No one should have to go find vendors in AZ alone ever.
This really helped me and iIt would be great if you can make a plan, schedule, and start putting what your budget is in a spreadsheet. There are tools out there on
www.download.com but they really are geared to the American wedding population. I created my own spreadsheet, to keep track of vendors, timings etc. I could take out a lot of my information, and get you a template if you want.
Make a day of wedding schedule, where the bride is, where the groom is, the parents, or important relatives are and coordination as well. (be sure to include transportation)
We used family to be our MC person to announce, but DJ Isaac (listed below has this service as well)
For Mandaps/rental of equipment, chairs, tables, decor etc -A+
We used Premier Events (
http://www.premiereventsaz.com/) their website isn't much, you have to go to their showroom in person and we went to a Asian Bridal Show in September, and they had many Indian vendors there, and to see their booth
The burgundy fabric ensemble - that we picked was $500 for rental and it was a 10 foot by 10 foot under the mandap.
Also there's another one out there that doesn't have fabric, but the wooden one with gold spray -- $250 for rental I believe it's a 10 foot by 10 foot -- at
http://www.yknotparty.com/ceremonies.php#chuppahs
They are both located in Mesa on the same road, so I would urge you to make an appointment with both places, and check them out in their show room. They can show you pictures of ones they had already done, and what they are able to do. We ended up with Premier because they wash and clean everything in house, instead of outsourcing it, and there's no wrinkles in the table clothes, mandap fabrics etc.
For Florists: A++
I priced up most of the valley's florist shops and found that for bouquets, centerpieces for the reception tables (ranging between $40 and $100 per), and for the mandap ($100 per string of carnations) it was just too expensive. I found that in our family, lots of relatives were asking for something to do, you don't have to do this, but we ordered our flowers - calla lillies and gerbera daisies online at
costco.com for the center pieces and gave those flowers to our wedding coordinator to put together the centerpieces for us. For the mandap carnations, and for the audience to bless us, we used carnations, for which our family members put together.
The flowers got here the Thursday before our Saturday event, and they were in semi-bloom, which really worked well because on the wedding day, every flower was in bloom! The florists at Costco can direct you as well which day is the best to order, and when you should expect shipment. They were prompt, and quick.
We were going to go with Wendell Florists (in Tempe), but their pricing was a little outrageous for mandap carnation strings. They seemed very easy to work with, and had many great ideas, and their florist storage is a part of their building, so you could go back there with the owners and make your center pieces come alive. I kind of drew mine out in Visio (geek yes, engineer totally) and handed it to them, they touted about $100 for each one. I'm glad my wedding coordinator could put it together, all I had to do was get the flowers and the chocolates -- I've got a lot more photos of wedding things, so if you want to see something, please email me.
I think all of these things depend on what will or won't for your budget. Even though even on
azindia.com, a lot of the vendors have said that they won't share their own folks that they work with -- that not only hurts your impression, but they hope that you get all of their services, when that's not what you are looking for and at a eek! price.
Wedding Coordinator / Day of Coordination: A+
This is something I really recommend - it takes a lot of stress off of the bride, groom, and the parents, and you have one go-to person to be your coordination between all of your vendors - DJ, Florist, Wedding Cake, Theme, how you want the room to look, chair setup etc. I liked what someone had said, if you try to take on all the tasks alone, you are new to it, but if you get a vendor involved, they've been at what they do best far far much more than you have. Sometimes it's better if they take the reins.
I used Katrina Joy, because her's was the only website in which it had pricing in it. All of the other wedding planners I called were on a per hour basis, and charged you for all the meetings ahead of time. That's no fun at all! We even gave her a sari to wear, and coordination was excellent.
Katrina Joy Her email is: "Katrina Joy" <
katrina@somethingnewevents.net>
DJ Services: A+
I used DJ Isaac, and highly recommend him for Dhol to bring in the Baraat for the wedding, and music during the cocktail hour and for the reception. His website is
http://hyperproductionsdjs.com/ -- Check with him soon though, he books up fast.
