Planning Tips & Tricks

5 Ways To Stress Free Wedding Planning

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The reason people hire a wedding planner is to make their wedding day a special and unforgettable event for them as well as everyone who attends it. Hiring a wedding planner gives them the best of both the worlds. They are involved in every small decision that is made, yet at the same time they get the luxury to sit back and relax, while you, the Wedding Planner does everything.

For many, the idea of planning a wedding seems very exhilarating, but, in reality it is nothing short of a Herculean task. There has to be a flow and tempo in a wedding and as a wedding planner there is so much you have to do. With so many things to plan and coordinate, it may often take a toll on you, the wedding planner. Here is a list of 5 ways to stress free wedding planning for a wedding planner.

  • Spending Time with your Clients
    The first and foremost step of an easy-going wedding is to know your client. Spend time with the bride or groom-to-be and the families in order to get to know them and get a clear picture of what exactly are they looking for. Give ideas but do not be too dominating when doing so. It is after all, their wedding. Discuss the blueprint of your plans with them and go ahead only when they okay it. You would have to make a million decisions, so talk through every aspect of the wedding with them colour schemes, fancy lights, invites, menu and even the chair cover if they wish to.
  • Manage the Budget
    One of your biggest challenges is going to be managing the budget. Having a budget doesn’t mean being miser all along, even a millionaire’s wedding has to have a budget. It simply means that you need to have a perspective and plan everything around it. Provide a realistic assessment to your client in the very beginning. When you start implementing your ideas into actions, expenses tend to mount up rather quickly, keeping the client’s budget in mind will let you make wise decisions. As an experienced wedding planner you would also be able to get your clients the best deals and discounts. Doing all this will let you be comfortable till the very end of the wedding.

  • Coordinating with the Vendors
    Planning a wedding cannot be a one-man’s job. You need to be able to work comfortably with caterers, florists, stylists, dress designers, photographers etc.  Keep close ties and always build alliances. If you have a team of professionals that you get along with, it would greatly help you in easing the entire process. An expert in their own field, they would be reliable and also suit your style of working. When you share the responsibilities, you share the tensions and work pressures too.

  • Give Valuable Suggestions
    As a wedding planner you would know the ins-and-outs of the business. Which wedding venue can accommodate how many people, which decorator will fit within your budget, which caterer would do justice to your client’s taste, are things you must suggest to your clients and help them make the best decisions. Make sure that the ideas you give are doable. Remember, your ideas are going to be the foundation of the whole wedding.
  • Take it Easy
    Wedding planning can be stressful. It is very important for you to be calm and relaxed. Going for every offer that you get may seem tempting, but it is highly recommended that you be wise and put in a lot of thinking when accept a wedding planning project. Though every wedding planner wishes to be one of the best in the business, plan your career strategies smartly. Planning two perfect weddings in a year is way better than planning five in a haphazard way. Remember, your work is your best advertisement.

The Bottom Line

The above-mentioned ways may appear to be very simple, yet they can do wonders to the way you plan a wedding. If you have undergone some formal training, things will be much easier for you, as before you enter the market you already know the tricks of the trade. The internship that you have been through, prepares you to face all kinds of high-pressure situations. To many it seem a dream job, being a wedding planner is not all about the charisma and the glitterati, it requires foresight, perseverance and a lot of hard work.

Why Is Customization Important In Planning A Wedding?

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One of the most important responsibilities of a wedding planner is to create a personalized wedding for every couple. For this, he first needs to understand what the client wants and then must tailor the different aspects of the wedding to suit the client in particular and the family members in general. So, spending quality time with the clients and pinpointing their interests becomes instrumental. Keeping their interests in mind the wedding planner then creates ‘event-paths’ which makes it possible for him to turn his client’s dreams and ideas into a reality.

Every couple wants their wedding to be an unforgettable event not just for them but also for everyone who attends it. But, many a time, devoting so much time and effort is not possible neither for the couple nor for the family members. This is where a wedding planner enters.

The wedding planner who is a pro at handling every little detail of a wedding, can easily help in planning and customizing various things the way the client wants. They are an expert at making the best use of the available resources and can do wonders to even the most basic items and ideas. And the best part is that they can do all this well within the budget that their client has given them.

At the point when you take the time and effort to truly work your customers’ ideas into their wedding, it shows extraordinary customer service. You’re devoting yourself to planning one of a kind weddings that suit every customer’s vision. You aren’t designing a solitary wedding concept and program and applying it exactly the same for every customer. Creativity is the thing that makes you a flourishing and professional wedding planner.

