My Waterford Wedding – Insight From Our Couples
The Waterford Team has reached out to many past wedding clients to not only provide couple’s a chance to reflect on their wedding day, but to bring you some amazing tips, insights and advice to assist in planning your special day!
Advice
Couples can often feel overwhelmed when planning a wedding, especially since there are many details that go into preparing for the big day. Here’s a look into some advice from couples who have gone through the experience.
What advice would you give any future bride and groom about planning a wedding?
Hetal & Nirmal – “Spreadsheets, spreadsheets, spreadsheets! They will be your best friend. Having everything organized makes it easier for planning and keeping people on track the day of.”
Reach out to our very own Wedding Superhero, Arvin Vincoy for planning guides and spreadsheets to assist in planning your wedding!
Larson & Nrupa – “Before you agree to a venue, catering service, or stylist, be sure to do your research. Ask friends and families for advice on which services to use, and be sure to go to a reputable place.”
Be sure to check out our Waterford Preferred Vendors List !
Maheen & Fazal – “I advise future brides and grooms to remain relaxed during the wedding planning process. Accept help from others, and enjoy every minute because your wedding day goes by before you know it!”
Meghavi & Mike – “Try not to stress. Everyone in the family will have their own opinions, however you have to remember this day is about the two of you. Incorporate ideas from everyone but the final decisions should be yours.”
Neha & Vishal – “Enjoy the moment because it goes by fast. We were dating for about 8 ½ years before our wedding and it seemed like all the events just flew by.”
Prima & Ricken – “Plan everything upfront and take the week of your wedding to enjoy time with family and friends. Things are bound to not go as planned but you have to look past it and focus on the bigger picture – you are getting married!”
Roshni & Rocky – “If they are planning an Indian wedding, our advice to any future bride and groom is to make sure communication is flowing consistently between family regarding any customs and traditions. It helped with getting things done.”
Saad & Sameeha – “Be very careful and do your due diligence when selecting a decorator and photographer/videographer. It gets stressful and annoying visiting so many vendors, but you’re paying so much money. Make sure you pick the absolute right one.”
Be sure to attend the Annual Waterford Bridal Expo in November 2017!
Sara & Adnan – “Listen to your heart. Everyone will have an opinion about various aspects of your wedding, but remember it is YOUR big day, not theirs.”
Vipra & Harsh – “Assign someone in the family to be the lead for all the events. This person should be making sure everyone else is getting their tasks done and making sure things are getting done on time.”
Check out these Five Steps to hiring a Wedding Planner!
Something Unique
With social media outlets such as Pinterest and Instagram, ideas for weddings are right at our finger tips, from flower décor to guest book ideas to location. Couples shared with us something unique they incorporated into their own weddings and some have proved that anything is possible.
What is something unique you did for your wedding events?
Hetal & Nirmal – “Our guest message book was really unique. We took some old wine bottles, made fun labels marking them as 1 year, 2 year, 3 year, 5 year, 10 year and 25 year. Guests wrote messages/notes on parchment paper and rolled them up to place in the bottles. We open the bottles on the year marked and read the messages. It was great to see all the messages and we still have something to look forward to from our special day.”
Larson & Nrupa – “My wedding dress was completely custom made. I wanted everything to be traditional so I went with a very traditional outfit and jewelry. The second thing was the food. Several guests approached me and said that this was the best food they had ever had in their life. I have been to over 30 weddings in my lifetime, and the food at my wedding was by far the best tasting.”
Waterford is partnered with India House Catering to provide the most delicious North Indian, Gujarati and Indo-Chinese options for your wedding day. Click here for more information!
Meghavi & Mike – “We had top hats and canes for all the groomsmen which I thought made it unique.”
Prima & Ricken – “We had my brother ordained and he performed our civil wedding during the reception. My dad walked me down the aisle and Ricken and I said our vows.”
Check out how to get Ordained !
Roshni & Rocky – “Besides me rapping a love song to my husband, the first dance was unique. The DJ surprised us with what is called “dry ice” during our first dance. It made the dance floor look like clouds. You can say we were on “cloud 9.” That moment made us realize how perfect and special the day was to us.”
Roshni & Rocky weren’t the only couple dancing on cloud 9 on their wedding day!
Saad & Sameeha – “My sister surprised us with an ice cream cart that served everyone classic ice cream bars that we all used to salivate over when we were young kids.”
Take a look at these amazing Dessert Bar Ideas !
Vipra & Harsh – “Having an outside wedding and flying out in a helicopter. We still hear people talk about it!”
Make sure to Watch Vipra & Harsh flying out in a helicopter! Wait until the very end!