Outfits: A+
All of my outfits, my husbands, my parents, and brothers came from Sona Chaandi in Artesia California. I had both of my outfits custom and did it 6 months before so that it could be done by a designer in India, and the fittings happened about a couple weeks before in California.
Location for Wedding and Reception: A
We used the Ekta Mandir and Indo Cultural Foundation (ICF) Hall across the street for the whole day. I really couldn't find something better with the time schedule that we had. We had our wedding from 9:30 to 12:30 and then at the hall for lunch at 11:30 to 2pm. Again at the hall for the reception and we transformed the place with lighting, through another vendor, and added more table linen, chair covers, and centerpiece pieces with candles (online too, candles4less) I even created dimensions and took measurements so that I could make a plan of where the tables were going to be, where we'd walk in from, the dance floor etc.
Invitations/ Wedding Programs / Favor Boxes: A+
I went through
parekhcards.com for both. They did a phenomenal job on both, and were really easy to work with. I supplied what I wanted, and we worked back and forth through email, and samples of ones they finished to get the final product.
Examples of ours -- if you want to use our wording we would like to know, it took forever to come up with it:
Catering We did chaat / samosas as an appetizer during the cocktail hour, and loads of desserts even from costco - like a gigantic carrot cake and it cost about $87! I couldn't believe it myself. For the wedding lunch, this was homemade, 7 vegetable dishes, two rice dishes, and two flour - equivalent tortilla accessories. The Reception dishes was from a Caribbean chef, Babbo's Italian (North Glendale), Salad - home made, and a couple dishes home made. All of the indian sweets for the dessert table was from Kohinoor Sweets and Snacks in Tempe
excellent stuff!
Mehendi -- D- (First time around) / A+ (when friend did it)
I tried Anita Singh @ Bell Rd and 57th Ave, but I had a really bad experience, terrible customer service, and charged me for her being late, oh well and it didn't take.
I had to get it redone, so I went with one of my friends, but she moved back to India.
For brides awaiting their day - I would have gone with Lotus Beauty Spa instead because they were also at the Rishthey Bridal Show, and gave a good discount.
http://www.lotusbeautyspa.com/bridal-packages-exotic.html or
http://www.strivedreams.com/joanna/henna/index.html
Hair / Makeup - A++
Stena Johnson -- did an awesome job, and came back in between wedding and reception to give me a whole new look. Also did many of my relatives as well the morning before the wedding, after I finished (bride). She comes to your house for a trial as well, and you can totally take pictures of your look so you know what you'd look like. Very easy going as well!
http://www.mysia.me/About_Us.php Photography - A++Nick Oza --
www.nickoza.com/ There were few choices out there for Indian photographers, who knew the basics of an Indian wedding, and looking at their portfolios, you could pick up certain pictures that were the same in each and every wedding that they did - like they were the kinds that were posed. When we viewed Nick Oza's portfolio -- nothing of the sort, and all of the pictures came out more than very well, they captured the essense of the moment. Some were of family, and some were the attentive details at the wedding, or reception.
He was easy to work with, spent the whole day with us, for a wedding at 10am, he was at our house at 8am -- and our reception was the same day starting at 7pm, and our event ended just after midnight. During the break between the wedding and reception, my husband and I was able to get exclusive pictures taken -- kind of like portrait shots as well. Nick was also very workable with my parents, and my husband's parents, and siblings, any shot that needed to be taken was! We even took shots at all of the tables at the reception!
Before the wedding, we talked over the phone to go over logistics, and what we wanted. We wanted portraits of the families, and of all of the significant steps of the wedding.
The day of, he spent the whole day with us, waking up early in the morning, getting ready, the ceremony, the portrait shots, and then the reception
It was awesome!
A wedding, one hopes, only happens once in our life times, and each is unique, as the next. I'm very happy with the pictures, and the quality of his pictures, and look forward to working with him, for all of our occasions in the future!
"The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched, they must be felt with the heart." ~ Miss K ~