The Venue

The selection of the venue is probably one of the most significant factors of the wedding. The surrounding helps in setting the tone of the wedding. Whether it is a society park or a farmhouse or an open field, the wedding planner can customize and personalize the space as per the choice of the client. They can create an intimate space for the special guests as well. Overhead lighting, a cluster of pendants, creative drawings, etc. are ideas that can completely transform the wedding ceremony.

The Menu

From greeting the guests with a celebratory cocktail with a creative name to planning the whole menu as per the couple’s story is another trend that’s becoming very popular. Dishes that are the bride’s or the groom’s favorite, the first dish that he made for her or she made for him are on the charts too.

Customized Clothes

Wearing personalized t-shirts at the ‘Mehendi’ or the sangeet or bachelor’s party are some things that the bride and groom along with the friends and family would enjoy. The wedding planner can get tees for the couple and the guests printed as-‘Bride to Be’, ‘Bride’s Best Friend’, ‘Soon to be Mrs’, etc.

Small Details

‘Going into details’ is what a well-trained wedding planner does best. From customized tissue papers with the couple’s initials or their logo to personalized wrapping paper with their photos, it makes gifting the guests all the more intimate and dear. Some wedding planners have also designed coasters with names or photos of the couple. Some have made use of monogrammed throw pillows and cushions too.

When it comes to satisfying our needs and wants, we have far too many choices. When wedding bells ring, the expectations rise even more and the biggest challenge for the couple and the family members becomes customizing the wedding in a way that it becomes an emotional and a never-to-be-forgotten event. At such a time, hiring a wedding planner becomes the best decision that one can make. Though it is a challenge, for the wedding planner too, customization truly makes the wedding the most special day in a person’s life. A wedding planner who has had some formal training can help in making things special and extremely personalized and make the wedding an event to remember.

The Art Of Listening:

Indeed, your hard skills are super important. Without your professional training, you most likely wouldn’t know what an RFP is! In any case, other than knowing how to make budget spreadsheets and courses of events, your soft skills need refining, as well. The art of listening is therefore important! How might you customize a wedding if you don’t listen to the couple that you’re working for? Before you can fulfill your obligations as an expert wedding planner, you have to have a solid handle of your customers’ needs and desires.

Perhaps the most ideal approach to put your customers at ease is to consistently show that you’re listening to them. However, don’t simply seem as though you’re doing it— really do it! Give them abundant chances to voice their thoughts and opinions. Actively engage with them. In case something isn’t working, be straightforward with them. Your customers have big dreams, it’s important not to annihilate them! Be that as it may, making guarantees you can’t keep isn’t exactly the first step in building a solid customer relationship.

Your customers don’t have the foggiest idea of how much everything costs, the complete logistics behind every event, and any legal issues included. That is the reason they have employed you! The more honest you are, the better they can confide in you. Try not to squash their ideas. Work with them to form their ideas into something different, or incorporate them on a smaller scale.

Becoming A Wedding Planner With An Eye For Customization

Understanding each client’s needs for customization is something that comes with years of experience. However, a wedding planner who has no experience in the industry might find it difficult to develop an eye for personalization. However, obtaining formal training before entering the wedding planning industry can help you a great deal with this. Formal training in wedding planning ensures that you are well-accustomed to the wedding planning ecosystem, and more so if you get a chance to be part of a live internship. All in all, investing in formal training will definitely help you out before starting a career in the wedding planning industry.

Common, copy/pasted weddings aren’t what expert wedding planners are trained for. If your customers didn’t want unique weddings, they wouldn’t have hired you! You have an obligation to plan and design weddings that genuinely correspond with the intended vision of the couple. This is why creativity, attention to detail, and active listening skills are important for wedding planners to possess. After all, a wedding is the most important day in a person’s life and they would want it to be unique, special, and customized just for them and it is your job to fulfill your client’s visions and make them and their guests happy.

How Technology Is Changing Indian Weddings?

