Everyone wants a perfect wedding but everyone has different tastes and opinions, different religious beliefs and views on the type of ceremony they'd like. With this in mind, this section is for those specialised beliefs, and to give a helping hand for these individual weddings.
Asian Ceremonies
• Bit of background - Many more brides who aren't actually Asian still have Asian themed weddings. This lets them express themselves throughout their wedding! The most common style of non-Asian born Asian weddings are Japanese "Zen" weddings, which is a type of ceremony that values simplicity and nature, and the Chinese style wedding, which is the opposite including bright, vibrant colours.
• Marriages - Asian ceremonies and weddings are like a "royal pageant" as they are parading and making the bride and groom feels like royalty. They are colourful and vibrant and are mostly centred on music. The Hindu wedding is a branch from as Asian wedding and is possibly the most vivid of all of the varieties of Asian ceremonies. Hindu weddings in particular, include customary rituals to warn off evil spirits when the vows have been exchanged, the grooms father or brother will then sprinkle flower petals on the newlyweds and will then hold a coconut over the bride and groom's heads and circle it round them three times.
• What to wear - An Indian groom often wears a turban with a veil or flowers which is draped over his face to protect him from evil spirits. Recently, the Asian fashion limelight has loved the groom's wear of Asian weddings, which has increased the number of men who are now willing to don ethnic Asian attire!! There is so much choice to choose from; Sherwanis (They are a tight fitting knee-length jackets which button all the way to the knee and look very regal), Jodhpuri Suits (Very similar to a western suit with a slightly shorter collar, they come with waistcoats and come in a range of colours), Kurta Pyjamas (These are tunics that are once again knee-length, which are worn over matching trousers. This style is far more traditional and is the most popular choice for an Asian wedding). Traditionally, Indian brides wear pink and red saris on their wedding day, wearing as much jewellery as possible! Also, henna staining is usually done the night before the wedding. Following traditional ceremonial cleansing the bride-to-be will have her hands and feet painted with henna in beautiful paisley of medallion patterns. Then a necklace, signifying her married status, is given to the bride.
• Where to have it - For the venue, you need to choose a place which will be easy to get to from the ceremony, fits in with your budget for the reception and is suitable for what you both want. Make sure that the venue is big enough to fit in all of the guests. Also, remember that an agreement on the phone isn't binding and that you'll have to get a confirmation on the venue in writing! For the decoration of the room, you should make sure that you know what will, and won't, be there in your day so that you know how much decoration it needs. Consider indoor fountains with floating candles and flowers, or indoor fireworks with coloured lighting effects and of course fresh flower arrangements.