Introduction

Pandya Photography

Hi all,

My name is Abhishek and I am planning on getting married in March of 2011!
I am here to try to get my act together as fast as possible!

I am a wedding photographer specializing in Indian weddings based out of NJ. I have lots of friends here that are also vendors that service the south asian community so things get complicated.

Do I use my friends because they can give me a good deal, or do I use what fits my budget? Ahhh! So here I am, reading and browsing, seeing what else is out there, and what other guys and girls are doing to make their event truely special.

My photography website is www.PandyaPhotography.com, we have lots of photos up there, so you can get a sense of our style. My partner in the photography business is my soon to be wife, and we have been planning a small and simple wedding, but after seeing so many amazing things, it is hard to settle for something basic. We are limited on time,but are trying our best!

Okay, I just wanted to introduce myself!

Best,
Abhi

kpwedkk

Hi Abhi,
Nice to meet you! Feel free to ask us questions! We'll surely help you out!!

ETA (Editted to Add): some questions:
- Where are you planning to get married?
- Have you and your fiancee settled on a budget?
- Have you and your fiancee picked out a venue?
- Does your wedding have a color theme?
- Are you planning to have a reception?
- Are you planning a fusion wedding (mixes from your culture and your fiance's?)

raangoli

Hi Abhi!

Welcome to the boards. It's nice to see a groom on here

The boards are quiet now, but there is a great group of ladies here that are a great help with anything you could probably think of!

I like your idea of small and simple! It's what my fiance and I wanted as well, we got the sort of small part (150 guests hopefully once RSVPs are back). I am not sure if simple works when it comes to desi weddings, but anything can be done!

As for hiring your friends, if it fits into your budget, then I would say go for it. But you also have to remember that if you go this route, your friends won't be really attending your wedding, but working at it, so you won't really be able to celebrate with them. Just something to think about.

A final note: some people might accuse you of being a sneaky vendor type trying to drum up business for themselves (based on your user name and mentioning your business/website, etc.) So I'd be cautious about that in future posts.

Pandya Photography

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/cultural-wedding-boards_south-asian-weddings_introduction-1?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Cultural Wedding BoardsForum:430Discussion:ab9f7e89-9967-47fd-9b1a-0d3b2de66bddPost:dc51546a-8f51-4309-95b3-4f64d1a0d131">Re: Introduction</a>:
[QUOTE]Hi Abhi, Nice to meet you! Feel free to ask us questions! We'll surely help you out!! ETA (Editted to Add): some questions: - Where are you planning to get married? - Have you and your fiancee settled on a budget? - Have you and your fiancee picked out a venue? - Does your wedding have a color theme? - Are you planning to have a reception? - Are you planning a fusion wedding (mixes from your culture and your fiance's?)
Posted by kpwedkk[/QUOTE]

Dear KPwedKK,

Thanks for the warm welcome!
ETA (Editted to Add): some questions:
- Where are you planning to get married? - NJ
- Have you and your fiancee settled on a budget? - NO! We have a ball park figure.
- Have you and your fiancee picked out a venue? - 3 venues, 2 of which are temples
- Does your wedding have a color theme? - I would like to do peacock colors for the reception, vibrant and lively, rather than the standard tiffany blue.
- Are you planning to have a reception? - yes! but small!
- Are you planning a fusion wedding (mixes from your culture and your fiance's?) we are both gujrati's so it won't be much of a fusion

Thanks again for the warm welcome!

Pandya Photography

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/cultural-wedding-boards_south-asian-weddings_introduction-1?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Cultural Wedding BoardsForum:430Discussion:ab9f7e89-9967-47fd-9b1a-0d3b2de66bddPost:d971f65b-42c4-43b1-9b17-6b61c8228c42">Re: Introduction</a>:
[QUOTE]Hi Abhi! Welcome to the boards. It's nice to see a groom on here :) The boards are quiet now, but there is a great group of ladies here that are a great help with anything you could probably think of! I like your idea of small and simple! It's what my fiance and I wanted as well, we got the sort of small part (150 guests hopefully once RSVPs are back). I am not sure if simple works when it comes to desi weddings, but anything can be done! As for hiring your friends, if it fits into your budget, then I would say go for it. But you also have to remember that if you go this route, your friends won't be really attending your wedding, but working at it, so you won't really be able to celebrate with them. Just something to think about. A final note: some people might accuse you of being a sneaky vendor type trying to drum up business for themselves (based on your user name and mentioning your business/website, etc.) So I'd be cautious about that in future posts.
Posted by raangoli[/QUOTE]

Thanks you too for the warm welcome! Yes, I feel like the only guy on here. It took me forever to figure out how to remove the high heels from the avatar!

Simple weddings are very fun, but hard to do in our culture. We are trying!

My friends, as in other vendors, would not be invited to the wedding, so I don't mind them performing their services, it is just that I can't really afford people in my vendor circle. They all do great work, but I don't think I really need it. If I don't hire them, then it is almost like a slap in the face. Brides have it hard, but vendors have troubles too!

When I first joined TheKnot, it was to get involved as a vendor. Then I got engaged, and the playing field has changed. If a MOD requries me to change my name, or not mention my background, that is not a problem!

Check out my other posts, it may even help to have a photographer on board that can answer questions that brides have. I think I am the only photographer that will recommend other photographers, and  even have links recommending my competition on my own website! I have interviewed quite a few shooters on the east coast, and have a unique perspective being that I am on both sides here, a client and a fellow photographer. I feel that helping is more important than "getting the gig", so you won't seem me persuading people here. Thanks for the tip!

Again, thanks for the warm welcome! Weddings are challenging, and I need all the support I can get!

MrsBM

Congrats Abhi
I agree with Raangoli...its a welcomed change to have a groom.
Feel free to post your questions ...and I'll be sure to help!

Pandya Photography

Thanks MrsBM, the ladies here will be seeing a lot of my questions! I hope everyone here is as nice as the folks who welcomed me!

Hinaj

Welcome to the board!!! Congrats!!  Wow....our first groom here!!! LOL...I thought I never see that day!!

kpwedkk

Peacock theme...
 - Look at this mandap - it's between teal, and turquoise.
 - A henna themed card, invitations, with peacocks on it... I like it because it's not done in the typical blues, greens and purples, but gives your guests a chance to get a taste of things to come
- Another invitation site that has save the dates etc in the peacock theme.
- A peacock tiered cake
- A Sangeet setup, very cool looking
- and some interesting pictures of the groomsmen and bridesmaids here.

Pandya Photography

Thanks you Hinaj!

Wow KPwedKK, you are like the WIki of Indian Weddings! Thank you so much for putting that post together, we will look through it in detail!

That cake is really nice, I think I may have to reconsider my budget!

kpwedkk

Hehehe, Abhi, I can look for things, believe it or not using the same search engines everyone else uses...  It's in my nature to help everyone out :-)

raangoli

Peacock themed weddings are very in lately - you'd have no problem finding ways to add simple, stylish peacock accents to your wedding.

At first I wanted a peacock and paisley theme, but we ran with just the paisley. It was our way of fusing together my Indian background and his American background and at the same time paying homage to his late father who used to draw paisleys on everything.