Great Honeymoon Destinations

A honeymoon to a magnificent location is the ideal way to consummate your marriage ceremony.

The strain caused by the hectic schedules and strains of social engagements and courtesies extended to relatives and friends make it very important for you to choose and plan your honeymoon properly.

The choice of your honeymoon totally depends on what you want your honeymoon to be. Some couples prefer basking on the beach while some revel in the idea of adventure. There are no hard and fast rules and it’s entirely up to you as to what you want from your honeymoon.

However, here are a few honeymoon spots which could help you if you find yourself lost in the list of locales.

Paris: This city breathes love. It has been the embodiment of love, poetry, beauty and art. So, if you are looking for a mood and ambience that makes your romance reach dizzying heights, this could be the place for you. Also, the beautiful French countryside and the wealth of culture are other aspects that could draw you to France.

Rome: If you are looking for an unprecedented affluence of culture, history, magnificent monuments and grand fountains, Rome is the place for you. And, while you are there, toss a coin over the shoulder for lady luck to bestow you with good fortune.

Kerala: Of all the marketing gimmicks, we find truth to be most omnipresent in the claim that Kerala is God’s Own Country. Its endless stretches of green fields, the touching hospitality in its house boats in the backwaters, the amazing array of wildlife and the relaxing massages make it a definite contender for one of the top spots for a honeymoon.

Rajasthan: This one is a beautiful mix bag of surprises. A state of stark contrasts; the enormous Thar Desert posited against the luxuriant Aravalli range. The palaces and fortresses are marvels of architecture and a testimony to the apex that the craftsmanship reached in the history of India. The nights compliment the days by being chilly and the barren landscape is poignant. Folk music, dance and its unique cuisine makes you wonder if you could ask for more.

Lakshadweep: An archipelago consisting of 12 atolls, 3 reefs and 5 submerged banks, Lakshadweep is located in the Arabian Sea. Spread across 32 sq.km, Lakshadweep is comprised of ten inhabited islands, 17 uninhabited islands attached islets, and four newly formed islets and 5 submerged reefs. Rich in marine life, secluded from the drone of the metros and with its coral reefs and shallow lagoons, Lakshadweep is also a lovely honeymoon destination.

A lot of couple favour beaches and mountainous regions for their honeymoon. As there are numerous enticing locales that promise you this ambience, we’ve categorised them into two categories and given you a few options which may be helpful to you.

Beaches: If you want to simply bask in the sun and sip margaritas then there are beaches aplenty across the world. Pick from beaches in Goa to those in the Caribbean Islands, Hawaii, Tahiti or the ones in Thailand and Malaysia.

Mountains: If you are a couple that can’t resist thrill and adventure then a trek in the mountains would be perfect for you. In India, the entire North Eastern region has an abundance of mountainous regions and a plethora of wildlife. A trek through some of the passes or a nature trail is highly exciting and soothing at the same time. You could also opt for the Swiss Alps in Europe.

Wedding Budget Tips

Let your ideas decide the outcome of your wedding and not the money itself.
It is true that money can buy a lot of things, but if you have a great wedding budget idea, you can make your wedding an affair to remember.

Your first step would be to make an honest assessment about the money that you can comfortably spend without having to bear the burden of debt that would follow your wedding if you spend unwisely.

To begin with, develop a clear picture about the kind of wedding you would like to have. As contradictory as it may sound, do not think of the money that you would need to accomplish it. Rather, think of ways in which you can best utilise your money.

Now, allocate the money to the events that you cannot do without professional help, for the rest, develop a do-it-yourself attitude.

Have a plan of the entire wedding on paper well in advance. Prepare a time sheet. Set goals and delegate responsibility. Gather friends and family to help you out. And, in order not to inconvenience them or push them to their limits, plan in advance what task which person would do best. Jot down details such as, when will it be most convenient for him/her to help you. Be polite and courteous to them and let your plan get the most out of each member without causing any trouble to him/her.

For the things that can’t come without money, be innovative and creative. Ideate yourself and take help from people who are good with ideation and creativity.

