Indian Wedding Card's BlogOnline Since 2001 by Readiprint Group

Wedding is such an occasion wherein the bride and the groom are the center of the attraction. Generally, they strive to look unique by opting for exquisite attires, beautiful and big jewelry pieces, or by opting for anything that helps them in looking outstanding. Apart from beautiful attires, there are many ways through which uniqueness can be achieved. Selecting a fascinating wedding headgear or Shehra is among those effective ways that can make the bride and the groom appear stand apart from the rest of the crowd. For the brides, a headgear is basically is in the form of a jewelry piece, headband or a flower. Even on the wedding invitation, the bride and groom symbol is there in which they are dressed in the traditional wedding attire in which the groom has a Shehra on his head.

Wedding headgear for men, Shehra is also widely known as pagari or saafa. In English language, it is known as Turban. The credit of an origin of Saafa goes to a royal state of India called Rajasthan. Saafas refer to those turbans that are made from a colorful strip of a cloth. The culture of tying Saafa has almost become an inherent part of the Indian weddings and it is considered as one of the most essential accessory for the Groom. Most of the time, a kalgi, that is in the form of a little broach, is tucked on the turban from its front side. It generally accompanies feather with it.

Rajasthani turbans are knows for offering a royal appeal to its wearer. It is known to the all, that during olden time; kings would wear turbans that would also feature a kalgi in it. Generally, a kalgi would include precious stones and a feather and by looking at the richness of it, it was easy to make out that who is the king. However, turbans are still the inherent element of the attires of the traditional village men. It is really surprising to know that round about thousand varied types and styles of turbans do exist in Rajasthan. The diverse styles differ from one region to another and from one caste to another. Generally, the width of a pagari is 9 inch width and its length is 52 feet. On the contrary, Saafa is of small length and it is broader.

Earlier, the majority of the people knew an art of tying turban but due to the modernization, this art is now gradually dying. It is generally the older generation that ties the turbans during weddings or some expert is being called to tie the turban to the groom. These experts are known as pagribands. A falguniya turban featuring red or white color is worn during spring season. The dotted chunri or bright colors indicates an auspicious occasion like marriage or birth of a child. A panchrangi turban features five different colors and is worn by the rajputs mainly that too of Jodhpur region. A lahariya turban is worn during the season of rains. Zari turban is created out of the rich-textured cloth like silk and Zari and is worn by the groom during the formal occasion of marriage. According to the colors as well, the turbans differ from one and another. For an instance, bright colors like pink, green, red, etc are worn during auspicious occasions and during festivals. On the contrary, dull colors like maroon, khaki, etc are worn during distressing occasions.

Indian Weddings are a grand affair and comprises of many rituals. These rituals are performed in the presence of pundit and he is the one who directs the families how all rituals are to be performed. Pundit plays a crucial role as a wedding cannot happen without him. Right from finding the auspicious day for wedding to finalizing the wedding cards to the bidai, the pundit is there as the emissary of god and goddesses. He recites all the hymns and mantras which are necessary for the wedding. The recitation of these is considered auspicious and the presence of the pundit is itself an auspicious thing. Indian Weddings are supposed to be witnessed and presided by gods and goddesses and pundit is believed to be the purest soul with all the knowledge of Vedas who appeases Gods by various offerings and mantras so that the wedding goes on without any hindrance.

The whole process of wedding begins with a Pundit; he is the one who matches the horoscopes of bride and groom and then decides an auspicious day for the wedding to happen. He initiates all the ceremonies and also tells everything to the families. Indians believe in Mahurat and every ritual is performed according to the Mahurat fixed by the pundit. No one except him has the knowledge to tell about the various rituals. Even the family asks for the advice of Pundit before taking any decision. The importance of him can be seen in daily lives too when people visit temples and give their offerings to the gods and goddesses through him. It is he who is considered the intermediate between gods and human beings. He excels in the knowledge of Vedas and that sets him apart from the crowd. The origin is also important as the one who is born to Pundit family can become a pundit and not the others. The pundit requires to have a sound knowledge of Sanskrit too as almost all mantras are in this language.