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Just like everything else, over the years, Indian Weddings too have been greatly influenced by technology. So much so that from the wedding lehenga to the wedding invitations, everything now has a new ‘avatar’. Things have become easier though not always simpler. Young couples prefer weaving customs and rituals along with convenience and style and the outcome is remarkable. Match-Making Rather than discussing the marriage prospects with the society ‘barber’ people are depending entirely on matrimonial websites and also TV channels, for their child’s ‘match-making’. What more, there are tonnes of Facebook groups too for the same. The youngsters too rely on dating apps and websites before they make up their mind about the wedlock. The Wedding Industry ‘Wedding’ is now an industry, and not just any industry but a 40-billion-rupee industry. With an average growth of 30% it is often said to be the recession-proof industry too. And it surely is, with almost 10 million weddings every year, there seems to be no such thing as a slowdown here. India consumes about 900 tons of gold and half of this is purchased during the wedding season. Destination Weddings Technology has made the world a small place. More and more couples have started preferring having weddings at scenic locations abroad and within India. Places like Goa, Jaipur, Udaipur, Italy, Greece are topping the charts when it comes to choosing the destination for the perfect wedding. Wedding Planners In India, weddings always involved the entire family, they still do but their roles have undergone a transformation as well. The ‘chachas and mamas’ no longer run around till the last minute, it is now the wedding planners who take care of it all. Weddings are no longer seen as a painful responsibility but a reason to party. It’s nothing less than a holiday with friends and family and hiring the right wedding planner can indeed be the best way to plan a wedding. Wedding Schools Till a few years ago a wedding school was completely unheard of but thanks to the remarkable transformation of Indian weddings, wedding schools are now giving many youngsters a platform to build strong entrepreneur skills. The courses offered by elite and well-renowned wedding schools give a jumpstart to the career of a budding wedding planner. Going through an internship helps them learn the tricks of the trade early on as they get a chance to learn under experts. Attaining a successful career as a wedding planner has been made easy with Wedding schools. So Much More The wedding industry also comprises of many other businesses and branches. Dress designers, stylists, photographers, printers, florists and decorators, etc., are an integral and important part of the industry. Decorator-The tent-wala is now a decorator and plays a key role in remodelling a society-park into a fabulous wedding location. Replicas of palaces, movie sets are also being set up by the decorators to give the wedding a touch of royalty. Invitation Cards-The wedding invite now comprises of the invitation cards to the cocktail, bachelor’s party, shagan, mehendi and sangeet, wedding and the reception too. And it’s no longer just a card – silk envelops, embroidered cards, elegant invite-mithai boxes are just so mesmerizing. Photographs-Clicking professional and high-high-definition pictures are as important as the wedding itself. They not only make reminiscing special but are also important as they have to be uploaded on various social media platforms. Technology indeed has changed the Indian Weddings. Almost every aspect seems to have undergone modifications. However, the quintessence core of every Indian wedding is still ‘tradition’. And this amalgamation of tradition and technology has been great for everyone. The couple-to-be, the parents, the guests, the wedding planners, the vendors, just about everyone is Super Happy!!

Becoming A Better Wedding Planner – 5 Important Guidelines

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There has been a transformation in the way Indian Weddings are perceived and organized. Though ‘tradition’ still remains the essence of an Indian wedding, there have been many new innovations and additions. The rising popularity of a wedding planner is a welcome change. With more and more families hiring a full-time wedding planner, the demand of having a good wedding planner seems to be on an all-time high. This increase in demand has also been a big reason that there are many wedding planners and wedding planner companies in the market. But there are many who are ordinary and there are many who are thorough professionals. So, what separates the two? The reasons are plenty. There is no place for mediocrity in the world today. Unless you keep learning, reinventing and recreating something new, you may soon become obsolete. Let’s have a look at some of the areas you should be focusing on to become a better wedding planner. Get Qualified Having the right educational background can do wonders to your wedding planning career. Specialized courses in wedding planning are gaining more and more popularity as event management courses are far too general in their approach. Being a wedding planner, there is so much you need to know-planning, marketing, collaborating with vendors, finalizing stylists and designers etc. Your education in wedding planning will come in very handy when you actually enter the market. Even if you are in the wedding business, it is never too late to learn. If you do not have any formal training, enroll yourself in a Wedding Planning Course today. Invest In Formal Training One of the best ways to kick-start your wedding planning business is to have some training in the field. Opt for a course that provides you with an internship else, work as an intern for an established wedding planner for some time. When you enter the market as a trainee there is so much you can learn. A good internship program will let you learn a lot about the business. The deadlines, the last-minute cancellations, the coordination between two vendors, the high-pressure situations and so much more, you will get a first-hand experience of dealing with all this. Network & Build A Strong Team Always remember, a strong business cannot be a one-man show. You need to have a strong team of people with you always. You would need to have a good liaison with different vendors who would be providing different services like catering, decorating, printing, etc. A smooth wedding will not be possible if you do not collaborate and coordinate. Improve Interpersonal Skills For most of us, it comes naturally, but you must keep working on your interpersonal skills. When communicating with your clients it is very important that you understand their requirements.  Being too rigid with your own ideas may not be a healthy sign. It is, after all, your client’s wedding and you need to deliver what he/she wants. But at the same time, using your own creativity to enhance everything is equally important. Also, weddings are events where everyone is emotionally charged-up. As a wedding planner, you need to be calm and composed even under the most high-pressure situations. Never Stop Learning Even after you hold a strong ground in the market, you need to maintain your standard and sustain your position. Unless you give your clients excellent ideas and services, things might easily slip out of hand. Be on a lookout for new and innovative ways to make each wedding a memorable one. Being a wedding planner may seem easy, but it sure involves a great deal of hard work and perseverance. In India, there is a lot of scope in the wedding planning industry and with the right formal education and the right attitude, the sky can be the limit for you.

