“Rachel Getting Married”

This movie looks pretty funny, actually. Hathaway plays the sister of Rachel (the one getting married). She’s a self absorbed, chain smoker who just escaped from rehab. Her family has a love-hate relationship with her choppy hair and boisterous personality. The plot thickens when their alienated mother shows up at the rehearsal dinner. All in all, this movie seems like a funny movie to see when perhaps you are stressed about you own wedding plans. The movie takes place in Stamford and Fairfield Connecticut.

New trend in India: Pre-Wedding checks

In India, the first step to planning a wedding is no longer hiring a florist, finding a great dress, or a spectacular reception hall. Lately, the latest trend is to hire a private investigator to check on you prospective bride or groom!

This has created a wealth of business in India as most marriages are either arranged between families or through personal adds. As a result, the partner-to-be has his or her prospective partner investigated to assure that they are who they claim to be. Although there has been an increase in wealth and modern conveniences in India, it remains very traditional. Many of the marriages that occur in India are not love matches but arranged marriages. People are finding that many of the ads do not disclose the number of divorces or affairs one may have had.

Typical ads will state that a woman is decent, pure, homely, and god fearing which are all good characteristics in Indian culture and mean that the woman will be good in the home. A man’s ad may state that they are religious, warm and caring, and a member of a wealthy family. This would translate to mean that they would be a good provider for the family. Investigators are finding that some people are the exact opposite of their ads.

As the India economy continues to grow it will be interesting to see if this trends grows with it as modern growth and deep rooted traditional beliefs collide.

Picking the perfect wedding dress

It is hard to believe it has been ten years since I was looking for the perfect dress. I remember spending hours studying the wedding magazines and wishing I could afford a beautiful Vera Wang dress. But sadly, I did not come into a fortune by winning the lottery or by inheriting money from a rich dying uncle. So I had to pick out a more reasonable dress that still made my dream come true and didn’t hurt my already screaming savings account.

When looking for THE dress, it is important to remember a few things….First, be sure to leave yourself plenty of time to try on many, many dresses from a variety of different shops and boutiques. Trust me, you don’t want to rush into a decision and end up with something Britney Spears wore at her many weddings. Second, try on a wide variety of different styles. A friend of mine always talked about wearing a dress that was off the shoulder but when she tried on some dresses she found that she actually like one with long lace sleeves. Third, have a clear idea of the time of year you are getting married. Summer can be hot and winter can be cold. Bottom line is you want to be comfortable. Lastly, if you are looking for a bargin, consider some of the annual sales like the Running of the Brides in Boston or some bargin stores like David’s Bridal. There are so many knock-offs these days. You can still get the dress you dream about without breaking your budget.