Several Questions -The clueless and dumb bride chronicle 2-

Lifestyle Wedding, Fashion & Beauty
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Re: Several Questions -The clueless and dumb bride chronicle 2-

in terms of invitations, one per family is the usual. you would need to make a list of all of your guests and count the number of families attending. print 10-15 extra cards just in case you have last minute attendees or need to send courtesy invites to guests who might not be able to attend but should receive an invite anyway. printing in pakistan is a hassle and a half unless you go with something very basic and even then, spell check, spell check, spell check!

it might be best to have your invitations printed in australia and mailed to pakistan to one address, or you could have them sent to pakistan directly, to a responsible family member who can then distribute them. online sites like minted.com and Wedding Invitations by Style and Color at Wedding Paper Divas have tons of options and varying price points.

mail service in pakistan isn’t very reliable either and as per custom too, wedding invitations are usually hand-delivered.

oh, also, 100 lb paper is usually the least thinnest you should go for invites. 110 or 130 lb would be better, but 100 will do in case you don’t want to spend that much per piece. this info will make sense once you visit a printer or look at wedding invitation websites.

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Re: Several Questions -The clueless and dumb bride chronicle 2-

If you want to save costs, printing cards in Pakistan would be pretty cheap (or go as high end as you want), all I am saying that it would be way cheaper. In Karachi, go to Pakistan Chowk, where there are tons of shops and designs. December is cold in Karachi but not terribly cold. The lowest they go are in the low fifties (Fahrenheit) though.

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Re: Several Questions -The clueless and dumb bride chronicle 2-

I'm so confused about this lights off at 10pm and 1 dish rule. My brother got married in Khi a few months ago, all 3 events went on past midnight and there was definitely more than one dish at each!! The wedding was in an army area though, so I don't know of that helped the cause?

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Re: Several Questions -The clueless and dumb bride chronicle 2-

I've seen several dishes in the pictures of my SOs cousins etcs weddings. and from the sounds of it Lahore seems pretty strict. He usually comes home really late after weddings too so idk.
I guess I'll ask him if its applicable in Karachi.

10 degrees celsius is nothing. I guess I'll be fine with short-sleeve.

I heard that henna takes 6hrs or so put on? How do you change etc?
Does it cost a lot to have arm length and feet?
I saw a girl with henna on her arm. I thought it was a tattoo! Are there any popular bridal designs atm?

I want to order my invites in Pakistan to save cost and definitely ship them from outside of Pakistan because I don't want my pretty cards disappearing.
We have friends and relatives all over the place so shipping might be costly... I was thinking of getting my UK SIL to distribute the invites there if we were going to invite some of our UK friends/relatives. US/Canada/Australia cards will have to be shipped from Japan.
It would be great if all our friends and relatives was in one city/country. I could save so much money!

Do they make typos with familiar names too? Like if my name was Fatima would they make it into Fetima?
My BILs nikah invite was gorgeous, although it would be a bit too much for me as it was in gold etc xD but it didn't seem to have problems.

How do you stop kids from running around throughout the events? I know you lovely mommies probably can keep your children calm and make sure they don't run around but my nieces and nephews are very energetic.
Is there any way to stop them? bribery? threatening??

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Re: Several Questions -The clueless and dumb bride chronicle 2-

The typos are easy to correct. The printers will give you a draft and you spell check and correct the errors. They shall give you the revised draft and you re-check and correct errors (if still left). Once you get a draft with no errors you are all set. Just be very thorough. I used to work in marketing in Karachi and dealt with printers all the time, plus got my own wedding cards printed there too with no problem (didn't have to revise the draft even once) . Your final card shall be error free if you check it, it should not be such a big issue. Post the cards through Pakistan post office, we get cards from Pakistan within 2 weeks all the time and it isn't that expensive.

Children will run around. You can try and hire clowns, magicians etc for the event but that would be added cost plus baby sitters. It is mostly an alien concept in Pakistan but really it does add to the fun. If your husband to be's family lives in Karachi then they could take offence at this suggestion.

I don't think the one dish rule is enforced in Karachi. Let me check and get back to you.

Henna on hands and feet (and arms) wouldn't be too expensive. I got arm length henna and it was cost efficient. Should be a few thousand ruppees at the most. depending on where you are getting it from. It does take a while to get the henna done. Change before you get the henna done (a night or 2 before the wedding), people can feed you if need be. Going to the bathroom can be a challenge so cut down on liquids right before.. If you are having a mehndi party then a night before the mehndi is the norm. people usually put it on at night and go to bed. It dries after a while so staining shouldn't be a issue. Put an old bed sheet on the bed just in case. wash off in the morning.

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Re: Several Questions -The clueless and dumb bride chronicle 2-

Okay thanks!
I'm a bit skeptical about Pakistani postal service but I guess I could give it a test run to a few people overseas and if they receive it on time then give it to everybody.

I don't want my wedding to be a circus I would rather people leave their kids behind if they can't behave themselves. Parents should be responsible for their kid and there are so many things that could go wrong with kids running around.
I think I'll do more research on that and see how I can get the kids to stay put.

Of course because there are so many kids would it be wise to set up a kids table? If so what age group should it be? like 4 ~ 14?
I think I'll reserve tables for close friends and family in the front so at least my nerves won't be so bad and I'll be able to relax because I would be able to see familiar faces.

So if I got the henna lets say two days before the event would it be completely dry by the time its a day before the event? as in could I change by myself/have a shower etc?