A close friend or a family member might help get you a discount from the caterers, designers or jewelers and a little thought and creativity will not only make your wedding beautiful and memorable but also save you from experiencing the pinch of the pocket later.

All along, think of ways in which you can stick to your budget and yet have a wedding you always desired.

If you have the will to have a great wedding, almost nothing can stop you from attaining it.

And, if you just need consultation on how to best utilise your money, visit our website http://www.enobella.com/knottyaffairs/ and contact us. We will provide a professional consultation by charging you a very reasonable fee.  

How to plan your own Royal Wedding?

Not a prince? Don’t wear a tiara to work? Don’t own land the size of a country? Don’t carry your gold in wheel barrows to dump it into your treasury? No problem. You can still have a wedding that resembles a royal one.

But for starters, let’s see what sets apart a royal wedding

Scribbling at the back of an envelope, you can come up with these things: Great location, Presence of the who’s who of the world, Great fashion, Amazing food and music and above all a sense of style that is irreplaceable.

So, how do we fit this into your budget? Let’s go through them one by one.

Great location: A great location does not necessarily mean you host your wedding on a private island or book the fanciest of five star hotels. A great location is a place which firstly is not run-of-the-mill. So, get your grey cells cracking and come up with some location nobody ever thought before. The thumb rule here is – people should enjoy being in this place. It should make them feel good; make them feel that they should outstay the wedding celebrations and continue to soak in the magic of the place. If you’ve achieved this then you can tick the first check box of your ‘what do I need for a royal wedding’ list.

Presence of the who’s who of the world: If you can’t get Brad Pitt to come to your wedding, you can make people at your wedding feel like Brad Pitt. Shower all the love, affection and comfort on your guests. This will have a magical effect on the ambience of your wedding. And, the merrier it gets, the more royal it does.

Great Fashion: Stay miles away from the current clichés in fashion. A little thinking and some help from a not-so-expensive designer can make you look stunning on your wedding day. The same goes for jewellery too. Scan magazines, browse shops and innovate. Then, get somebody to craft that for you (In India, this is a very plausible option, not too sure about other countries). You’ll have to work hard and plan but at the end of the day, it will be worth it.

Amazing Food and Music: Most weddings have the same food and music. Think of a unique theme for your wedding and weave in food and music that suits it. After all, weddings are events where people come to have a nice time. And, if it’s just like the hundreds they have attended before, then there won’t be anything memorable about yours. Set yourself apart and probably one day you will hear about your wedding, “That was one wedding I enjoyed.”

Sense of Style: Style is an individual statement and it lies in the minutest of things. Do things your way and let it reflect in every aspect of the wedding. From your wedding invitation, to the way guests are ushered in, stamp your mark on every facet of your wedding.

Moral of the story: You don’t need to empty your bank account to have a royal wedding. All that you need to do is transfer your style and persona to the wedding, ensure people have fun, love their food and music, and above all, you feel great about the way you look and feel. That done, it’s assured that your wedding will become a part of contemporary folklore, and that’s what a royal wedding is, isn’t it?

Create a Successful and Memorable Wedding

Weddings are once in a lifetime affair, mostly. Hence, creating a successful and memorable wedding is the dream of every couple. However, with so many aspects to be taken care of, things may go wrong. In this article we’ll give you a few pointers on how you can create a successful and memorable wedding.

Broadly speaking, there are two main aspects to a wedding: budget and organisation.

Your idea of your wedding should be in tandem with the amount you can spend. You may want a gala affair at an exotic location with several types of cuisines and décor that will delight your guests, but is that something which you can achieve with your budget? Therefore, a precise idea of how much you can spend is a very important aspect of your wedding.

Once you have a budget, or even a ballpark figure, you can go into the details and opt for choices that fit your budget.

You can choose a venue, cuisine, décor, trousseau and other embellishments that are within your budget.

This done, you can move to the next part where you can tackle things that might possibly go haywire.

