India

India is known for its bold, vibrant colors and exotic feel.  Using beautiful handmade paper for your wedding invitations, out-of-town bags, name place cards, save-the-dates, thank-you cards etc. could be a fun way to add color and flavor to your wedding. 

While shopping in downtown Mumbai (Bombay) I came across Chimanlals.   It’s a beautiful shop filled with an array of items made by hand.  The work is exquisite and the custom wedding invitations are incredibly unique and detailed. 

Credit to Photos By Winnie

As someone who’s sensitive to blood sugar highs and lows I was really worried about forgetting to eat and crashing on my wedding day.  I think it’s a fairly common problem for the bride and groom to be so busy and excited that they don’t have time for eating and drinking.  I knew for me that would be a disaster so I asked one bridesmaid ahead of time if she would kindly make sure I eat and another aunt sweetly carried around a water bottle for me in the hot July Californian  sun.  Shortly after my wedding I discovered Marrylicious.  Had I known of them earlier I could have had them mail me a little kit and been worry free.

Marrylicious creates beautiful, gourmet bridal survival kits that are perfect for your wedding day.  They feature local Seattle foods and beverages and come in elegant boxes with decadent ribbons.  Each package also includes tissues, mints, a sewing kit, stain removers and dental products!  I’ve heard of maids of honor and MOB ordering them to be delivered to the ceremony location or to the place for getting ready.  Brides occasionally order them for themselves and their posse as well.  They do overnight shipping and even 1-3 day global shipping. 

Credit to Photos By Winnie

For more information on their Tulip, Rose and Orchid packages click here.

There’s already a lot of research out there on the best types of pots to choose whether you get nonstick, hard anodized, 18/10 stainless steel, copper core etc, etc.  Having seen my mom use the same Revere stainless steel cookware set for over 30 years from her wedding, I opted out of any of the fancy technologies for 18/10 stainless steel.  The current Revere didn’t seem as durable to me as the set my mom has so I went for All-Clad, hoping that it will last as long as I can cook.  However, not everyone likes the weight of the All-Clad (or the price) so for this blog I decided to compare prices for a Calphalon Tri-ply 18/10 stainless steel set from Macy’s.

This 13 piece set, featured on the right, cost $399.99.  To demonstrate how much you can save in getting a set rather than keeping or purchasing individual pots I actually priced out each pot to find out if there is actually a savings in purchasing the set.  The table below shows the prices.

The total cost, if purchased individually, is $648.94. As the 13 piece set is priced at $399.99, the savings is $248.95 which is more significant than I thought it would be.

In addition, Macy’s often runs bonus and double bonus sales for purchasing cookware sets.  Currently for Calphalon they are offering a 6 piece utensil set with crock and a 5 quart dutch oven set.  They say the added value is $299.99 for a total savings of $548.94.

It seems this is produced just for the double bonus.

The double bonus seems to be a great added value but when you look closely bonuses are not really that great.  In this case, it’s likely that you already have a utensil set, or in the least wouldn’t want a $49.99 utensil set.  The dutch oven is actually not one that Calphalon even sells on its own.  I couldn’t find it in any catalogue which means that it is probably a cheaper knockoff of its nicer Dutch ovens and produced especially for this “double bonus” – meaning that it’s not really a $250.00 value.  If you could manage to swap out these bonuses for other Calphalon products of similar prices at Macy’s you’d be much better off.

My recommendation would be to find the set that you like and to get real bonuses added in and not these fake ones.  See my blog here on the topic.  As I explained in this earlier blog, if you choose a set smaller than what you actually need and augment it with pots as these double bonuses instead of their selections you’ll be much better off.

Thanks to Petitshoo for the photo.

How to Register for Pots

Tip #1 Register for many single pots rather than a set

Oftentimes when you go to Macy’s or other stores they’ll tell you to register for individual pots and then exchange them after the wedding for a packaged set.  The reason for doing this is so that guests can purchase something at a reasonable price rather than paying $500-$1,000 for one gift.  When registering for pots I recommend choosing them for the price range rather than for what you’d actually need.

