Retail Plus
Chennai
The Big Fat Indian Wedding!
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Marriages are made in heaven…the wedding planners of our city promise to do just that for you!
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The groom slips a beautiful wedding ring onto her slim finger and she blushes pink! They are now man and wife. True, it’s an unforgettable occasion! What better way to celebrate the event than being on board the superstar Virgo cruise as you exchange those significant vows. Exotic locales are no longer constrained to Bollywood songs. With a little help from your wedding planner, even you may sing your first duet on a picturesque island!
Chitra Uday, wedding planner, Sevavarshini Pvt Ltd says, “Earlier, we had joint families. When it comes to wedding, you had everyone from your niece, great aunt to your grandparents running around arranging things. But now, with the onset of nuclear families, everyone expects to be treated as a guest. And the pressure is totally on the parents’ side, which is where we come in.” She further adds,” Started in 2003, our concern has definitely seen the trend of this industry catching up with Chennai. On an average, a marriage may cost anywhere between Rs.1.5 lakhs to Rs6 lakhs, and we take charge of everything from hotels, flower decorations to menu designing. Ultimately, we become one among them!” Lakshmi Krishnaswamy of Fuscia also seems to have as much fun planning weddings. On how Fuscia began, she says, “Once, we had arranged the marriage of my partner- friend Sidney Sladen’s sister. We had so much fun doing it that we thought we should take it up professionally.” She feels that Chennai is still apprehensive about wedding planners and it matters a lot to make both parties comfortable about it.
Lakshmi declares, “The minute we get a call, we are committed. Starting from cards, everything is done in a professional manner. Normally, the clothes of the bride and groom are coordinated with the décor.” With her partner, ace designer Sidney, doing the honours, you’ll have nothing to complain about your wedding wardrobe. With a minimum of 2twoweeks notice, they ensure that your D-Day is really special. Relating a recent incident, she says, “Sometime back, we had a Muslim wedding where they wanted only ladies at the mehendi function. We had to arrange lady photographers and even managed to convince the hotel guys to use our lady waiters. So, we are extremely flexible; you give us a budget, we work around it and make sure your dreams come true.”
India Weds Inc. Chennai is another concern that goes to great lengths to please their clientele. Talking about one such incident, Ram Sridhar, CEO, India Weds says, “In September ’07, we had arranged for a wedding in West Bengal, in a small town near Kolkatta. The bride was from Tamilnadu (South Indian Brahmin) and the boy from Kolkatta (Bengali). Both parents wanted the wedding to be done as per traditional South India Brahmin customs. So, we had to take everything [including a big wooden swing - oonjal], from Chennai. Ultimately, both the families were completely satisfied and that is what matters.” He further adds, “We do go about personalising the package for each individual. Some like to individualise the gifts, some would like to serve a signature dish from a very popular restaurant; some would like to play a particular band, some would want their nuptials done in exotic locales etc. Whatever be their needs, we would get it done for them.” They offer a host of services including selection of invitations/printing/couriering them to various destinations and addresses, fixing up the wedding hall, catering (all kinds of cuisine), entertainment (like light music, instrumental, any region/religion specific programmes), gifts for the relatives and others, logistics (like pick-up/drop at various places within the city and outside, hotel/air tickets/train tickets booking and honeymoon trip arrangements (within India and overseas, as a complete package). They also organize theme weddings in exotic locations (like the weddings arranged on board of Virgo cruise, Neemrana fort in Rajasthan, atop Nandhi Hills, at a beautiful island called Tioman in Malaysia etc.).
Looks like wedding planners are soon going to be a breed that is much in demand. The big fat Indian wedding appears to be getting even fatter!
CATHERINE JONA GILON
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