It is the he who submits the wedding cards to gods and goddesses and then these are sent out to the guests. When the wedding ceremony takes place pundit prepares the vedi or the holy place where the Pheras would take place and performs all the rituals for a wedding. He explains the meaning of marriage to the bride and groom and all the family members. The responsibilities and duties that come after when gets married is also explained and is seriously listened too. A pundit is given clothes and money that is called Dakshina and it is believed that if the pundit is satisfied gods too are satisfied. Even the most modern families perform the wedding ceremony and cannot think of abstaining from the directions given by the pundit. The presence of a pundit is essential for all rituals and pujas related to Wedding, child birth, new house, engagements and even death. The society cannot think of surviving without him. Their presence and existence is important for sustaining the one cannot imagine an Indian society without them. Puja is not perfect unless performed by a pundit

Indian weddings are known for their flamboyancies and talk about any wedding including Marwari, Gujrati, Punjabi, Sikh, etc, a wedding always spreads over few days. Every pre-wedding and post wedding function enjoys attention because the success of the wedding event is decided by taking into consideration, the successful completion of all the pre and post wedding related events. Those various pre and post wedding events include wedding cards printing, engagement, haldi ceremony, mehndi, ganesh pujan, sangeet, grahshanti and reception. Among these events, Sangeet ceremony is the one that allows the younger generation to take the full control of the preparations. This ceremony is considered as one of the most exciting ceremonies because the focus from the family of bride and groom shifts towards their near and dear ones.

Due to the same reason, now days, people leave no stone unturned in making a sangeet ceremony, a gala affair. Some specifically mention the detailed program of Mahila Sangeet on the wedding cards. Apart from that, music, entertainment, live DJs and stage shows have begun playing an important role in wedding event and reception, as well. There are some essential ingredients for making the sangeet ceremony, wedding and reception events, more entertaining and more happening. Now let’s have a glance on the importance of all the ingredients, one by one:

Music: It is considered as the soul of the pre and post wedding and also the actual wedding ceremony. Choice of music can simply make or mar the event. Where at one side, selection of appropriate and good songs can create a pleasing ambiance, on other side; selection of inappropriate songs can cause a feeling of discomfort to elders and can ruin a good ambiance. Generally, it is wise to select exclusive songs based on wedding themes. Now days, people prefer to play instrumental music in the background during the dinner time so that the environment doesn’t get noisy.

Entertainment: All these three ceremonies can be made more interesting by opting for unusual ways of entertaining the guests. For an example, a professional comedian may be hired who can keep up the exciting mood of the guests throughout the event. Before and after every performance, commentary may be added to keep monotony at bay and to enhance the enthusiasm of the performers. Professional singers or live band are fantastic way to make the events more entertaining.

Live DJ: Rising demand of professional DJ indicates that popularity of this trend is increasing by leaps and bounds. A professional DJ possesses a good sense of humor and knows the value of right timing. By hiring a DJ, one can bring uniqueness in all three most important ceremonies and when the option of song on request is being given to the guests, they feel more involved.

Dance or stage shows: Earlier, the preparations of sangeet ceremony was restricted to the near and dear ones and the family of the wedding host and due to the lack of professional touch, the event would look somewhat haphazard. The trend of hiring professional dance groups, individual dancers and stage show performers, for all the three events, is really in rage. Professional performances look more appealing, they are undoubtedly more entertaining and they appear more sophisticated.

Wedding is a grand ceremony that calls for the participation of all relatives and friends and even distant relatives are invited to be the part of great occasion. The ceremony can never be complete without the participation and blessings of the near and dear ones. Wedding is something that all the relatives and friends look forward too as this is the time when one gets to meet all the relatives whom otherwise one does not get to meet in busy course of life. This is the time when one is in complete mood of enjoyment; a time when the childhood is relived and past is recreated. All enjoy each other’s company and relish each moment. Wedding is the time when one enjoys dressing up, food, dance all because of the company and occasion.

For all the excitement that one gets, company is essential and for the guests’ invitation in proper manner is must. The traditional manner of sending wedding scroll invitations still continues and that too in time and proper manner; because invites contains all the relevant information it is essential that everything is properly printed so that no wrong information is conveyed. If the invites are being delivered in person it should be made sure that proper salutation is written on it. Scroll Invitations are a form of request that one sends to others to be a part of important occasion and so the language should be proper. These are sent even to one’s official colleagues so care should be taken that it is carefully delivered. Wedding invites are generally not sent without sweets so separate boxes along with each invitation card should be placed area wise so that the distribution is quite easy.