Favorite Memory
A wedding day is not only one of the most significant days in a couple’s life, but a day that goes by way too quickly. It is easy to get wrapped up in all the preparation and arrangements. It is critical to remember to take breaks and relish every moment of your special day along with every moment leading up to it. We gave couples a chance to look back on their wedding day and share with us their favorite memories.
Please tell us your most favorite memory you have from your special day.
Hetal & Nirmal – “The final dance. So many people were still on the dance floor and as the final song played they all circled around us as we danced. It was perfect!”
Maheen & Fazal –“Walking down the aisle with my dad. I remember my wedding song playing, and hearing my family and friends clapping and cheering as I walked towards my new husband. I still remember how beautiful the room looked that night.”
Meghavi & Mike – “The first moment I heard the barat and the dhol playing. It was right before I was going to see Mike and all our family and friends for the first time.”
Neha & Vishal – “Dancing the night away during our reception. Everything was perfect. Great food, great people, awesome music and the perfect partner.”
Prima & Ricken – “Coming down the aisle in a doli and seeing Ricken for the first time.”
Saad & Sameeha – “When it was time for our slow dance, they put on Brian McKnight, one of my all time [favorite] songs. I did not know they would put that on. In the middle of the slow dance something came over me, and I pulled away from my wife and serenaded her. After that, many other couples joined in and slow danced.”
Sara & Adnan – “Hearing my entrance song play as I walked into the hall, hand in hand with my husband, and seeing the sea of familiar faces clapping and smiling, celebrating my first moment of my wedding reception ceremony.”
It may be more difficult than you think when picking out the perfect song for the first dance. Check out some Tips in finding a first dance song!
For more information or to book your wedding, please contact Waterford Banquets. Our experienced and knowledgeable team will help you every step of the planning process. Call us at 630-279-0270 or email Pritesh.Gandhi@waterfordbanquet.com
What makes organizing the Waterford Indian Wedding Expo & Shopping Event one of the best part of my job! by Kate Sandu
The Waterford Indian Wedding Expo & Shopping Event is all about your planning needs…all in one place…all in one day. We strive to make the process of finding and booking a vendor as stressless as possible!
The purpose of the expo is to provide a platform for brides, grooms, family members, and party planners of all kinds to connect and interact with trusted vendors that offer quality products and services.
We love being a resourceful tool for attendees that are in the pre-stages of envisioning their “special day”, but are concerned about finding the right vendors for the job!
What sets this expo apart is that we want planners to have a wide variety of spectacular options that you don’t really see anywhere else. Our vendors are reliable and ready to chat at length with guests. This saves couples and planners time and effort that would otherwise be spent doing a tedious search online trying to find each vendor and seeing if they’re legitimate.
I love the fact that we do this at the Waterford Banquet & Conference Center facility because it gives our attendees a chance to speak directly with Djs, florists, photographers, hookah caterers, horse trainers, luxury car renters, etc. There is no better way to get a feel for what each service provider is all about. We want guests to see what’s being offered, to taste what’s being prepared, and to directly experience what might be the best fit for them! Only then can they make a truly informed decision about what will be the best solution for their event needs.
Past attendees have found this experience to be so helpful that they book most of their vendors right then and there at the expo…making their lives much easier! They use their surplus of time for other things like resting up for their big day!
In addition to couples the Waterford Indian Wedding Expo & Shopping Event is also a wonderful opportunity for vendors as well! Participants and presenters get to join in a partnership with other quality event businesses in order to build lasting professional relationships.
We are continuously searching for new trends each time we produce the event, so we can continue to inspire couples with great new options that are vetted and reliable. This provides a new flux of businesses to meet and partner with.
At the Waterford Banquet & Conference Center it’s our mission to embrace new trends in fashion, make-up, stage design, music, luxury cars, and many other impressive elements that are sure to dazzle guests. Hence, we aim to provide vendors the opportunity to network with one another, so that they can serve as power-partners for each other.
The event is not limited to just brides and planners…anyone that is interested in seeing what the future of events looks like is welcome!
New technology is definitely taking over the Wedding/Event Industry. For example, LED screens over fresh floral backgrounds, and/or Drones, Segway, GoPro Equipment, etc. are becoming the standard!
Something that we are known for at Waterford Banquet & Conference Center is how we educate our guests on how they can enhance their guest’s experience by incorporating these technologies and propelling their wedding or party into the next century! We are experts at this because of the people we bring in to present at our expo.
Only at the Waterford Banquet & Conference Center will you find expertise in new technologies meshed with live Donut Stations, or Hookah Lounges set up while Horses or Helicopters bring in the Bride and Groom.
