South Asian weddings: What did you drop?

@MrsWrs - HOLY COW, 3000 people?! Yeah we are definitely not doing anything so extravagant like you describe lol. Ours will be 200-300 guests most likely, we haven't gotten that far in planning yet.

@Koh - RIGHT? I think that the indian weddings that get the media's attention are very over the top extravagant. We are not at all that wealthy haha, and even though our families will definitely help a lot, neither of our families are that wealthy either. Cool idea to bundle a sangeet and rehearsal dinner together! Although it might be kind of tough because aren't rehearsal dinners pretty intimate (close family and bridal party only)? Whereas every sangeet I've ever been to was a mini wedding with lots of people. And regarding how long Hindu ceremonies are - it really depends on which custom within Hinduism your partner's family practices. Some are short (1 hour), while some (like south indian tamil ceremonies) are very long (4 hours). And yes, all of us have strong opinions (me, my partner, my parents, his parents) haha. But we have a few months to get everyone on the same page. I'm sure there will be lots of compromises along the way.

@L - oh wow, 500 guest, that's huge! I can't imagine having one that big haha. Hope you have a wonderful wedding

And yeah, I think we will just opt for a small engagement at home, since an Asian / S. Asian engagement ceremony can be a mini wedding itself!

I don't have any input relating to your questions, but I do want to say that I hope you come back and show your BAM, because I would love to see it!

@Akshali - Thanks! I'm SO excited!!

My hairstylist is arriving at 6AM and is bringing 1-2 other assistants with her- I'm planning on being ready and dressed by 9, we will do a first look and family photos before the Baraat starts at 10. The ceremony will end at like 12:15ish and then FH and I will go to the Hindu temple thats about 10 minutes away to take photos for a bit, come back, change, re-do hair and makeup from about 2-4 and then repeat the whole morning schedule until we officially collapse at midnight... haha!

I forgot to add we skipped on the bridal party for the whole day - I felt like it was enough to plan two weddings and not have to deal with planning all the bridal party stuff and having such a huge group for getting ready and photos and stuff. Really it's just me, my mom and sister, FMIL and FSIL.

I wish there was a way to direct message on here... but I'll definitely come back to provide followup after the wedding!!

@Jamie - Thanks so much, this helps a lot! Yeah, I can see how putting in bridal party stuff would be too hectic. I won't ask more questions since I'm sure you're super busy this week =). But once things settle down in a month or so, I'd love to hear all about it, especially because I'm also from the Chicagoland suburbs! Just post an update on here whenever you feel up for it. Have a great wedding, countdown begins!

I'm a South Asian bride as well (Pakistani). We still ended up going a little over budget, but it's something we can handle thankfully

Our wedding will only be for one day, so only one big party. Also we took it easy on the decorations: simple but elegant. Nothing over the top. So that saved us some money.

Our engagement party was for close friends/relatives only, so it was a very small affair. So, we saved money on that. The wedding itself? We are looking at about 208 people, which could be worse haha....

No groomsmen or bridesmaids. Not my intention to be mean, but I just didn't want to deal with it, and my awesome friends were very cool with that. I will walk out with my dad and brother to a very nerdy song (I'm a gamer girl) and my fiancé will do the same and walk out with a couple immediate family.

We will have some henna done the day before the wedding, but that will be a small humble affair as well Just close relatives and some friends.

Most of our wedding budget was spent on the food, as that is my #1 priority. Since my fiancé is Turkish, we're having a Pakistani-Turkish fusion buffet. If we end up with an overwhelming amount of leftovers, they will go to a nearby shelter

Its such a funny feeling--all this--because becoming a bride was the last thing on my mind as a little girl. I wanted a garage of supercars instead--not that I can afford that. I am, however, looking forward to marrying my best friend.

I also am keeping the wedding planning between a tiny select number of people. That in and of itself saves money too Chaos ensues when too many people get involved.