It is a good practice to make a guest list prepared well in time so that no friend and relative are missed out. Wedding is a single time affair and forgetting any of the relatives or friends would be a blunder; the distribution of the invites should also start well in time so as to avoid last moment rush and chaos. In addition to this, the most preferred way to deliver scroll invitations is by a personal visit as one, it enhances social contact, second, it allows the guests to put forward some essential query that can be addresses at the same time.

If the invites are being sent through courier or post then it should be made sure that proper address is marked on it and even RSVP along with proper contact numbers should be mentioned so that the person gets to contact easily. The map of the venue is also printed these days at the back of the cards so that the location is not easy to trace and locate. The cards if sent in time also help the host to know how many guests would attend the occasion and timely arrangements also can be made. Well planned weddings are always properly executed and double the fun and enjoyment because there is no confusion and all the relatives and friends would be the part of grand ceremony. Scroll invitations play an important role in planning wedding and these should be perfect and proper. 

People have begun laying a strong emphasis on the quality of a wedding invitation cards, of late. Now a days, people have a tendency to judge the grandness of a wedding event through throwing a glance on the marriage invite. Due to the same reason, people leave no stone unturned in opting for a magnificent card. With an advent of online wedding invitation card stores, there has been a rise in the number of the people who prefer ordering card from there. Be it Hindu wedding cards or Muslim wedding cards, both are available in varied shapes, sizes, designs online. However, that doesn’t indicate towards the decrease in the popularity of the land-based card stores. In case, if you are keen about ordering a card from online store, read on about the important aspects to be considered upon:

Experience: New doesn’t refer to fresh offering always and old doesn’t refer to a quality work. However, majority of the people prefer to get their work done from established company and same goes true with an online portal, offering wedding invites. It is quite easy to figure about an experience by going in the ‘About Us’ section of a website. You can also get some idea by referring to the mission and vision of the company. If a company is dedicated towards offering premium quality work, then it would prove to be an ideal one to take up your order. More experience indicates towards fineness in the work so it is better to entrust the work to an experienced company instead of a new entrant. If you wish to have Hindu wedding cards printed, inquire about their specialization in the field.

Cliental list: Generally, an online company includes a clientele list, in order to give an idea about its reputation and quality of the work, to the potential clients. Don’t miss out an opportunity of having a glimpse on the clientele list because if it includes big names, you have landed up at a right destination.

Customer services: Having a careful look at the diverse customer services by an online portal, suggests a lot. Criteria like shipping time, customer care services, facility of sending free sample, discount on bulk order, etc can facilitate you in making a decision regarding placing an order to a company.

Portfolio: Online stores offer a glimpse on the collection of diverse categories of the marriage cards including designer invites, theme-based invites,  invites based on specific sizes and shapes, invites based on different price range, religions based invites, etc. Taking a look at the collection is easiest way to determine whether the quality and design offered by a company is worth or no.

Now comes, aspects to look before ordering an invitation cards from the land-based shop:

Printing machine: It is pointless to say that a lot hinges on the printing quality, which in turn depends on the sophistication of a machine. Modern printing machines gain an upper hand in quality aspect over conventional printing machines. One should not forget about availing the biggest benefit of ordering through a land based shop and that is considering the superiority of the printing machines.

Portfolio and clientele list: Don’t forget to ask for a portfolio of a company and its clientele list because that gives a clear picture regarding the credibility of a company and quality of its work.

Customer services: Gaining a knowledge regarding diverse kinds of customer services also facilitates one in taking a decision. Besides that, one must consider various terms and conditions related to the price, delivery time, etc.

Customer-friendliness of the employees: Developing an invitation card is a team work. Thus, an interaction with diverse kinds of the employees, who are responsible for creating a design theme, designing a card, printing a card, etc facilitates one in understanding about the capabilities of the employees regarding developing a desired wedding invite.

Unity in Diversity

Each religion has its own customs and that is what makes it different from other. They have their own set of beliefs and rituals which accentuate and sustain life; Hinduism is the largest religion in India. Hindu rituals and customs are not very different from other religions still they have characteristics of their own. Specially, despite of regional variations in some ritual the Hindu marriage rituals are the same. Right from the Ganesh puja to the sending of Hindu wedding cards to guests in a wedding, to the last rites all religious occasions are celebrated with much religious fervor.