Tip #2 Think about the pots you have used

There’s no doubt about it, purchasing a set over individual pots saves money.  However, some of the larger sets might not be adding much value and may be unnecessarily cluttering your kitchen.  Here are the pots I use 95% of the time:

• 6 quart stock pot – soups, boiling water for pasta, cooking for company
• 2 quart sauce pan – sauces and veggies
• 3.5 quart sauce pan – for when my 2 quart is in use and sauces
• non-stick fry pan - everything

And the pots I use 5% of the time but can’t live without:

• 12-16 quart stock pot with steamer options – pasta for the masses, lobster and crab, corn-on-the-cob, it’s my “party pot”
• 3 quart cassoulette- coq au vin, I love its multi-use stovetop and oven, great for entertaining

Once it’s time to return the individual pots for your set, do your research on what you’d like to get in return.  The sets are often great deals, but sometimes they sneak pots that aren’t very valuable into the larger sets.  A good example of this is the omelette pan.  They’ll throw in a six and an eight inch omelette pan and charge $200 more than a set without those pans, when the added value is only $50.  Not only that, but I wouldn’t use those two particular pans when I prefer my all-purpose nonstick 10″ fry pan.

Tip #3 Pick a slow day to complete your registry

If you go on a Saturday morning there won’t  be enough associates working to help carry the items from your car, you’ll have to wait and they won’t have the time to make sure you get what you need.   If you instead go on a Tuesday morning, you’ll have the store to yourself and the sales associate will be more entertained and interested in helping you complete your registry to your advantage. (see the next tip!)

Tip #4 Swap out lame bonuses for real value

Often All-Clad or Calphalon will have the double bonuses if you spend enough money on their cookware.  One bonus might be a nice steamer and the other could be an apron and spatula.  Ask the sales associate if it’s possible to switch out the one you don’t want for something else that’s more useful to you.  At Macy’s I purchased a smaller All-Clad set and augmented it with a large 12 quart stock pan and steamer and a smaller sauce pan as their summer double bonus ~ free!  Originally they’d been offering a panini grill pan but as cool as that sounded I thought the sauce pan would get more use in the end.

Tip #5 Get 20% off for completing at one time instead of 10%

Macy’s typically gives you 10% off wedding registry completion purchases if you come to the store within 90 days of your wedding.  Try to get 20% off – it’s possible!  This past weekend, for example, they had a semi-annual home sale where they gave 20% off “when you complete your gift registry any day of our home sale”.   In the fine print they say it lasts from July 23 – August 16^th,2009 (for Seattle stores).  Chances are if you ask nicely when the last home sale was or when the next one is and are they running their 20% special, you’ll be able to get it.

Here are the steps you can take to get the look.

Supplies

• Shower curtain rings
• Raffia ribbon
• Silk flowers

You can purchase the supplies cheaply if you have time to shop around and online.  I recently saw a 12 pack of clear rings for $1.85 on Amazon.  I also love www.papermart.com for paper supplies for weddings.  They have raffia ribbon there for $4.85 a half pound.  Feel free to email or comment on the best place to get silk flowers, I’ve always gone to Jo-Ann Fabric.

For the nice presentation simply put your hand in the middle of the napkin, then pull the top down through the ring.  Then arrange the rest of the napkin in a fan shape.

The only downside to creating this look is the manpower required! I recommend hosting a crafting party (well in advance of the wedding) with girlfriends.  If you provide the materials, spritzers and appetizers and you’ll able to complete the number you need ten times as fast.  On the day of the event, depending on how many people you are hosting, allow time for setting the tables.  It takes longer than you think to stuff the napkin rings and arrange.

Veuve du Vernay Brut, France  $8

Kriter Blanc de Blanc, France  $11

Bohigas Gran Reserva Cava, Spain  $16

Cara Mia Prosecco, Italy  $12

Veuve du Vernay Brut Rose, France  $8

Additionally, if you simply need help determining what wines will be best for your guests and perfect pairing options TLV offers consulting for $75/Hour.