Indian wedding celebrations are traditionally held on a lavish scale. But the economic slowdown is prompting many to trim the “fat Indian wedding” during this wedding season, which starts in December.    

Tens of thousands of homes across the country are making hectic preparations for marriages of their sons and daughters. Some are gearing up for parties, others are winding up shopping for the bride and groom. 

In traditional Indian style, the weddings will involve several ceremonies spread over days. But wedding consultant Neeta Raheja has noticed a difference this year.

She says the economic slowdown is making people more cautious about splurging - some people have slashed the number of parties, others have cut down their guest list.

“Now what I am finding more and more for the coming season, people have decided to club the ceremonies - instead of having eight days of celebrations, we have like four days,” she said. “Also we have this habit of calling our second cousin and third cousins and everybody else you know, people are doing that less and less. They are perhaps cutting down on their numbers, and calling those that are close friends and family.”

The toning down is not restricted to just the parties - but also to shopping for trousseaus. Parents traditionally give the bride or the daughter-in-law gifts of gold jewelry and expensive dresses. 

Twenty-six-year-old Shubhi Saxena is getting married in January. She says she has bought ten traditional dresses, known as saris, instead of the customary twenty for her trousseau. And she is getting her bridal make up done from someone who will charge her less than the usual price.

“Each time I go for shopping and I see the millions of saris and jewelry I just don’t want to spend that kind of money on these kind of things. Gold is as at is so expensive,” she said. 

Neeta Raheja says the push to cut back on ostentatious spending on wedding celebrations and shopping is coming not from the parents - but from younger people.

“Today’s youngsters are getting more and more sensible,” said Raheja. “They perhaps land up spending the same amount, but they would rather do it for a holiday or a home for themselves than have parents spending it on a very large wedding ceremony.”

However an economic slowdown can only make the celebrations a bit muted - it cannot take away the spirit of fun and festivity that Indian marriages traditionally generate. After all, a wedding is the most important occasion in an Indian family - an event for which parents set aside money for years, and a social statement. So the party is still on.

Wedding toastmaster Ken shares some tips for selecting discount wedding invitations

However, the right wedding invitation need not cost an arm and a leg. It is not wise to spend a fortune that can be used somewhere else. The range of kinds and styles of discount wedding invitation is vast. Choosing a particular one can be very confusing. There are discount wedding invitations and if you follow the guidelines below you will definitely never go wrong in choosing one. The key is to be prudent and not letting yourself get carried away. You can even save more money if you follow these guidelines.

Choose wedding invitation style well. As mentioned earlier, your primary consideration in choosing a wedding invitation style is the theme and motif of your wedding. Is your wedding grad or simple? Will your wedding be light or formal? Other than that, it all depends on personal taste and budget. But whatever your teaching online course or budget range is, you will definitely be able to find a good wedding invitation. If you want, you can even buy some cards and design your own invitation by buying a printing kit which is offered by some wedding service providers.

Determine the kind of wedding you’ll have. Your type of wedding invitation will largely depend on whether you will have a traditional or modern wedding. Traditional weddings would require a more formal invitation. On the other hand, a modern wedding will call for a more modern kind of wedding invitation. Traditional wedding invitations would only contain texts. It wouldn’t contain any graphics. teaching online course wedding invitations are usually upright and folded with the words engraved on the right side. Cards used in traditional wedding invitations are usually white or cream and the letterings are in silver and black. If you are having a themes wedding then choose a wedding invitation that is appropriate for your chosen theme. For example, you can have a sixteenth century scrolled parchment wedding invitation if the theme of your wedding is Tudor.

Choosing a supplier. Wedding invitations can be obtained by mail order, printer, stationers and stationery designers or you can buy online. Choose a supplier hat provides value added services and features so you will get real value for your money. Some suppliers will help you right the wording in your wedding invitation. Some will even help you with wedding etiquette rules and would help you if you are confused about uw online courses the etiquette rules involved in sending out wedding invitations. It would also be nice if the supplier has trained and experienced wedding etiquette and social correctness experts. Choose a supplier that offers personalized service so you can be sure that you are not getting run of the mill wedding invitation.