Ganesh Puja: This is the most important and first step of each and every ritual or religious ceremony performed by Hindus. It is a belief that action would be successful only if it starts with the invocation of lord Ganesha.

Songs: Each ceremony is accompanied by songs which are considered auspicious and also adds the element of fun.

Putting Kumkum on forehead:

Puja Items

This is also an important ritual. No ceremony be it simple puja or a grand event like wedding is considered to be complete without Kumkum. It is also an auspicious symbol.

Wedding: 

Wedding Knife

Wedding is an important event in all religion and also holds an important place in Hindu religion as well. Wedding is a big ritual that comprises of various other rituals and is celebrated with full zest and vigor. Various ceremonies like shagun, sangeet, mehendi etc. are important ceremonies that precede wedding ceremony.

Holy Fire: Fire holds an important place in Hinduism. It is considered to be an important deity. All ceremonies are performed in the presence of fire. Festivals like Holi, Diwali all are celebrated by lighting of fire. Wedding is also considered to be complete when the bride and groom take seven rounds around the holy fire. The presence of fire is believed to remove all impurities and evil spirits.

Bells: ringing of bells is also an important custom in Hindu religion. All pujas are accompanied by sounds of bell and the vibrations are believed to purify all the surroundings also.

Touching of Feet: Elders are given respect by young by touching their feet. This is also an important custom that is observed by Hindus.

Name protocol: There is a protocol that has to be observed when addressing the elders. Each relation has its own name protocol and is followed strictly.

Gifts: Gifts hold an important place in Hindu religion and it is a custom to send gifts on important occasions like wedding, Holi and Diwali. After wedding whenever the girl visits her parents she takes sweet and also brings some gifts when she comes back to her in-laws place.

Mehendi: Putting mehendi on palm and feet is also an important custom in Hindu religion. Women and girls decorate their hands and feet with mehendi before every puja. Even boys apply mehendi on their hands at the time of their wedding. Puja is considered to be incomplete without mehendi.

Despite of modernization changing the world these customs and rituals have stayed on. Our forefathers followed these customs and the coming generations would no doubt be following them may be with some variations. These customs and rituals have become an integral part of all religions and act as their life and breath.

Weeding is the most awaited occasion for one’s life and there are many ways in which this day can be celebrated. People do have advance plans for the way they celebrate their special occasion. One new idea which is very much in trend is an eco friendly wedding as this is very cost effective and less harmful to nature.

This idea is not very common to attract many people as it gives a different feeling that is feeling nature very close. A lot of options are available for these kind of weddings as well. There is a list of things which need to be arranged, a list of some important ones are mentioned below-

•    Outfits – These play a very important role on this occasion especially for the bride and the groom. There is a huge choice of these available in the market but an eco friendly outfit such as bamboo fabric is bit difficult to get and not so easily available. The options one can consider are cotton, silk. These are available easily along with a wide variety. All the near and dear ones can also opt of wearing this fabric only.

Door Decoration

•    Decoration– The second thing which plays an important role is the ambience, use small pots and hanging pots forthis purpose as these will give a fantastic look and can be reused after the occasion. Even for the center tables use small pots having lovely flowers like red, yellow, pink, and orange, these will give a fresh look to the venue. Even the small bamboo in pots can be given as a wedding gift to all the guests as these are believed to be lucky ad will always remain with them.

•    Flowers – It is always good to opt for flowers which are available nearby as these will not lose their freshness due to transportation and are cost effective too. One can also opt for fabric flowers made from cotton and silk material as these can be easily reused and are eco friendly too.

•    Wedding Cards – The first thing which gives an idea for this eco friendly wedding concept is the wedding card. The material used should be handmade paper or recycled paper as these are of one time use. One can also get seeds embedded on these invitations so that after wedding people can get these planted and will remember the wedding for years when they will see this plant.

•    Eatables – There are many options which are available for organic food. The raw material which is easily available near marriage venue should be used as this will be fresher and will be easily available on demand, but make sure that the caterer is comfortable with the same.

This will be less expensive and easy to manage wedding as all the arrangements will be done from the products available within place or from nearby. Opting for a wedding like this will also inspire others to plan their big day this way. This will add extra star to your happiness as you are contributing your share towards nature and thereby making your day a very unique one.