How a Wedding Planner Helps You Plan A Wedding in Budget

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Congratulations! There is going to be a wedding soon! If you or someone in the family is engaged, there must be a dozen ideas flowing all around. Though weddings are pretty exciting, planning a wedding can be quite stressful. There so much to think and so much to do. One of the biggest tasks of planning a wedding is to stay within the budget. It can be quite overwhelming, but then, going overboard is not a wise option. This is where a Wedding planner makes an entry. So, if you are planning yours or someone else’s wedding with a limited budget, the best way to do so is by hiring a wedding planner! Let us see how a trained wedding planner can help you. A Trained Professional Though a wedding planner doesn’t need a specific technical qualification, but these days many wedding planners are undergoing specialized courses to get some formal training in this vocation. This hands-on training gives them an edge over the other wedding planners in the market. They master the tricks of the trade, even before entering the market. Therefore, managing a budget is not an issue and they can make your event more cost effective when it comes to a trained Wedding Planner. Can Negotiate Deals and Discounts As a bride, you would be planning just one wedding, but for a wedding planner, handling dozens of weddings every year is a cakewalk. With their wide network of vendors and artists, wedding planners often facilitate the best costs involved in a wedding. He would know how to negotiate with the various vendors, something that might be next to impossible for you and me. Saves your Time and Effort If you are self-employed or are otherwise engaged in your job, you may not have the time to go into all the details of every aspect of planning the wedding. Even if you take a few days leave there’s so much to do, that it might become too overwhelming. Planning a wedding is a full-time job. When you hire a trained wedding planner, he takes over the entire responsibility of giving you your dream wedding, while you can sit back and enjoy the last few months or weeks as a bachelor/ bachelorette. Provides you Workable Alternatives An experienced wedding planner will be able to guide you when you wish to add an unnecessary ingredient to the wedding. From the discounted rates of caterers to florists, from venue to seasonal flowers, he knows all the trade secrets and will save every penny possible. Is well Connected Your wedding planner will have contacts, that you and I can only think of. Bookings of your favourite venue, or stylist or the designers may not be possible but for the wedding planner, it is something that he deals with on a regular basis. He is also a good source of reference for vendors and service providers, so many a time he would be the first one to get info on availability and deals. It is a common myth that hiring a wedding planner is a costly affair. No doubt that the wedding planner will charge you a fee but at the same time, he would also be providing you with his elite services that will save you so much of your time and effort. You and the other family members may feel tempted to go over-budget, but an expert wedding planner will not do so. He would be able to help you in striking a balance between the things that are absolutely necessary and the things that can be discarded. So, it wouldn’t be wrong to say that hiring a wedding planner is not an expense but a necessity.

