Re: Pakistani Engagements?
hey lady, I LIVE on theknot.com and brides.com
i heart those websites! they are so useful not just for white couples but also desi couples- they have tons of centerpiece pics and reception/ceremony decor ideas etc. also hair/makeup etc. and for a while i was looking to version a white bridal gown into a desi lehenga cos some of the stuff on there is just GORGEOUS.
for white wedding dresses, i dont know if you've even looked yet, but alvinavalenta.com has some gorgeous stuff and so does jimhjelm.com and annebarge.com. to be honest, for a while there, i was REALLY looking forward to wearing a white dress at the ceremony but then plans changed. doh. and then i didnt want to be running around in red/maroon/burgundy/purple etc., outdoors, in august, so i finally settled on champagne and olive green. whew! i do have a pic though of a lovely wedding outfit in dark purple, maroon and burnt orange. sounds weird, but i'll post a pic tomorrow morning when i get to work.
i hope your wedding goes well too! the best thing is, his parents and his family seem to be very open to accepting you. this is a really good start as not all families are as accepting in the beginning! trust me, i've been there. haha
oh and as for the surprise proposal- well, my FH and i had discussed it and we decided that we would get engaged in late '06. around august, i told him i wanted my venue booked because, frankly, i didnt want to wait till he got around to it and everything got taken. so we went ahead and booked our venue, and then we just chillled. at one point, we even had our engagement party date picked out (end december) but still no ring. i was patient, sort of :p and then on our 5th anniversary, i went over to his place after work for dinner, as usual, and he was standing there all scrubbed up, shiny and smelling good, with flowers, a catered dinner and the ring! it was a total surprise even tho i had been expecting it. and for some reason, despite it being our anniverasry, i just didnt clue in that it would happen that day. :p so HOW/WHEN a proposal is done is also part of the surprise, even if you know its coming.
its good your FH will get to see a gora wedding- it will go a long way in explaining traditions to him and i hope you can successfully incorporate some stuff into your big days.