You’ve found your partner. Congratulations! You’re ready to kickstart this wonderful journey with your better half and we’re more than excited for you. Now, comes the time for solid Shaadi planning. We know it’s overwhelming when you think about where to begin, but don’t worry we’ll sort that out for you with our expert advice on every little requirement of yours pertaining to the wedding planning of course. So, coming back to the most daunting question.
What type of wedding do you want?
Something intimate, something grand, maybe a destination wedding? Let’s not kid ourselves, we’ve all day-dreaming sessions planning this perfect affair. If you are like the majority of us, who believe in saving the money for a better future and not spending all your life savings on this one event, then comes the difficult part.
Here maybe we could add a line about that Indian weddings are huge family affairs and involves the parents through and through so it’s not really much that youngsters can do. So these subtle points may help.
How do you narrow down on the guestlist given the constraints? How can you make sure that the relevant folks make it to your wedding?
Here are some full proof ideas to filter to a 99 people guestlist:
1. Have a small wedding.
Let’s start with the basics. Choose to invite only immediate family members and do a small event at home with selective people, including your few best friends. Then, maybe have a formal court wedding or set a mandap at the Mandir itself. This idea will definitely appeal to a true believer of minimalism.
2. Plan a destination wedding.
Pick the third place, away from your respective home towns. People understand that a destination wedding is always done within rational boundaries and they’ll never question you. Besides, it’s not possible for everyone to take time out and actually travel for the wedding in certain circumstances.
3. Plan a destination wedding in another continent.
This one is an epic idea. You can combine points 1 & 2 and also throw in an exotic family vacation. Let’s be honest, not everyone will take the pains to buy tickets to travel far away, and besides, getting VISA’s isn’t the easiest thing these days. This is perfect when you’re looking to run away from society.
4. Have one grand party followed by a small wedding ceremony.
A practiced norm these days is to throw a grand, fun engagement party in your hometown where you can invite more people. A one-time party will definitely be more cost-effective compared to hosting guests for a span of a few days. You don’t have to worry about the recurring costs of stocking up the bar inventory either. Also, you get to be part of your wedding rather than being just a spectator.
5. Use the “The other side is making all the arrangements” story!
This works almost every single time. In a normal wedding scenario where responsibilities are divided amongst both the families, either side plans different functions. For instance, if the boy’s side is hosting the Reception party, this automatically filters your list and you don’t even have to make any excuses, the reasons are valid.
6. The Demonetization rule works as a blessing in disguise.
It’s a legitimate justification these days. Make full use of it. There is a solid cash crunch and it’s going to be a while until it gets better, best to spread the word first about having a modest wedding and then plan after. We know, You’ve all been thinking about this!
7. Send beautiful gifts announcing the marriage along with a sweet note.
Endorsed by celebrities too, it’s a great gesture in itself. Everyone understands that it isn’t practical to call the whole Janta, even though you’d love to celebrate with them. Send a card that communicates that you are getting married and add a little present along with it. They’ll be overwhelmed and forget about the invite and hopefully not pay attention to the fact that they have been politely asked to sit this one out.
8. Invite people digitally, not everyone’s on the world wide web.
We can’t imagine the old folks to be active on the internet, can we? Nor does everyone have a valid email address and time to check each and every mail. At least, from your side, you did send the invites to them. The time and age for calling and getting RSVPs are a bit old. Let’s use technology, and hope a recipient is a lazy person who would never expect an invite digitally.
9. Be honest with your family members!
We know, the list of extended families doesn’t end. But, it isn’t practical to call each one of them to one wedding. The best way to deal with this is having an honest conversation with them about it and insisting on making sure that at least one couple that represents the family comes to be part of the celebrations. Toughest one to crack because, there is no way these people can miss little Pappu’s big wedding day, haina?
10. Go Dutch & let the guests pay for their accommodation & conveyance.
There are certain people in your life, who wouldn’t want to miss your wedding for any reason and they’d be willing to go ahead and even pay for their stay and transportation. Be clear about the expectations and have them come to your party without any extra baggage. Literally!
11. Choose the most popular day to get married!
Need we say more, this is a commonly occurring phenomenon these days. We’ve all had friends and family members who get married on the same dates because of the ultimate “Shubh Muhurat”. The guests will pick sides. RSVP’s become very important in this scenario.
So these were some authentic reasons on how you can condense your guest list, if you have some more wicked ideas, don’t forget to send them in so we can enlighten the rest of the world too!
GIFs: Giphy
Check out Auspicious Wedding Dates In 2020 According To Hindu Calendar.
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