Why Is Hiring A Wedding Planner Often The Best Investment That A Couple Can Make

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When the wedding bells start to ring, they often bring with them many doubts and confusions with them! One of the biggest perplexities being, “Do I need a Wedding Planner?” So, if you or anyone close to you has been trying to figure out the answer, well, read on! The Answer is a resounding “YES”! You “need” a wedding planner, rather let me put it this way, “You Deserve a wedding planner!” Coordinating a wedding is not an easy job. It is hard work, requires plenty of time and can be really, really stressful. Long gone are the days when from relatives to friends, from the entire neighborhood to just about everyone around used to pitch in to help the family with a wedding! Not anymore! These days the couple itself would find it hard to devote much time to plan their wedding. Thanks to the changing times, hiring a wedding planner is not something that only movie stars or the super-rich do. Out in the market, there is a wedding planner for every kind of budget! It is, therefore, no doubt that hiring a wedding planner often the best investment that a couple can make! Let us take a look at what all a wedding planner can do for the soon-to-be-married couple. Looking After Your Budget! Limiting yourself to a budget is the biggest challenge one may face when planning a wedding. There is so much temptation to do more and more, that often leads to going overboard in the beginning and then cutting corners as the wedding day arrives. A wedding planner is a professional and will stick to the budget that you have given him. He will not only help you in avoiding any costly mistakes but will also be able to get you the best discounts from the vendors that would be a part of the wedding. Can Keep Stress Under-Control Weddings can rarely go without an emotional drama. Indian weddings especially are known to have ‘emotional outbursts’ a regular occurrence. It is a time when emotions are running high, deadlines are being missed and last-minute changes are on, and in a situation like this, even the most patient people may lose their cool. That’s when the wedding planner comes in extremely handy. He can be very helpful in ironing out the problems that crop up suddenly. He is an expert at handling such high-high-pressure situations and keeping everything peaceful. Your Very Own Personal Assistant Whether you are going to be a bride or a groom, being stressful at your own wedding, maybe the last thing that you wish for. There is already so much going on in your mind, that worrying about the wedding details is only going to make you miserable. At such a time, your wedding planner can help you as much as you require. From booking appointments with the stylist to organizing a Bachelor’s/ Bachelorette’s Party. It’s great to have someone by your side. Turning Your Dream Into A Reality Many of us have planned a wedding ever since we were very young. Though it may seem to be the best option to do everything on your own, it can become quite overwhelming and take a toll on you. From the invites to the decor, from the caterer to the venue, from the stylist to the mehndi-wala, the list is never-ending. But the wedding planner has a template ready for every little detail.  You simply need to tell him what you want, and you can rest assured that your wedding will be the way you always wanted it to be, maybe Better! As the D-Day gets closer, the stress levels involved are going to soar. In such a time, the presence of a wedding planner can give them peace of mind, and they too can enjoy the wedding. A wedding is after all an event of a lifetime, and rather than running around making arrangements, you should be focused on making memories!

International Trends That Have Started Showing Up In Indian Weddings

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Indian weddings are all about traditions and heritage. No matter how “modern” one might be, tradition remains the essence of every Indian wedding. Having said that, there is no denying that there are many international trends that have had a big influence on Indian weddings. Westernization has hugely affected the way Indian weddings are planned and carried out. The young couples love tradition but with a dash of modernity! More and more couples want a global kind of wedding, that becomes an event to remember not just for them, but for everyone who attends it.

Thanks to the influence of social media, the youth is hugely exposed to the lives of celebrities. The destination weddings of Virushka and the very recent Deepveer, have given wedding goals to many. The marriage ceremony has become an extravagant off-shore holiday. Young brides wish to have a fairytale wedding and that has brought a huge rise in the demand for wedding planners, elegant caterers, trousseau designers, stylists, banquet organizers, etc. We have listed the biggest International trends that have taken the Indian wedding industry by a storm.

Exotic Wedding Destinations:

The travelling enthusiast young Indian would love to make their day all the more special, and if budget is an issue, an international destination wedding can be easily replaced with exotic Indian wedding destinations like Goa, Kerala and Rajasthan. The serene and classy environment adds wanderlust for a fairy tale set-up. Just like most international weddings, Indian weddings are no longer considered to be a herculean task (thanks to all the help from wedding planners), but rather a time when friends and family get together to have lots of fun.

2. The Rise of Bridesmaids and Groomsmen:

Talking about the presence of friends and family at the wedding, the international trend of having bridesmaids and groomsmen has made an entry in our wedding scenario as well.

3.  Traditional Wedding Colours Are Out:

There has also been a major shift in the bride’s outfit. The Indian bride is now seen in colours apart from the traditional red and shades of green. Yellow and even white are now gaining popularity. Different styles of hair-dos and makeup have also made way. The wedding guests are also seen following different colour schemes for different wedding ceremonies, from an all yellow in the “Haldi Function”, to an all-white tempo for the “Sangeet”. The sangeet pictures and videos of Bollywood actress Sonam Kapoor awed everyone, with every guest clad in shades of white. More and more people are opting for pastel and sorbet shades, especially for summer weddings.

4.  The Veil Trend:

Indian brides are taking inspiration from their western counterparts and incorporating beautiful veils into their wedding trousseau. This trend was particularly well received by Bollywood celebs like Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra who included the very chic Catholic veil into their wedding trousseau.

5. Subtle Bridal Makeup:

Bridal makeup is one of the most basic components that bring a wedding look together. There is nothing better than a simple and fresh make-up look that will make you look radiant. While Indian bridal makeup has always been known for its extravagance, the western trend of a subtler and simpler look has ebbed its way into our weddings. For instance, Priyanka Chopra Jonas settled on the ‘less is more’ approach for her recent wedding ceremony. From a summer wedding on a seashore to a beautiful ceremony in a temple or another private location, this is one of the most recent International wedding trends that has made its way into Indian weddings and will remain popular.

