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Weddings are not businesses! They're all about flowers and ribbons and lace! Why the need for all this legal mumbo jumbo? You're in the middle of a fairy tale; enacting out your childhood dreams...you don't want to be bothered with the fine print. You want to examine the various Pantone shades of green and leave the icky little papers to sit in the bottom of your wedding file. Or do you??

Contracts. They're the basis and foundation of any wedding. A good contract will protect not only your vendor, but you as well. We should not treat them as an annoyance. Embrace them. Many people get too excited about signing their favourite photographer or that glorious french pastry chef and don't examine the fine print. What will happen to you and your wedding in the event of a cancellation......or illness......or fire??

Clearly, I've had some experience in the matter and wanted to share some thoughts. I did make the effort to read all my contracts before signing and knew what I was getting into. So when some vendors refused to return deposits due to the change in our situation, I had little recourse - I had agreed to that deal. Which is fine. But that's the point - know what you're signing and know your rights. Vendors use contracts to define their relationship to you, but it works both ways. It also defines your relationship with them. So if vendors become difficult or try to implement new charges or change the terms, always go back to your contract. It is your ally and should help to resolve any disputes. Also, look for vendors with strong and well written contracts. A long contract does not mean the vendor is difficult, it means they're trying to clarify your relationship as much as possible. Ambiguity is not good in a wedding, trust me. A flimsy two line contract protects no one and will only lead to much confusion and heartache.

Bottom line...contracts are your friend. Read them. Learn them. Love them.

P.S.
Thanks to Tank for my free legal advice! I love having a lawyer in the family :)

Some Very Yummy Lemonade

So Grick and I have busily been making lemonade out of the lemons that some random arsonist handed us. All of your kind words, good vibes and hard work all coalesced into an awesome new venue - La Terrazza Restaurant in Yaletown!

I was surprised that they were able to fit our wedding size. When we were first looking at venues months ago, La Terrazza was on the list but we obtained some incorrect information as to it's capacity so we never checked it out. Goes to show....always ask and go to the source! It's a gorgeous and unique place with some truly excellent food. We are both very excited and keep joking that this fire may have been the best thing that could have happened :) We are now able to cut some things that we didn't really want and are able to condense everything into one day! So the new wedding schedule will be as follows:

• Sikh Wedding - June 11th morning
• Tea Ceremony - June 11th afternoon
• Reception - June 11th evening

You will all have the whole weekend to recover so make sure you are raring to go!

Ciao :)

Sigh

So I hadn't posted in a while because things were so crazy with the Olympics. I thought I would return and show off our fabulous invites. However, they are perfectly useless now.....our venue burned down. To the ground.
We just found out today and were told that it's going to take them six months to rebuild. However, the wedding is three months away - the math just doesn't add up. So we - along with sixty other couples - are now scrambling to find alternate locations. It's incredibly frustrating to have to go through this whole process again, especially since we may have to rearrange or scrap parts of the wedding altogether.

Sigh. This is the last thing we needed at this point amidst last minute details and home renovations. But who knows....maybe we'll wind up with an even more fabulous wedding! One can only hope.

I'll keep you all posted!

UPDATE: One thing I would like to add, thanks to the army of people trying to help us find new venues. I know emails are flying left right and centre, phones are dialing and ringing off the hook, favours are being called in, all for us, so thanks. :) Snoopy and I really appreciate it. -G

Ladies Night

What is a Ladies Party?
I can't tell you how many times I have been asked that question. What do we do there? Do I bring anything? Do I do anything? What's with the funny name? :)

A Ladies Party is a party thrown by the bride's side of the family for close female relatives and friends. It is usually held in the weeks leading up to the wedding. Traditionally, for most Indian weddings, there are only a limited number of people who go to the reception from the bride's side. Receptions are generally thrown by and for the groom's side of the family. The ladies party tradition grew out of a desire to have some sort of a party for the bride's side. It is basically another opportunity to eat and dance......and to add to the pre-wedding extravaganzas known as Punjabi Weddings :)

