Aditya Motwane, 36, CEO,
Percept D’Mark Wedding Mangement Services, Mumbai
How it started: Percept had organised the Sahara Wedding in 2004 in Lucknow. That’s when we realised the great potential of weddings as a business, as each wedding entails various events. Put together, a wedding covers four or five days of festivities, which in turn generate great revenues.

First ‘it’ wedding: The Sahara wedding was special and challenging. Just the scale of planning that went into every detail was by itself was a life enriching experience. There were two weddings within a span of four days with over 15,000 high-profile guests being flown into Lucknow. The feeling of being a part of something so humungous cannot be explained in just a few words.

Great weddings are about: Innovative themes, exotic destinations, detailed planning, experience, great partners in the form of vendors, flawless production and proper guidance to the team on a regular basis.

Getting personal: My own wedding was a mad one. I had two functions that went on till five in the morning. The idea was to just party. Aqeel was the DJ while Gurleen Puri had done the décor and with a family of over 100 members. There was never a dull moment.

The M factor: Everyone wants his or her wedding to be extra special. Whether it’s spending on exotic themes or innovative entertainment acts like a 110-member symphony orchestra playing love ballads at the reception, or even a lavish spread of cuisines, the more the money, the merrier!

WHAT'S HOT
DÉCOR: Oriental, Las Vegas and Buddha Bar settings are excitingly refreshing. Eco-friendly themes are also in demand.

MENU: Food is constantly evolving. We’ve flown down seven chefs?representing virtually every international cuisine – Japanese, Chinese, Thai, Italian, Mexican, Lebanese and Spanish – along with their teams that comprise other chefs and servers for one of our clients. The total international crew was over 125 people besides the Indian spread that comprised 16 different state cuisines – Gujarati, Sindhi, chaat, Punjabi, Rajasthani, South Indian, Lakhnavi, Bengali and so on.

DESTINATIONS: This trend is a huge hit among the affluent, with Macau, Bali, The Maldives, Rajasthan and Aamby Valley topping the list.

LIVE ACTS: In India there are very few real wedding performers such as Daler Mehndi, Sonu Nigam, Shankar Ehsan Loy, Sukhbir, Infra-Red and Vyas Brothers who are usually the sangeet favourites. Bollywood regulars like Akshay Kumar, Salman Khan, Shilpa Shetty, Mallaika Arora and Shah Rukh Khan are also huge draws for NRIs.

INVITES: These depend a lot on the personal choice of the family. Usually cards represent traditional values and cultures so there are very few that get into real innovative designs. But you could have leading artists painting the front cover of the card, or a gold or silver coated card that contains dry fruits, paan and sweets along with the actual invite.

Gurleen Puri, 39,
Gurleen M Puri Wedding and Special Event Company, Mumbai
How it started: My wedding decor started with my home parties, as we loved to entertain every week. It was very interesting to come up with different themes for the house parties in terms of food, ambience and décor — those little touches — till I was approached by friends to do their house parties, birthdays, anniversaries and eventually weddings.

First ‘it’ wedding: Tanya Godrej’s wedding to Arvind Dubash was my first big wedding. It was among the first really big weddings in India. Dealing with a perfectionist and connoisseur like Parmeshwar Godrej was the biggest training you could ask for. She wanted nothing but the best for her daughter and for her guests. Meeting her expectations was a big challenge. I achieved new heights with that wedding.

Great weddings are about: Planning well with lots of inputs and brainstorming with?the client and their family (their tastesand preferences), the?requirements they may have (entertainment, invites, gifts, etc.). Customising and personalising events to the client’s taste and personality.

Top clients: The Godrej family, Vikram Chatwal (Mumbai wedding) and Zayed Khan among others.

The M Factor: Money can certainly give you better arrange–ments in terms of better venues, larger menu, celebrity artistes and grand décor. But it doesn’t necessarily guarantee the best because the best comes from the heart. I and my team work with a lot of passion. If a client respects us and our work, he’s sure to get the best from us, irrespective of the budget.

WHAT'S HOT
DÉCOR: Eclectic and contemporary décor with an accent on bright colours. Unconventional and fun themes like spice market, dons and divas and so on.

MENU: Not too many cuisines (two or three strong cuisines with very distinct menus).

DESTINATIONS: Newer and more virgin locales are highly sought after. It could be an island off Bangkok or the Scottish Isles.

INVITES: Simple and non-fussy.

Vandana Mohan, 45,
The Wedding Design Company, Delhi
How it started: My event management company is over 15 years old. Looking at my experience in logistics, organisation and a strong sense of aesthetics, a corporate client asked me to do his daughter’s wedding. It was a huge success, which set the stage for more weddings. I’ve been in the wedding planning business for the past five years now.

First ‘it’ wedding: The Chatwal wedding in Delhi. It was truly special because of the couple, Priya and Vikram Chatwal. They were both very sure about the look for each occasion. It was a simple brief, but very clear. After that they just let us plan and dream for them. It was challenging because it was across three cities and 14 hotels with all the décor and planning for each occasion done by us. We handled both logistics and hospitality as well.

Great weddings are about: Dealing with nervous parents, mood boards for each functions and a good working relationship with the client and his or her family.

Getting personal: My own wedding was a small, simple and intimate affair and a lot of fun.

Top themes: Phantom of the Opera and Pakeezah-night theme weddings for clients among others.

The M Factor: More money means a grander wedding since you can hire the best talent. You have more options and have no restrictions on the logistics and event planning side of it. A wedding can be made very magical and you can see your dreams become reality. Limited-budget weddings are creatively very challenging for a wedding planner.

WHAT'S HOT
THEMES AND DÉCOR: Indian themes are always a favourite. Recreating the grandeur and luxury of a bygone era – the Rajput Gharana, the opulence of the Mughal Sultanate and the richness of the Chola Dynasty. It could be Middle-Eastern, larger-than-life themes revolving around movies (English or Hindi), Club Lounge themes — clubs from Manhattan, LA, Niki Beach Lounge, Miami. For one of our clients, we actually recreated the Niki Beach look, minus the water. It was all white with lounge beds on the sand dunes of Jodhpur!

MENU: Specialty food such as tapas, Japanese cuisine, etc. Also small portions of food are a big trend. Bite size is in!

DESTINATIONS: Istanbul, Turkey, beach resorts in Kovalam and Spain.

LIVE ACTS: International artists such as Gypsy kings, Natalie Cole and Rihanna are extremely popular.

INVITES: Could be etched on glass in a silver frame. Or Tanjore paintings or commissioning an artist to do invites — a trend that has made a comeback.