6. Curated Guest List:

Unlike before, when long-forgotten friends and relatives were also invited to weddings, just like international weddings, the guest-list of an Indian wedding is now planned more articulately. This also makes it easier to make each guest feel more special and truly a part of the big day. Parting gifts with their names on, specific photo-shoots, allotted tables at ceremonies etc. are ways to make everyone feel extra special.

7. Bridal Entrance:

Before, the grand entrance was reserved only for men in Indian weddings. However, Indian brides are taking inspiration from their Western counterparts and are beginning to take the lead with regards to their bridal entries on their big day.  Full of magnificence and attitude, brides currently enter on an assortment of vehicles, for example, bikes and Palanquins with the most well known by far an entrance to their fave ‘tune’ and their own rendition of their Naomi Campbell catwalk swagger, Brides are done playing the shy bride and are quite glad to flaunt their style and their personality.

8. Blending Of Cultures:

With a rise in inter-caste and even inter-country marriages, many couples are experimenting with a fusion of eastern and western culture. It is not just an acknowledgement to their heritage, but it is their way of blending the east and west styles. Couples from various cultural backgrounds decide to celebrate both their cultures in independent ceremonies or combine them with various ceremonies from each. Deepika and Ranveer, and Priyanka and Nick both had two wedding functions to include and offer respect to and celebrate their cultural differences. This has also given rise to another important aspect of the spectacle of the wedding which is an exemplified and lavish layout of food. From Chinese to Lebanese, Italian to Japanese, Mexican to Thai, along with the exotic Indian cuisines are all reaching the modest palate of the guests.

9. Tossing Of The Bouquet:

The tossing of the bouquet is a tradition that most single ladies at a wedding anticipate. This fun and popular tradition of the Western culture has been adopted by young Indian brides too. The bride (frequently blindfolded) throws her bouquet to the single woman and it is said that the young lady that gets the bouquet will get hitched next. An Indian bride tossing her colourful bouquet is such a great photo opportunity as well!

10. The Gift Registry:

How frequently have we gotten gifts we truly didn’t need or we already have? The gift registry (exceptionally well-known custom in weddings internationally), is an incredible method to abstain from being gifted the same thing multiple times. The couple chooses their wish list of items from a store, shares it with their guests and in this manner guarantees, they get precisely what they need!

This Indo-western fusion of the wedding trends is nothing less than an opulent celebration and has further added more glitter and sophistication to the Indian wedding industry. There is no doubt that international trends have started showing up in Indian weddings, and they are here to stay!

Best Wedding Venues In Rajasthan For Planning a Wedding with a Professional Planner

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Getting hitched is an important event of person’s life. Everyone desires their wedding to happen at a royal place. India, a land of diverse cultures is the home of many stunning wedding locations. Out of the many, Rajasthan with its majestic forts and royal palaces is well known for the most expensive and desired wedding destination. It depicts its rich cultural heritage in the form of its art, architecture and the lifestyle. The mesmerizing forts, magnificent palaces, courtyards and gardens can make the function a grand one. Selecting the right wedding venue is an important decision in the wedding planning process. It usually sets the tone of the wedding to follow and thus should be chosen carefully. Rajasthan has elegant and exotic wedding venues that offers the perfect combination of tradition and contemporary trends. The popular wedding destination in Rajasthan are Jaipur, Udaipur, Jodhpur, Ajmer etc. There are many luxurious hotels and palaces in these cities that host weddings in the best possible manner and who knows best than your own planner. So, if you are looking for royal treat on your most special day, check out these magical destination wedding venues and their inside secrets! Wedding Locations highly recommended in Rajasthan by Planners Pink city Jaipur has many hotels and resorts which are perfect for wedding event. In addition, there are numerous admirable palaces, forts and exotic gardens that can add glamour to the wedding. Rambagh Palace in Jaipur is well-known for luxurious rooms, authentic cuisines and contemporary architecture. The palace belongs to the Taj group of hotels has huge lawn area and a hall to host various wedding functions. Another place is Rajvilas Palace which is popular venue ideal for hosting grand wedding ceremony. Jai Mahal Palace and Samode Haveli are the other places that many people choose for their wedding. These venues are popular for their architecture with modern twist on the traditional Indian designs. Also, these palaces have huge hall and lawn area to host a big fat Indian wedding. Udaipur also known as City of lakes is in limelight since centuries because of its exquisite nature of diverse cultures and experiences together. The city has always been adored by many and will always be in the minds of exotic destination lovers. The place is considered as the romantic wedding destination where you can carry on the wedding rituals and ceremonies. The Royal Mansions in the city serves as the one of the best and most sought after wedding location. The hotel’s intricate layout makes the interiors breathtaking and outdoor offer a stunning view of the magnificent lake and lush gardens. Ranbanka Palace is home to many Indian weddings for centuries. The palace is famous for it’s exquisiteness such as luxurious rooms and contemporary architecture. Heritage palaces and forts add to the glory of the city in conducting royal weddings. The royal treatment given to the guests make it perfect place for many to opt for their memorable event. Umaid Bhavan, Indana Palace set in the magnificent city of Jodhpur are well-known wedding destinations. These palaces are beautifully designed and has multiple banquet halls which are glorious in all its offerings. The hall and huge lawn area are suitable to host a grand wedding function. The ambiance at Indana is beautiful fusion of different worlds coming together and the inner courtyard is best for wedding ceremonies. Thus, a perfect Indian wedding can be experienced in this magnificent city. A wedding in Rajasthan will give you beautiful memories that you will cherish forever. What more you can ask for when you can take the wedding vows with your loved ones at beautiful locations. So, add more spice to your wonderful event by planning your wedding at exotic palaces, hotels and forts but more importantly choose your planner carefully because they can turn your wedding around.

