East West - The Asian American Lifestyle Magazine

Raj Suri, 32, Intel software engineer
Rushina Dalal, 31, telecom engineer

Wedding date: March 31, 2007, in Chandler, Arizona

I booked my DJ! I'm stoked to have DJ MD working at both our cocktail party and reception. I found out about DJ MD when I went to an Indian party recently. He was able to play a great mix of both Indian and American music so that was key being that we're going to have big mix at our reception. Plus, we needed a good emcee and he has a lot of experience emceeing American -tile receptions.

I told MD that one of the reasons that I wanted to book him was because he wasn't so cheesy, which is key. The music he plays is very current, which I like. Although I told him that we might do some cheesy stuff like the Electric Slide, but, I told him that there'd be no Marcarena!

I love Ashley Manor and I couldn’t imagine getting married anywhere else, but there are days that I wish we were getting married at a hotel, so I wouldn’t have to worry about hiring a bartender, renting dishes, hiring servers and buying alcohol ourselves. Ashley Manor does have a package where they do all of this for you, but we wanted to go through an Indian caterer of our choice so I am left to do all of this by myself. Did I say by myself? I think I meant by ourselves!

A friend told us about Simply Servers, so I gave them a call and Bonnie, the woman I spoke with, was very helpful. Basically, the servers do everything from setup to cleanup after the wedding. I went ahead and booked them and then I contacted Y Knot Party Rentals for china, stemware and flatware rental. Now, I definitely am not looking to spend a lot of money on dishes. I mean, what’s the point? Since we are having a buffet, they will be at the buffet table and then once you do see them, you’ll start piling food on them. Once you finish eating, you won’t really care what the dishes look like; you’ll just start looking for the cake or the bar. So, I am trying to find affordable dishes that look somewhat decent. Y Knot Party rentals had a decent collection of dishes, glasses, and flatware at a pretty reasonable price. The best part is that they have worked with Ashley Manor and Simply Servers before and they have a good working relationship with them. I really liked this aspect, because I was getting worried of having so many different vendors. We also took a look at their linens. I saw their dark chocolate brown and their dark red ones, but I wasn’t quite sure about them. My friend, Priya, had used Galindos for her wedding and had nothing but great things to say about them, so I figured I would check them out. Priya mentioned that their prices are extremely reasonable, which of course made my eyes light up!

I don’t have to worry about flowers, because the floral centerpieces are included in the package we got at Ashley Manor. Also, they are hiring their own florist in January, so we can get the bridesmaid bouquets and the boutonnieres through them.

Now, I am sure all the women out there will be quite shocked with my next statement. I have decided not to get a wedding band. I know, I know, it is the one time, other than your engagement, where you can expect jewelry without feeling greedy. However, I just don’t feel like I need one. I love my engagement ring and it has two bands connected, so it almost looks I have a band. So, I won’t be getting a band for the wedding, but I did tell Raj that I reserve the right to ask for one later down the line. I am not stupid. Girls do change their minds and I might as well plan for the inevitable!

Save the Date Mailed! Well, we got the correct envelopes for our "Save the Date" cards. They looked great! Mad props to the printer guys in India. These cards are not the actual invitation but just little cards with a cool little rhyme telling people to save the date of our wedding. We also included hotel information for out of town guests. On the hotel card, we had information about the complimentary shuttle to and from the airport. Since our guests are staying at the Springhill Suites, we mentioned how a hot breakfast is also included in the room rate.

As usual, it's all about the food with Indian people.

I scheduled a tasting in January at the Raven. I went all out: I asked to try our 3 main dishes: eggplant parm, chicken marsala and stuffed sea bass. I also asked to try 2 alternatives: shrimp diablo and cilantro lime fish. I so excited! I've never really been to a dinner tasting before! I'll do a little extra cardio before I go.

I also asked them to make samosas. It's an Indian appetizer with potatoes and peas wrapped in a deep fried dough--kind of like a hush puppy, but better. Rushina has fed these to a lot of her American friends and they love them! So, I just want to make sure this place knows how to make them.

One of my groomsman gave me some good news: he just booked a horse at KC's Classic Carriage Company for his wedding in December. Finally, I think I'm going to be able to book a horse since my friend had no problem. So, I called them to book a horse but one week later, I still haven't got a call! I have no idea why. My dad told me that the horse has to be white and female so I indicated that in my message. Perhaps they think I'm being sexist and racist.

I hope they call back. I went to their web page and saw how they've done Hindu weddings before and they even have horse decorations. Check out the pics at http://www.horsencarriage.com/WeddingGallery.html.

I went to Galindos, based on my friend’s recommendation. They are a florist but also have an assortment of linens and centerpieces. They order most of it but have sample books that you can go through. The only downside is that you can’t see your selection in front of you on a table. That would have helped, but I was able to pick everything out using their swatch book. I decided on ruby red satin tablecloths with dark chocolate brown satin overlays and ruby red satin napkins. I am thinking of doing an all red floral centerpieces. I would like to have an assortment of dark red flowers instead of just having roses. I am hoping my selection is not too dark. My friend also suggested putting lots of votives on the table which I think is a great idea. I am hoping to achieve a romantic, intimate feel with the colors that I have chosen. I have no idea how it will all come together, so it will be a surprise to everyone--me included.