Outfit is most important and it has a great impact on the personality of a person. This holds a very important place in everyone’s life this is one thing whose trends keeps on changing but even after that the demand is ever increasing. This is one of the most prominent things on the wedding day especially for the bride and the groom. Now the outfit looks, colour material differs according to the bride religions like Hindu, Muslim, and Christian.

It is a well known fact that Muslims are very fashionable and so are their outfits. The lavishness of Muslim weddings can be gauged by the Muslim wedding cards as well as the outfits of the bride and the groom. There are thousands of designs which are available for a Muslim bride dress. Before finalizing the dress one needs to be very clear about the budget as there is a vast range available.

Their dresses are very rich in looks as well material, the cloth used is very of very high quality like polyester, satin, silk etc. Many designs such a deep neck, close neck, short sleeves, long sleeves, fish cut, umbrella cut etc. Once the design and pattern is finalized the second step is the cloth type like wrinkle free, self wok, brocket etc. which material will be used as the base.

There are many options of this dress which are available on line so one can choose from these or can design the same. There are options available on line for mix and match as well where one can opt for different colour lehanga, sharara and Chuni in contrast. The colour which is preferred most in Muslim origin is white, maximum dresses are available in this color, but one can always look for other colors as well. Also the bride can choose the dress as per the theme of the wedding and the Muslim wedding cards.

Once you are through with the color, decide on the work which you want on your outfit like beads, lace, ari-tari, gota etc. is very important to give proper measurement of the outfit as a very tight or lose outfit will lose its grace and will be a useless  or waste investment.

The measurement should be taken by an expert and if you are placing an order on line make sure that you provide the details properly. Make sure you see the material in hand before finalizing it on-line because at times there is a difference in the look of the fabric. If you are ordering the dress on-line make sure you order it 20 days before the occasion date. Ideally, the same should reach you within seven days after everything is finalized by you so that you get time to check it out the fitting, the look, the material and the work and can get the alteration done with in time if required.

If there is any work or alteration which needs to be done on the material make sure that the same is done before the dress is ready as if the additions are done after that it will lose its finishing. The best stock for Muslim wedding outfits is located in India. In order to provide these dresses all over the world there are many sites available. So do a proper planning for this big day outfit, as this is your big day and this outfit will surely add more beauty to your look and smile to your face.

Wedding is a ritual that has been performed by all religions since the creation of universe, it seems. This tradition has undergone many changes but the institution remains as important as it was in earlier times. As traditional as wedding is so is the tradition of sending invites; but this tradition also has undergone significant changes. Invites in Middle India were sent in the form of Yellow Rice (Peele Chawal). Yellow Rice is an auspicious symbol that initiate wedding. This tradition is still followed but as in earlier times the symbolic rice is not sent as the form of invitation. This tradition was long back, and then came the tradition of sending lagan Patrika which was a type of wedding invite.

People still follow customary way of inviting friends and relatives but with modern methods. The wedding invites to the distant relatives were sent through snail mails earlier. The relatives were informed much earlier through Manuhar patrika and then invites were sent through snail mails. Now with the advancement of technology the world has become small and so it is easier to contact distant relatives and make them a part of all the ceremonies. The wedding cards are no longer difficult to send as there is now the option of e-cards. Wedding cards can be customized online and can be sent to as many friends and relatives as one wants. This method of inviting people has made the whole process much easier to execute.

The printed cards have also undergone many changes the design, font and paper all are different from the middle ages. The wedding cards in traditional times were hand written but now these are printed and that too in many styles: engraving, lithography, thermograph, letterpress printing, sometimes blind embossing, compression plate process, or offset printing. Earlier the clichéd words were written on almost all cards but now people have let their creativity fill the simple words in the form of poetry and prose. The response cards  are also attached with the cards which require the response of the guests that they are attending the wedding or not. The response cards help the host to make the necessary arrangements. Wedding websites are also a new development that has taken place. These websites contain all the information about the wedding and guests can visit these any time to get all the updates about the same. The guests can also register whether they would be coming to attend the wedding or not. These websites contain all the necessary information about the wedding along with pictures. This makes the event more personal as distant relatives can view all the ceremonies.

Wedding and the manner of its execution may have undergone various changes but the bond that one shares with family and friends is still the same; one still holds the values and customs close to the heart. The technological advancement has made everything easier keeping the tradition intact. The family and friends still enjoy the festivities with full zest and vigor.