What Are The Elements To Be Taken Care Of In Planned Weddings?

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Weddings are a once-in-a-lifetime phenomenon for each individual and everyone would want to have a dreamlike, all-perfect wedding with no regrets for the future. But no event can be made perfect without proper planning and a timely execution of that plan. But, planning a perfect event is no kid’s play, as it requires high vigilance and prompt decision-making with a considerable amount of attention towards the necessities. And, that is exactly why we are here, to give you this list of the essential elements that can give your wedding an edge over the others and make your event nothing less than a fairytale. An ultimate wedding planning toolkit Following is a list of essential elements that you must take care of if you want to plan your client’s wedding like a professional.
  1. Budget is important, sticking to it is even more important
Weddings are definitely a costly affair. And to keep a track of the flow of money, it is important to maintain a budget that can guide us about our expense. Last minute expenses and sudden unplanned issues are unavoidable so it is also important to keep a chunk out of our budget for that cause. In fact, a better way would be to think beforehand about these ‘pop-up wish list’ items in the beginning and add them so that you are not caught off-guard suddenly. At last, learn to balance on the expenses. For example, if you have splurged on food, then you might want to cut on expenditure on flowers, decoration etc.
  1. Prepare a timeline
The most important trait of an efficient event manager is the workability of his timeline. So, to make sure that you have ample amount of time to carry out every order and preparation, make sure that you have a precise timeline in your hand that ends at least two weeks prior to the wedding. After all, you need time to revamp yourself for the event too!
  1. Maintain an event record
Keeping an event toolkit is every planner’s first priority. You have to maintain multiple excel sheets to record expenses, prepare element sheets, rsvp sheets, tasks accomplished and pending work etc.
  1. Learn to handle your vendors
A good manager knows how to manage multiple resources properly and how to create a sync among important people. Similarly, make sure you know everything about your vendors including their past experiences, quality check etc. Have meetings and follow-up with all your vendors and guide them personally to keep in touch with each other in case of emergency. Together, you all must not act or feel like scattered elements, instead, you should feel like a team aiming towards creating a wonderful experience.
  1. Your customer service talks big bucks about you!
Your responsibility as an event planner is to create amazing memories for the customer. So, do not forget to add your own flavor to it. You can try making customized gifts for the guests depending upon the budget or a gift for the host family that exclusively defines your gratitude towards them. Apart from this, welcome bags and goodies bag is also in fashion these days that contain all about the event, a token from the host and thank you card etc. So be wise and keep yourself fresh in people’s memory forever with these unique gestures. So, keep the right tools and tips handy and your event will be a sure success.