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Re: Several Questions -The clueless and dumb bride chronicle 2-

The 10 pm lights off rule is only applicable in Punjab and not in Karachi. If your wedding is in Lahore, you definitely need to wrap it by 10. In khi, you have room till max 1:00 a.m.

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Re: Several Questions -The clueless and dumb bride chronicle 2-

Why is it so different from city to city?

how long does weddings go for anyway?

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Re: Several Questions -The clueless and dumb bride chronicle 2-

The reason is the electricity shortage. Punjab has a chronic electricity problem. So weddings are wound up earlier to save energy and decrease load shedding.

Karachi is relatively much, much better. alhamdulilAllah.

In Karachi, weddings start around nine thirty p.m and end on or before 12:00.

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Re: Several Questions -The clueless and dumb bride chronicle 2-

Plus the 1 dish rule doesnot applies for Karachi, its for Punjab, in Karachi, you can serve as many dishes as you want, no restriction on that.

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Re: Several Questions -The clueless and dumb bride chronicle 2-

If having no kids is a priority for you you can specify that on the wedding card. Of course close friends and family will bring their kids and you can arrange for entertainment for the,m. These things are not that expensive in Pakistan and also shall ensure your peace of mind. Mehndi will be dry and ready to be washed off in about 8 hours that is you apply mehndi/ henna and go to bed, wake up and wash it off and you are ready to go.

I am not sure that kids will want to sit at a kids only table. Close family and freinds sit on the front seats anyways in Pakistan mostly so that shouldn't be an issue. Weddings go on for 5-6 hours.

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Re: Several Questions -The clueless and dumb bride chronicle 2-

washed off..? I thought mehndi stays on for a few days??

I don't mind kids being at my wedding just as long as they behave. God forbid they throw a tantrum or run into something. :(

Will the children be interested in the wedding food? I think I should provide them with some kid friendly food...

for food I was thinking of a Vegetable/Fruit platter, Vegetable dish, Meat dish, Briyani, Dessert, Cake with cupcakes and maybe sushi? (california rolls or something)
With drinks what do they normally serve? and would it be bad if I didn't want soft drinks at my wedding?

For guests my SO has 4 siblings who are married do we send invites to their inlaws as well? I'm estimating about 300 guests most of which are going to be his family/friends. I don't really want to offend anyone so should I stay put on the seat or can I walk around and talk?

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Re: Several Questions -The clueless and dumb bride chronicle 2-

see above.

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Re: Several Questions -The clueless and dumb bride chronicle 2-

I don't mind inviting inlaws at all. I've mellowed down and decided the more the merrier! I only know (from my SO) two sets of inlaws so it'll be fun I think. A new experience for them and us.

My SOs friends are geeks.. by that I mean they love Japanese stuff more than I do and know more about Japanese pop culture. So I guess I could make about 200 or so on a platter I'm sure it'll go quickly. My friends and family would eat it anyway.

Water?:D ok soft drinks are fine I guess how about lassie? do people drink that at weddings? >.> I would drink that over soft drinks but then again I'm a foreigner.
Do people serve kulfi at weddings? (I just thought of it because I've never tried it before :O)

I guess I'll stay put next to my SO and laugh its just when I get nervous I like to walk around. I hope he'll be able to calm me down and I'll be able to talk properly.

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Re: Several Questions -The clueless and dumb bride chronicle 2-

^ lassi is a great idea and would be very welcome, as would kulfi.
we served cupcakes and kulfi at my brother's valima and they were a big hit.

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Re: Several Questions -The clueless and dumb bride chronicle 2-

I'm not used to wearing a dupatta either.. it's something I've been mulling over as well..

Some more traditional families don't like white.. My family are ok with.. Am wearing an ivory gown for the second part of my reception..

Nowadays it's not so unusual for the bride to walk around, chat to the guests etc. but again it depends on family..

PS check out Pinterest for wedding ideas.. It's my new obsession :D

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Re: Several Questions -The clueless and dumb bride chronicle 2-

thanks~

Does Pakistan have ginger beer? (its not alcohol kinda like ginger ale but spicier)

I'm not wearing white in my desi wedding since it'll clash with my Australian wedding. I mean it would just spoil the chance to get colorful you know? If it would look good on me I would have several colors blending into each other :x!

and :O okay
I will but I can't seem to register?

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Re: Several Questions -The clueless and dumb bride chronicle 2-

You can get both ginger beer and ginger ale from big stores there but I'm not sure if they have flavored ones or with real ginger.

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Re: Several Questions -The clueless and dumb bride chronicle 2-

Ginger Ale for most Pakistanis is an acquired taste. Lassie is a better idea, though probably soft drinks would be more cost effective.

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Re: Several Questions -The clueless and dumb bride chronicle 2-

Oh I'm going to have lassi but was just thinking about ginger ale because we have ginger beer in australia (its divine!!)

any suggestion with what else I can do to mix things up? I like how colorful desi weddings are and general clothing. I would say I'm very boring color wise because I don't stray from plain colors and definitely gravitate towards black/red/white/dark green whenever I'm in a shop.
So for this occasion I want to be as colorful as I can which means a variety of colors.

I really like mustard yellow, lilac, peach, sky blue at the moment so I was wondering how I could incorporate some of those colors in my wedding..

Do desi weddings have flower arrangements? If they do, are there any flowers that are frowned upon? Like white lilies are for funerals in western countries but you can see them in Japanese weddings. Carnations also have different meaning in Australia they are used in weddings and Japan funerals... So I would like to be careful about that.