The moment you have been anxiously hoping for has finally arrived—you’ve just gotten engaged to the love of your life. Now all that stands between you and your happily ever after is the wedding. Let the planning begin! How hard could it be, right?

We live in an era of countless options for every detail of your wedding and a growing number of professionals who are ready to be at your beck and call. The sky is the limit in terms of how unique you can make your day.

Except wedding planning is not as easy as the endless array of boards on Pinterest may have you believe—budgets seem like they’re just made to be blown and not every so-called expert comes through with the skill, knowledge and reliability that you hope for when you hire them.

So, how do you navigate all of the options available to you? Enter everyone and their mothers, literally.

From your mom to your mother in law, friends and cousins to your aunts and grandmas, there will be an endless supply of opinions on the best way to do everything. This can lead to amazing resources and invaluable insights at your fingertips. Or it can leave you reeling as you wonder why your wedding has somehow broken the trance that Saravanan and Meenatchi usually has your mom, aunt and grandma in.

One of the most important decisions you’ll make as you plan your wedding is choosing your venue. It can be a challenge if the location you love has never –or very rarely has—hosted South Asian weddings. But where there’s a will, there’s a way. Venue owners and managers are often willing to make exceptions to policies, such as using preferred caterers, to bring in new business. Enlisting the help of a seasoned wedding planner and attending wedding shows can provide you with valuable tips for navigating these discussions.

Once  the venue has been booked, you may feel a sense of panic set in as you start to realize just how many more decisions you have to make and how earth shattering each one appears to be. Needless to say the difference between cream, ivory and diamond white will probably never mean as much, ever again in your life. And you will probably never experience anything as close to hostage negotiations as when you try to hold your ground against the insistence that so-and-so’s mother’s sister’s brother-in-law’s daughter should really be invited.

Whatever ideas you may have had before you got engaged, once it’s officially announced, you will very quickly realize that weddings often become about more than the two tying the knot. Don’t get me wrong, the bride and groom are the focal point, but the day becomes very special to every guest as a celebration of their relationship with the couple, the new bonds being formed and an opportunity to shower the couple with love and blessings.

When you’re Tamil  it doesn’t just take the village to raise the child, it takes that village to make sure he or she gets the best send off into married life too. It’s one of the most defining elements of our weddings and what makes them such unforgettable occasions. So whatever your big day brings your way, remember the moment that started it all—when he popped the question, or when she said yes—and keep on smiling as you enjoy your wedding planning process, bumps, hurdles and all, because you’ll be heading to your happily ever after, together.

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-Image courtesy of OneWed