It is at our core to help you create a vision unlike anything you thought possible. That is why we associate with service providers that want the same thing. The Waterford Indian Wedding Expo & Shopping Event is the only place to find all these things under one roof! I highly recommend that you make a point of attending this super fun event!!!
Take a look at some of the preferred vendor’s that frequent the Expo:
http://www.waterfordbanquet.com/preferred-vendors
For more info regarding the Waterford Indian Wedding Expo & Shopping Event click on the links below and follow us on Facebook!
http://www.waterfordbanquet.com/promotions
https://www.facebook.com/Waterford.Banquet/events
Waterford Banquet & Conference Center cordially invites you to participate in our upcoming 2016 Fall Indian Wedding Expo and Shopping Event. It will be held at 933 South Riverside Drive, Elmhurst, Illinois 60126 on Sunday, November 20th 2016.
If you are interested in participating as a Vendor or if you have any questions, please contact me at kate@waterfordbanquet.com
Space is limited.
We look forward to working with you on this great event!
Kate Sandu
Wedding Expo Planner & Coordinator at
Clarion Inn & Waterford Conference Center
Indian Weddings 101 by Pritesh Gandhi
Growing up on the north shore of Chicago, I spent many weekends dancing the hora or sitting through a bar/bat mitzvah service. By the time I was in high school putting on a yamaka and saying a blessing over bread was second nature to me. However, when my Jewish and non-Indian friends came over to my house for a family dinner they would experience a culture shock that was beyond anything they had ever experienced. The spices, smells, and colors were so foreign to them that I was always had to explain my culture and traditions to them. This was during the early 1990’s, and a decade before yoga studios, and Indian restaurants could be found in every strip mall.
As an Indian American (born and raised in the Chicagoland area) I take a great deal of pride in how mainstream society has embraced Indian traditions. However, there is still one Indian phenomenon that many Americans have trouble wrapping their minds around…INDIAN WEDDINGS! At our banquet facility hundreds of guests come through our doors each weekend. Singing, dancing, drinking, and always happy. Being an owner is the coolest job in the world because I’m surrounded by happy people all the time. What always cracks me up though, is seeing their eyes almost pop out when we host an Indian Wedding. The elaborate sights, sounds, and smells send the guests into a fun sensory overload. The minute they walk into the hall they are transported to an exotic world they’ve never been to before…and can’t wait to return to. It is with that I wanted to prepare you for what’s in store for you at an Indian Wedding.
Here are five things you’re going to experience:
- Beautiful Clothing with Amazing Colors: Yes you can leave your “black tie” attire at home. This is an opportunity to wear bold colors that are vibrant and lively. You’ll see Indians at the wedding dressed in the most gorgeous exotic and expressive saris and outfits. Gold will be in abundance as well, so bust out your finest BLING!
- Fusion Music of Bollywood songs with American top mixes: Everyone must dance at an Indian Wedding! That means YOU! Trust me, after a 2-4 hour ceremony there is nothing like the energetic release of hitting the dance floor and partying to familiar tunes with an Indian twist.
- Elaborate Food menus throughout the day: Our weddings often last 3 or 4 days, and there’s food to last 6 weeks. However, be warned there is no order to our buffet lines. I suggest finding an entry point wherever you can and fighting your way through it! You’ll thank me when you’re chowing down that delicious samosa, and drinking some yummy chai!
- Grand Bridal Entrances: The bride and groom arrive to the reception in something unique like segways, motorcycles, hoverboards, 2-seater bicycles or a sleek Rolls-Royce. What can I say, my people LOVE a good show! Indian weddings are about expressing and sharing abundance. It’s not about being gaudy (well in most cases it’s not), it’s about encapsulating the bride and groom in love and decadence for one weekend so that they start their lives together with a sweet taste of what could be.
- Tons and tons of Friends and Family. We see an average of 400 at guests at our Indian weddings at the Waterford: Don’t be intimidated by this number. Especially if you only know the bride and groom. Again, this event will last the whole weekend, so by the second day you’ll have cute/invasive Indian mothers and grandmothers you never knew before. That being said, the “diet” will have to start on Monday because everyone will force you to eat more Saag, Dal, and Naan every time they see you.
For more information on how to prepare for an Indian Wedding, or what to bring to one feel free to call us at 630-279-0270 or email me at Pritesh.Gandhi@waterfordbanquet.com We have a great deal of experience planning Indian Weddings and would love to help you feel more comfortable!
Pritesh Gandhi
General Manager at
Clarion Inn & Waterford Conference Center