We’ve talked about what are the overly-done things, or the tacky things at a wedding. What do you guys think in this day and age are the must have-s that you’ve seen or you wish would be done at desi weddings? Is it something special for the kids you wish was there? A way that you wish the hosts would behave? Something for your own entertainment as guests?
Re: Must have-s at a wedding
Biryani 
Re: Must have-s at a wedding
was gonna say Biryani..but tweety beat me to it
Re: Must have-s at a wedding
LOL! And the good biryani too. Not that weird, watered down masala with almost dry chawal. And too much podeena.
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Also, my personal preference, a dulha and a dulhan..
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Mashallah mashallah what a ground breaking idea 
Re: Must have-s at a wedding
bouncy castle or play area for the kids...
wedding favours :D
Re: Must have-s at a wedding
Good cake. I'm not keen on the dense, dry type that looks heavenly as a ten-tier cake but has the texture and taste of straw.
Prior to my wedding, I did two cake tasting trials and sent my mum and mum-in-law to an additional two. Crikey, the bakery staff must have hated me. :D
Re: Must have-s at a wedding
Re: Must have-s at a wedding
definitely sitters for the kids, and good food. and a great band vs. a cheesy DJ.
Errmm, awesome picks by everyone, but we forgot the qazi. He is still sitting in the Rickshaw, outside the marriage hall.
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^Haha that made me chuckle
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Yeah that sounds awesome. At least that will prevent all the little kids from running around and probably will keep their mom’s pristine kaam wali kameezain wrinkle free
From what’s I’ve learned from those bakery reality shows, the cake is baked like, a week in advance of when it’s supposed to be presented and they spend that week decorating it with fondant and what not. No wonder the cake gets dry!
What did you keep in mind before your cake tastings? Besides how yum it was of course 
You want chai at your wedding?
I’ve seen some really nice ideas on Pinterest to keep the kids busy. Like crayons at the tables in the colors of the wedding. I think that’s soo important these days to keep the kids entertained. Probably more tahn the grown ups =/
Do you know what’s the cost difference between a DJ and a band?
Why is the qazi at the wedding anyways? Shouldn’t he be at the masjid parhaing the nikah?
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Good food and good cake. can't remember anyone else's cake but mine was...just..eh.
Re: Must have-s at a wedding
Good cake. I'm not keen on the dense, dry type that looks heavenly as a ten-tier cake but has the texture and taste of straw.
Prior to my wedding, I did two cake tasting trials and sent my mum and mum-in-law to an additional two. Crikey, the bakery staff must have hated me. :D
I LOVE LOVE LOVE wedding cake. I used to be very like "hmm I don't want one because it's gross and I'd rather have ras malai or desi desserts" but then I had some unbelievable cakes at 2-3 weddings I went to and now I'm a believer!
Re: Must have-s at a wedding
The type of cake I wanted was a bit different from the standard wedding cake, so I wanted to make sure the bakery and I were on the same page as to what I had in mind. The cake was mango cardamom sponge cake with caramel saffron filling. The first trial taste was to taste it and make sure it was right in terms of taste.
The second trial was to discuss the design of the cake and other logistics. I wanted the cake to be baked and assembled a couple of days in advance at most (for the reasons you mentioned) and that required loads of planning and discussion with the bakery and hence, the rest of the trials. The bakery was able to do this and did great job. My cake was quite similar to this one:
As far as this:
He’s on to something with that. Chai goes quite nicely with cake!
Must have-s at a wedding
Discipline while guests take food. I've been to weddings where a bunch of tables are told to Take food first, then followed by another bunch of tables. Maintains the flow and food area doesn't get crowded. Of course some Aunties don't bother ...
Must have-s at a wedding
Do all the photography and stuff after you have served food. Very important IMO
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For desi wedding in the West, I have noticed that the 'white' friends of the bride/groom actually show up on time and are left bored for the majority of the evening as the aunties cut in line for buffet, hog stage time with the couple and stare at them if they do participate with the couple.
I really like going to a wedding that has timely coordination and specific events so guests are not just bored and sitting at their tables for hours will pictures are taken and food is served.
Overall, desi weddings in the West are often at the same venue as the last as there are only so many places that have halal catering.
Re: Must have-s at a wedding
Someone coordinating people wanting to greet the bride and groom, or having their pictures taken with them. We had a table by table approach to try and sure there wasn't loads of queuing.