Where I shopped-- my favorite stores/ designers
I shopped locally in Edison, New Jersey and bought a simple and elegant sari that barely cost 180 USD. It was the right sari and the right look for me, which was more important than designer tags. However, my shoes were the only splurge. I didn’t buy new ones and instead opted to wear Via Spiga gold shoes I already owned because I knew I was going to be on my feet all day long.

My advice for brides-to-be
An elegant and complete wedding can be done within a budget and time constraints. I had 5 weeks to plan my wedding and I pulled it off. I was on a budget and paid for most of the wedding myself. I strongly suggest giving yourself minimum amount of time for planning, which leads you to make quick and good decisions. I’m glad I didn’t allow a whole year of wedding planning to take over my life like it does for some brides.

Wedding planning is stressful no matter how much help you have and I found with the tighter schedule I didn’t sweat the small stuff. I was flexible about colors, venues, food, flowers because of which I got really great deals. I strongly suggest shopping around for wedding related things on the internet. Everything you can imagine is there-- from favors to décor to ideas and budget related tips. So don’t forget to read up!

And lastly ask friends. My girlfriends who had done this before proved to be invaluable in their advice and expertise. I couldn’t have pulled it off without them.