The Paradigm Shift from Traditional Weddings To Planned Weddings

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Want to build your career as a wedding planner 

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Indian weddings are nothing short of a concoction of traditions, ceremonies, music, food and oodles of melodrama. And though the basic structure of Indian weddings has undergone a complete makeover, these basic elements remain intact in almost every Indian wedding. Almost a decade back, most people could not really afford to spend their money on extravagant weddings and hence, weddings were kept simpler. For most families, weddings were private affairs and only the near and dear ones were invited. The guest list was trimmed further in case the budget was falling short. The last few years, however has witnessed an era of prosperity and awareness, which has led to the emergence of the wedding industry. With the rapid improvement in the living standards in India, there has been a drastic change in the societal pyramid. The society is no longer divided into various archetypes; mediums such as social media has given rise to intermingling of various cultures. The once famous marigold flowers, also known as “gaindhe ke phool” have been outdone by orchids and lilies; unscripted and on-the-spot dances have been replaced by professionally choreographed dance performances and home-made food has given way to the multi-cuisine layouts that includes Thai, Italian, Japanese etc. More importantly, the responsibilities of cousins and uncles running around making the arrangements for weddings have been transferred to the wedding planner. Instead of the aunts and friends helping in dressing up the bride, it’s make-up artists and stylists who give the bride a complete makeover. Professionally clicked wedding photographs and pre-wedding shoots provide not just a medium for capturing memories but also to serve the ones who couldn’t attend the wedding. Not just that, in a world where occasions are validated by how many likes and comments the event receives on some platform, Facebook and Instagram serve as a means of projecting a family’s social standing. Opulent weddings seem to have become a benchmark for many.           The average person generally spends between 2 to 20 million rupees on a wedding that might be a three or five-day long event. It is also estimated that about 10 million weddings take place in India annually. No doubt the Indian Wedding Industry is now a multi-billion-rupee industry. Expenditure on designer clothes, jewelry, catering, invites, photography and the décor adds up to humongous amounts. It might come as a big surprise, but it is during the wedding season that the amount of gold bought reaches a mammoth 450 tones. Himanshu Kapsime, an Engineer from IIT Delhi, quit his job in the US and started an online wedding portal called shaadisaga.com a few years back. Himanshu says, “This is a recession-proof industry”. A lavish wedding makes the bride, groom and both families feel like celebrities for a day or two. By treating themselves to an extravagant and splendid party in celebration of their children’s wedding, the whole family feels nothing less than a celebrity for a day or throughout the wedding ceremonies. It feels as if the bride and the groom are the stars and the social media is their display channel. What’s all the more a welcome change is that it’s not just the super-rich that can flaunt a big-fancy wedding, the upper-middle-class Indians are not behind in outsourcing the wedding. The trends of the elite are filtered down to the common public who are deeply inspired by social media, news channels and magazines. The younger generation is definite to not only adopt and adapt but also mirror and modify. Shweta Acharya of Baraati Inc, has handled over 15 weddings which include 4 destination weddings, one of which was organized in Florence. She says, “A planner makes a wedding come alive. He or she is the chef of a wedding. We have to make sure that the fairytale wedding is delivered with flair so that the client is stress-free”. In most Indian families, saving for the wedding starts very early in life. Now, it’s not just the parents who spend at the wedding, the boy and girl to-be-married can finance a big part of their own wedding too. This extra money makes spending easier and the standard of wedding rises higher and higher. Youth of today also like to be personally involved in their weddings, not in the working but the planning. As they may not have much of an idea about the ceremonies, the rituals and about pooling the resources together but they do like to add their personal touch in every aspect of the wedding. From the invitation cards to the gift for the guests, from the decor to the menu, they want everything to be in line with their own taste. What Shweta has pointed out is another big reason for the paradigm shift from the traditional Indian wedding to planned weddings, many people consider organizing a wedding to be quite hectic business. The couple as well as the immediate family have to be involved in the planning while it is only the guests that get to enjoy. The whole event becomes an obligation to keep others entertained. The present generation views the wedding as a holiday and a means to get together with friends and family and make some happy memories. And they do not mind adding 10-20% more to their budget if they can get the peaceful and hassle-free services from the wedding planner. This is a big reason why wedding planners are so much in demand. Destination Weddings are the newest trend that seems to be staying on for long. With many celebrities going to exotic locations for their wedding, the young couples to-be-married-soon have a new wish-list. More and more couples wish to have a personal and meaningful ceremony in a far-off location, where they can spend some quality with their friends and family. The younger generation often finds the wedding ceremonies to be replete with tradition. Most of them want high-tech weddings but with a dash of tradition. Weddings still are a once-in-a-lifetime affair, and nobody wants anything to go wrong. That’s the season of hiring specialized services like the photographers, decorators, videographers, stylists, designers and caterers. Though it is still the head of the family who is the ‘chief-organizer’, but then what’s the fun not having some highly charged emotional drama at a wedding. It is these high-pressure moments that make a great laugh years later. After all, it’s all about having a good time!