My fiancé and I have been dating since high school – so 11 years. I’m a White Canadian and my fiancé is a Sikh Punjabi. Although I live in Surrey and grew up around many Sikhs, I recognized I had a lot of learning to do about Sikh and Punjabi wedding customs. As a non-Sikh, I’m here to share 3 tips that helped me a lot. This post caters to non-Sikh spouses who are having a Sikh wedding ceremony.
1. Indian Weddings are Expensive
Unlike traditional White Canadian weddings that typically have fewer events and people, Sikh Punjabi weddings can easily be made up many events. Coupled with larger guest lists, costs can grow into an amount that the average Canadian may not be familiar with.
For me, even though my parents were helping me – a lot of the costs have been on me. Whereas my fiancé does not have to pay for anything, as his family pays for it all There are a lot of little things, accessories and important elements of the wedding that need to be included that unfortunately come with a cost.
The cost (so far) is more than double what my parents were able to help me with so everything else has fallen on me. Therefore, I am managing a strict budget.
I am very aware of what I am spending and am trying to cut costs where possible- but its not always possible So far, there has not been anything cut from the Sikh wedding, all traditions and things associated are still happening
Thankfully I saved well and good with a budget so I was still able to get the outfits I wanted and the elements that were important to my spouse. All while keeping the traditions needed. Overall, costs are high, and I find they are best managed through rigorous budgeting
2. Invest in an Indian Wedding Planner
I’m not talking about a human wedding planner (although if that’s in your budget, go for it!). I’m talking about a physical wedding planner, like a book! I would have been lost in the beginning without the one I got from Little Pear Co. It broke down what I needed, and showed me things I would not have known about otherwise. The planner also broke down each ceremony and custom, along with in-depth explanations. I even taught my fiancé a thing or two!
3. Do Your Research
This tip may seem super obvious, but really do your research. For me, I spent a lot of time browsing the Internet and reading articles just like this one. For answers I couldn’t find on the internet or in my wedding planner, I asked my partner’s family. They would all talk about things that they all knew about and would sometimes forget to slow down and break things down for me. So I slowed them down, and had them really break things down for me. The combination of my wedding planner, the Internet, and my partner’s family, made it easier when I went out looking for my own thing I knew what I was talking about and what I was looking for.
If you have any questions about my experience, leave a comment!
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