I invited some of my friends over for Indian food. I wanted to test out some dishes on my friends, especially since most of them have never had Indian food. I was pleasantly surprised and very pleased when they all raved about the food. I had been a little nervous about serving a buffet of nothing but Indian food when a lot of my friends are non-Indian. The crowd pleasers were samosas, saag paneer, and chicken tikka masala. They will probably make the final cut when we decide the menu for the wedding. We will need to find a signature martini to serve at the wedding. Ashley Manor has a wine and beer only policy; however, you can serve one signature cocktail. We’d like to have a martini, but we haven’t decided on the type.

I finally got in touch with KC's Classic Carriage! And, I booked the horse, but there is one snafu. Their insurance which allows people to actually mount their horses runs out at the end of the year. So, I'd have to come in on a carriage instead of riding in on the horse. Not sure what I think about this. On one hand, I am a wuss on the inside and being on a carriage would be less stressful. Plus, I could have people with me in the carriage. But, on the other hand, I feel like I should do this right and come in riding the horse.

They told me that they are going to try and find another insurance provider once the New Year starts so I may be able to ride in after all. I have tentatively booked the horse with the caveat that I can cancel if they can't find another insurance carrier.

I asked if the horse they have is female and white. They indicated it is white but male. They do have a white, female horse but they indicated that she is unstable and suffers from horsey PMS. If that's anything like the human kind, I want no part of it.

On a side note, a gracious reader of this very magazine has mailed me another option for getting a horse. I'll be sure to check them out!

Raj and I met with the wedding coordinator at Ashley Manor and I came prepared with one and a half typed pages of questions. Yes, I know I am anal and, yes, Raj now knows too! The wedding coordinator was extremely helpful in answering all of my questions and she gave us some good news: they now offer a bar package and a server/china package, so we don't have to buy our own alcohol, nor do we have to get our own servers and rent china. This is a huge relief for me and their prices were more than reasonable. This definitely reduced my stress level by a lot. I was also impressed with how much they help with day of coordinating. They seem to have everything covered and had a lot of helpful suggestions.

Raj and I are having a cocktail party on the night before our wedding for out of town friends and family. We are having it at the Raven Golf Club in Phoenix. They have an event tent and have done some upgrades, since the first time we saw them. We went there to taste a few dishes that we were considering for dinner. Our favorite was the stuffed Sonoran sea bass. We decided on chicken marsala, eggplant parmesan, and the sea bass. Raj and I really wanted to have a variety of food throughout the weekend, which is why we went with Italian for Friday night.

We are having a Mehndi luncheon on Friday. This event is typically thrown by the bride's family and is for her friends and family. Guests have a chance to get Mehndi (henna) applied to their hands. We decided to have Tandoori Times cater it and we are having paneer and chicken wraps. This is a little different than the normal Indian food you see at parties and I love the wraps! I am getting my Mehndi done Thursday night. You want a nice dark color for the wedding and it gets darker after 2-3 days. Mita Desai is doing my Mehndi and the Mehndi for the party. I sent her pictures of my cousin's Mehndi, so she can get an idea of what I am looking for.

So, we've officially started our "get in shape for our wedding photos" fitness plan. Rushina and I have been totally motivated by the show "The Biggest Loser." I'm following a fitness plan that I've already made good progress on called the Leanness Lifestyle (http://www.leannesslifestyle.com/).

I've put motivational pics up around the house. The pics consist of male fitness models. Yes, I'm secure with my masculinity. But, the pics really provide me with motivation to get the gym when I'm really feeling too tired to go. I will transform my keg to a six pack! Or just a smaller keg.

Everyday, Rushina and I remind each other that we are "on the ranch" - a term used to describe the location where the contestants live while competing on "The Biggest Loser." I've put up pictures of Trainer Bob and Trainer Kim (the trainers on the show) throughout the house accompanied with motivational sayings.

My goal is to workout 60-75 minutes a day/6 times a week. Rushina is committed to working out with her personal trainer 3x/week and doing cardio 3x/week. We've recently purchased "The Biggest Loser" recipe book to get some ideas on healthy recipes!

So, I came across a nifty web site today - SimpleSeating.com. It's a pretty cool site that helps with seating arrangements for your wedding or any kind of event. The site allows you to arrange tables as you'd have at your event with options for tables of different sizes and shapes. It's pretty easy to add guests to your event and it helps keep track of different types of information for your guests such as how many people are in their party or whether or not they are a vegetarian.

Seating people and moving them around is a breeze with the drag n' drop interface. Plus it's got other goodies such as the ability to import and export your guest list to a excel file.

Now - if these guys will just interface with an event seating label company, it'd be a complete solution!

Just recently, Rushina and I met with the Ashley Manor wedding coordinator. All I can say is that a lot of planning just got simplified! We both left feeling very relieved. I'll let Rushina fill you in on all the details in her entry but I will add this: Due to a very nice bar package offered, we will be having liquor at the reception! When we first booked with Ashley Manor, they only allowed beer and wine. While I was OK with this, it wasn't ideal as me, my family and friends love our liquor. Hey, I'm Punjabi and us Punjabis drink--a lot. So, the fact that we could add liquor to our reception offering was just plain awesome!

Well, it's been fun documenting our wedding planning. I really appreciate the opportunities to share our memories and to have them documented. I can envision sharing these journals with my kids some day when they do their own wedding planning.