Selecting a venue will be a major part of the organisation that goes into your wedding. Can the venue accommodate the number of guests you will be inviting? Can your guests reach the venue comfortably and park their vehicles easily? If it is not in your home town, have you made sufficient arrangements for their stay? These are some of the many factors that you will need to look into while considering your venue.

Now, let’s talk about third parties who would be catering to you. Have a plan sheet for all third parties involved in the function. Be crystal clear about what you expect from them and whether they are capable of delivering it. Pre-check their arrangements. Such as, taste the food that will be served. People who attend weddings judge them largely by the kind of food that is served. You do not want any gastronomical disaster to ruin the mood of your wedding.

With regards to décor, try to get visuals of how it would ultimately look like. Believe us, a lot is lost in translation and your vision could turn into a horrific reality.

The same applies to the seating arrangements, ushers and music. Make room for a few extra seats as people tend to gate-crash. Music should be in sync with the theme. You do not want to have a formal wedding and play electronic dance music. Have a trusted band of friends or family to oversee the proceedings; ushering in guests, making sure waiters are not dozing off, the food is not ice-cold or the photographer is spending his evening at the bar.

Memorable wedding photos are something that can never be retrieved if your photographer mistakes the bride and groom for somebody else.
It is difficult to get into the details of each and everything in a single article, so look out for other article that will follow this one and cover each aspect in depth.

Meanwhile, hope this has relieved some of the pressure and encouraged you to make an informed and organised start.

Cheers. See you soon with another helpful article.

The Great Indian Wedding

Welcome to the blog of Knotty Affairs.

If you love marriages, plan to get married, are married or any of your friends or relatives are about to get married, you’ll find lots of useful and interesting information here.

We plan to write and have a conversation about anything that concerns marriage. Why we get married, the ways we get married, the food that we eat at marriages, the clothes we wear, the songs that we sing; the list is endless and so will this blog be.

But for starters, we thought that we should just write a bit about the Great Indian Wedding.

The prefix ‘Great’ might be misinterpreted by a lot of people for weddings filled with pomp and splendour but that’s not the case. The Great Indian Wedding, with or without the frills, is great because of the sentiment attached to it, the promise that it holds not only for the bride and groom but also for the entire Indian family.

It’s a moment when the entire family comes together; long lost cousins, far-flung uncles and aunties, grandpas, grandmas, toddlers, neighbours and the entire community. It’s the true definition of community celebration. And, it’s not limited to a particular faith, caste, creed or community; it stretches across the entire Indian sub-continent, enveloping all the myriad people that form the country.

The sentiment is the same but the forms of celebration, the rituals, the ceremonies, the food, the dresses and the infinite things that go into making the Great Indian Wedding are so varied and full of cultural nuances that an entire lifetime would t be insufficient to witness all of them.

From the vibrant north to the slightly subdued south, Indian Weddings take on a different hue in this enormous country. The Punjabis, people from the state of Punjab, max the music and the display of sentiment is one which you would not see in any part of the world. Unlike the Punjabis, the people from Maharashtra prefer a subdued ceremony but make no mistake about the emotion invested, it is the same.

The south has its own charm. The rituals date back to centuries and are performed exactly the way they were hundreds and hundreds of years ago by their ancestors. Food is prepared by a section of the society whose job is only to cater to preparing and serving food at marriages.

In certain communities who have migrated to bigger cities, a fleet of buses is arranged to transport relatives living hundreds of kilometers away. Elaborate arrangements are made for the lodging and boarding of each of their loved ones.

While it may be a custom in other cultures for the bride and groom to receive gifts from the guests, the traffic flows both ways in the Great Indian Wedding. Members of the family and the extended family are gifted clothes, jewellery and other tokens of love before the marriage.

And, this is just the tip of the iceberg of an institution that runs so deep and across this nation. There is so, so much more to it and in the coming articles, we’ll present you with loads of more information and interesting facts about things that surround the Great Indian Wedding. Do stay tuned and share with us your stories, interesting anecdotes, facts, trivia and most of all, your valuable comments.