.

or try using more local resources- i mean, what about gorgeous silver matkas at each table with water, floating petals and floating candles on top? you could sprinkle rose petals all around the outside too and have more candles in votive holders.

you can also probably get someone local to make you gorgeous wooden boxes that they stain/paint a dark brown color and have the florist do the arrangement for you in those. there are so many woodworkers in karachi, 30 boxes should not cost much, i don't think. and remember, the whole box doesn't have to be full of flowers- there can always be moss and other grasses to add color and texture.

and don't forget the rest of the table- i'd say rent coordinating dressy linens and if an entire table cloth is a bit much, opt for the standard white, but maybe do a muted gold or silver overlay on top, take care of napkins and match the colors, do chair covers that are nice instead of regular white ones, or do nicer chairs that don't need covers if the option is available. do a mix of round and square tables for visual interest. rent really nice cutlery and plates/glasses, etc.

i find in decor, its alll about the details.

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heyyy i live in pakistan and i have alywas dreamed of having a kids area at my wdding lolzz so tht i dun have any kids bragging along wid their parents or running around i shared it wid a frd of mine who has 2 naughty kids she was a lil bit offended but i told her tht it would make her life easier but the thing is u wouldnt find gud baby sitters here and the moms would be still worried abt their kids................

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Wow, the babysitter idea is AMAZING!!! When we are invited to a wedding, we cannot attend unless we can bring our boys. And although they are well-behaved, we watch them like hawks so that they REMAIN well-behaved. So I very rarely have the chance to really enjoy a wedding or party, to sit and have a real conversation with an adult, to see and participate in festivities. HOW I'd love to attend a wedding with a babysitter!! Kids would enjoy it more too. I really dont see how anyone would have an issue with it - Desi or not! We do not use babysitters at home but this is very different...if Mom wants to check on kids, they are right nearby. Spectacular idea!

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cz why would desi kids need babysitters cz they are just sooooo well behaved and masoom and could never ever ever ever do bad things, only cute things. :halo:

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lolzzzz

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ok so why not let 'em do all their "cute things" off in a kiddie corner (it can even be in the same room!) just put a kid-sized table with kid-size chairs and some kids activities with a "youth activities consultant" and Mom can observe both the "cuties" and the adult festivities?!

ps, see this idea? call it a "youth activities consultant" or some such other fancy name (stay AWAY from the term "babysitter" and all of the grumblings will magically disappear!!)

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i sold it to my aunts as a bonus more for them, rather than oh your kids are brats, they’ll ruin my wedding. i told them i loved them and i wanted them to enjoy my wedding, to eat and dance and relax without having to run around after their kids or shush them during the speeches or whatever.
they loved it! they all had such a good time.

mahismart, i think having a separate kids area, but in sight of parents is equally good- esp. when there’s 500 guests and likely, you’ll have more than 10 kids. our sitters kept the kids entertained with coloring, games, & even bought along snacks if they got the munchies. you can certainly provide these to the maids or maee’s or whomever you’re hiring and the addition of swings/seesaw, etc. that you’re talking about- wow! a kids dream. even the centrepiece could be made of candy like this one-

that way when they do tear into them, who cares? its candy! let them!

the way it was set up, the garden had a huge fountain running lengthwise, parallel to the tent. the other side of the garden was free and a huge space for the kids and thats where the sitters set up. close enough for parents to peek over, but still separate and i never even noticed they were there until they heard the DJ and came over to dance which was totally cute.

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OMG a Mom's dream! I SO wish I had been invited to your wedding - sounds like it was AWESOME for EVERYONE!

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awww, thanks mama!

it was a really fun wedding, even if i do say so myself! ;)

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I went to an aqeeqa party once where they had a section of the hall with toys and games set up for kids and a few adults stationed there to watch them for the evening, it was great, all the moms sent their kids over to that side and were then totally relaxed for the evening. As long as the kids are having fun and are safe and are in a place is near enough for the moms to pop over for a quick check if they need to, I think its a totally fab idea that really should be done more often at our functions!

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That's the best idea i'd heard in a longtime (already mentioned it to SGC) I wudn't want kids picking at my dress or staining it with their greasy hands! I'd pay to get a couple of baby-sitters that are creative and can keep them occupied.. if they plan on watching anything by Disney the bride won't be found on stage. (Im a fan blush)

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^ heh… i think at my wedding we had abt 10 kids (not including 2 new borns from each side), and i dont think anybody tried to “touch me” at my wedding. then again, on my mehndi night I was getting y mehndi done and my 6 yo cousin kept coming SO NEAR me just to annoy me.. :hehe: