Those who watched Mira Nair’s Monsoon Wedding (2001) know why it did so well with our NRI community — it was an apt reel-life portrayal of our real life obsession! Because wedding are still a once-in-a-lifetime affair in India, one does everything within one’s means to make the event special, otherwise one ends up doing what everybody does — just wed! Wedding Planners in Mumbai or from any convenient location.

Big, fat Indian wedding take a lot of planning and effort .

Those who watched Mira Nair’s Monsoon Wedding (2001) know why it did so well with our NRI community — it was an apt reel-life portrayal of our real life obsession! Because wedding are still a once-in-a-lifetime affair in India, one does everything within one’s means to make the event special, otherwise one ends up doing what everybody does — just wed! These days, if you have a wedding planner and an artist booking company on board, a wedding can easily be turned into a signature affair, who will go the whole hog for you, right from drawing up your guest list to sending out personalized invites, taking care of the décor to even booking the honeymoon package for the newlyweds! Push button comforts of a push button era – for a price of course! Do-it-yourself weddings have certainly fallen out of the scene. Event managers and professional wedding planners, like the Artist Booking Company are giving tough time to the aunts and uncles of yore, who earlier spearheaded the show with such gusto! Today their business stands usurped. One signature luxury wedding that Artist Booking Company organized was one of their clients, Sanjeev Jain at Goa between 14 and 18 April, this year featured Prem Joshua & Band at the Park Hyatt. Rapper Badshah was accompanied by 57 other artists at Alila Diwa for the sangeet ceremony that had guests grooving into the wee hours on all four days. “We have the knack of making every wedding special,” says Nidhi Shah, marketing head of Artist Booking Company.

What does wedding planning entail?

There are three basic steps to planning a gala wedding. Step # 1: Planning At this preliminary stage, you sit with your planner to estimate (or rather approximate) a budget, brainstorm ideas for a party theme; zero in on the appropriate venue, the décor, the floral arrangement, the menu, the entertainment, the sequence of events, mock drills, dress fittings, so on and so forth… “This is the most active phase of planning, when ideas are exchanged; some accepted, others shot down, depending upon budget constraints, client’s requests etc. But where there is will, there is always a way,” quips Shah.

Step # 2: Co-ordinating This is the tedious stage wherein you with your planner, select the vendors, finally choose the venue, negotiate, taste foot samplers, write out cheques, sign contracts, while your planner looks into all the nitty-gritty’s for you. Most planners work on turnkey basis, but what arrangement he or she has with the vendor should not be your headache, so long as you get what you are paying for.

Step # 3: Implementing This is the most crucial phase when all the plans are put to action, so that eventually, at the end of the bargain, you get a smooth and hassle-free event that would be the envy of your entire social circuit.

How much does it cost?

It’s a mistake to presume that every planned wedding is an expensive proposition. I can organize a soft and elegant party with a modest budget of Rs 80,000, provided the client is willing to go for the subtle and junk the more ostentatious, explains Shah. “These days, people don’t want to be hassled. They’d pay any price for a hassle-free wedding,” declares Jigar Shah the founder of Artist Booking Company.

“There is no MRP in this business,” he grins and confesses. “Money is no constraint when people are in the mood to splurge and celebrate,” observes Shah. So people come to her with the weirdest requests, such as a theme built around five nature elements — earth, water, fire, sky and air. It was done and the client went home happy and satisfied.

What does a wedding planner’s job entail? — Virtually everything!

 Sending out invitations

 Choosing the appropriate venue

 Shopping

 Putting up tents/pandals

 Catering

 Arranging for photo/video shoots and an interactive web TV, so that you can view the ceremony on a giant monitor as if you are watching a private TV channel)

 Making floral and other decoration at the venue

 Booking a priest

 Bride and groom’s trousseau-designing/tailoring

 Arranging the groom’s ride — a horse, you silly!

 Providing band/live music/DJs

 Mehendi and make-up

 Packing gifts

 Overseeing transport arrangement for the guests

 Getting the couple’s car decorated

 Nuptial bed decoration

 Booking the final honeymoon package