What to Expect?
Food. Entertainment. Food. Dancing. That's pretty much the gist of it. The evening starts with appetizers and is followed by some sort of entertainment. Either the family would do a dance or they would hire a "dance team." I have no idea what is going to happen although I have heard "whispers" of a surprise. Yeah - my family cannot keep a secret :) The party would also feature the Jago Ceremony. This would kick off the dance party portion of the night. Once the dancing begins, dinner is served. Leaving the guests with a difficult dilemma - butter chicken or boogie down? What would you choose? :)


What Do I Wear?
It's a party - wear party clothes. This is not a religious event so you don't need to worry about covering your head or making sure your skirt length is just so. Just come festively attired - it's an Indian party, so blinginess is not frowned upon. And no, you do not have to wear Indian clothes. You can if you want, but there is no requirement or expectation of that!

What Do I Bring?
Just yourself, a smile and a desire to partay!

Hope to see you all there!

P.S. - Apologies to all the male guests, including Grick. This event is the only one where butter chicken will be served throughout the entire wedding.

Hip Hop Is Dead

In real life maybe....but not at our reception! If you are lucky enough to be able to attend our bumpin' party, expect to hear some booty shaking, soul quaking, and earth shattering beats. As mentioned in previous posts, my family likes to party. They are not the crazy, insane, get drunk of your ass and pass out kind of party animal. But young and old - they just like get down. This usually makes me quite happy because I get to join in the raucous fun. It doesn't matter whose party we're at, we always manage to have an awesome time. However, this is slightly worrisome for my wedding because I worry they may be dance floor hogs. Seriously. They don't even notice that they're doing it. So here's a tip - if you're at the party and want to dance...just elbow your way in. Trust me, it's fine. They won't even notice and will be happy you joined them :)

At any party, it's the music that makes it or breaks it. Fortunately, we have hired a pretty good DJ to oversee this. I've been to a few functions they've worked and I was quite impressed, so I am not too worried about this aspect of the party. However, being the democratic kinda gal that I am, I thought I would open the floor to suggestions :) If there are any songs that you think that the DJ absolutely must play, leave it in the comments below. They have asked me for a list of must plays and I will pass along your suggestions as well. I find this to be a better system than people harassing the DJ at the party :)

Grick and I have also been going over the various elements of the wedding and picking the appropriate music to for them - entrance, first dance, slideshow etc. I think that we have made some great choices; however to keep some of the suspense, I don't think I will post them here. You will just have to attend to hear our "soundtrack." Incidentally, Tank, who helped us out with some of the choices, summed them up perfectly:

"... it's a good eclectic mix that captures the mood of each unit and comes together to form a beautiful musical whole..."

I didn't know lawyers could be such wordsmiths! :)

Cheers!

Training Day - Update #1

I neglected to provide a progress report in the last post. Here it is:

Date: December 26, 2009
Subject: Grick
Operation: Drinky drink
Consumables: 1 Superman + 1 King Kong + 1 Crown/7 = 3 drinks
Status: Pink, upright, slightly bloated

Level 3: Attained

:)

Training Day

Grick doesn't drink - not even a little bit. A teeny tiny sip of alcohol makes him scrunch up his face like he smelled rotten eggs and beer.....well beer just makes him barf. Not pretty. However, now that we have a wedding coming up, it is likely that he will have to imbibe in some spirits on the day of the wedding (perhaps also in the days leading up to it!). This poses a dilemma - how is he to do this if one drink makes him turn the colour of a ripe cherry tomato - eyeballs included.

Well, here in steps his training team. These brave souls, recognizing the need for an intervention, have graciously taken it upon themselves to ensure that Grick is ready and able to partake in the open bar on the big day. There are five members in this elite training squad: Tank, PhD, the Corporal, Jagr and their leader - Captain. They have created a rigorous 6-month training plan that will begin during the Christmas holidays and culminate in June on the big day. The program ensures that Grick will be fully prepared to handle the rigors of an Indian wedding reception: remain upright, puke free, and remember everything the next day with no ill effects.

We should salute these courageous and selfless men who have taken time out of their busy lives and taken on this monumental task. They go into battle with only their wits and determination in order to help out a fellow brother. Let us wish them luck and pray for a swift and glorious victory!

The Gauntlet