Articles & Guides

SAY "I DO" TO WEDDING DIY

When planning your wedding, it’s easy to allow the excitement to take over and start going over the top with your choices. Then, before you know it, your budget has doubled in size and you insist on walking down a diamond-encrusted aisle. It’s all too easy to watch the costs add up when you’re wrapped in the exhilaration of “Wedding Planning Mode.”
         
During these budget-conscious times, you want to find a balance between reigning in wedding costs and being overly frivolous. Countless brides have found an innovative and clever solution to this predicament – the DIY movement (do-it-yourself). Rather than hire someone to design your invitations or wedding favors, why not make them yourself? There are endless places you can search for inspiration (think Pinterest, magazines, blogs and forums). Be creative, use your imagination, and recruit your friends, family and bridal party to help!

Wedding DIY

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Posted by: Harsanik | | Comments: (0) | Articles & Guides

PHOTO SHOOT LOCATION IDEAS FROM HAMLET PRODUCTIONS

This week we are excited to feature some amazing photos by Hamlet Productions! For those looking for ideas of where to take gorgeous wedding or engagement photo shoots, we've provided a few ideas for you!

"Here are a few of our favorite wedding shots which capture moments in time that will stay etched in your mind for a lifetime. Hamlet Productions takes an instant out of time, altering life by holding it still."

Hamlet Productions
UCLA

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THE TRADITIONAL SOUND OF ARMENIAN WEDDINGS

We all have our favorite Armenian wedding bands and singers, and more recently, DJs. Their music is the pulse of the party and their energy keeps the night going. As their stars rise and fall over the years, the sounds and faces of these artists continually turn over, keeping up with the changing soundscape of our times. But for hundreds of years, there has been one unchanging tune at Armenian weddings: the everlasting duet of the zurna and the dhol.

This week we spoke with Vrej Sarkissian, CEO of Anoush Catering and L.A. Banquets to discuss traditional Armenian music played at weddings. Vrej explained the zurna is an oboe-like reed instrument that was developed in the ancient Middle East and Caucasus regions. Traditionally made from the wood of the apricot tree, the zurna has long been a celebratory musical instrument. In fact the word zurna comes from the Persian words meaning banquet or feast, and pipe.

The Traditional Sound of Armenian Weddings

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PLANNING A WEDDING IS A FAMILY AFFAIR

The ring is (finally!) on your finger and now it’s time to start planning the wedding. You and your fiancé have some pretty specific ideas of what you want. And your families have ideas of their own.

For Armenian couples, planning a wedding is always a family affair. With large and close-knit extended families, everyone wants to have a say. Midway through the planning process, elopement might begin to sound like a wonderful idea, but you don’t have to feel stuck between making your family happy and having the wedding you want. This week we spoke with Vrej Sarkissian, CEO of L.A. Banquets and Anoush Catering, and got his advice on how to manage the pressures from your family.

Photo Credit: Joey Ikemoto Photography

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Posted by: Harsanik | | Comments: (0) | Articles & Guides