ET Bureau
NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: ‘Small’, ‘intimate’ and ‘family and close friends only’ have had a different meaning when it comes to Indian weddings. Ditto for spending: sums considered sensible or over-the-top have been usually relative. Personalised invitations, romantic venues, perfect settings and great food are a given; however, there’s a new mantra wafting round the shamiana. Welcome to the Big Fat Indian Wedding 2.0(14).
And look no further than the nuptials of the progeny of some of India’s best-known corporate names, starting with this weekend, for the details.
No doubt HDFC’s Deepak Parekh could’ve pulled in the Bollywood badshahs to shake a leg at his younger son Siddharth’s marriage on November 29 and media baron Aveek Sarkar could have done the same for his daughter Chiki’s wedding on the same day in Delhi. Ditto for ICICI’s Chanda Kochhar, whose daughter Aarti will tie the knot on November 30.
Add to that the forthcoming lagan of ad world legend Sam Balsara’s daughter Lara in mid-January in Mumbai, and the justsolemnised weddings of Pepsi-Co’s Sanjeev Chadha’s son Kabir on November 28 and IPG Media Brands India CEO Shashi Sinha’s daughter Ritika on November 21, and it’s clear that the watchword for these corporate stalwarts — or at least their children — are personalised festivities rather than conspicuous consumption, preferably away from the media melee.
Given the net worth of the families, they could splurge like the BFIW of yore, with budgets going up to Rs 500 crore. But leading wedding planner Vandana Mohan says, “Spends have stabilised. No one is going crazy or spending money mindlessly.” For these corporate and professional scions, spending time on the finer details —like receiving guests and choosing return gifts — is as important, if not more, than spending money.
Agrees Samhit Garg of E-Factor Entertainment, “Corporates want to keep their functions understated, focus on good-quality hotels and food rather than spending excessively on every aspect of a wedding.”
Smaller, relaxed dos at unexpected venues as well as famous fivestar hotels, leading up to the main event — often in an offbeat setting — are the new normal, with plenty of opportunity for power powwows (given the parents’ friends circles) as well as good fun (given their offsprings’ diktat!).
While ‘out of the box’ choices for invitation cards continue — Barkha Athania from The Wedding Company mentions “Save the Date cards printed to look like movie tickets or plane tickets, 3D wedding cards and booklet cards, and even one on individual iPads” — the accent is increasingly on distinctiveness and discreet spending rather than unadulterated opulence. According to Chef Himanshu Taneja of Mumbai’s JW Marriott, “People are opting for elegance over gaudy weddings. But that doesn’t mean it is cheaper. We hosted a wedding this June that worked out to Rs 13,000 per plate and the venue to Rs 1.5 crore. Even working professionals are willing to spending money but it’s not a waste. They are being practical because they get value for money.
A Taj Hotels spokesperson says there is a definite rise in the number of Indian destination weddings and their Hyderabad, Rajasthan and Goa properties continue to be popular choices. The unique 101-seat Nizami dining room at the Taj Falaknuma Palace is an obvious draw given the conduciveness of such settings for exclusivity over excess. Of course, foreign destination weddings are still popular — Chantilly, Puglia and Budapest are au courant this season — and Garg reveals he is doing an “extremely fancy event” at a colosseum abroad at an upcoming corporate world wedding
But down-home authenticity in terms of décor and atmosphere is gaining ground, at least among corporate celebrants, with the foreign component being an extended honeymoon at a locale often selected for reasons other than its glam quotient. Be it Jodhpur’s Umaid Bhavan (the Parekh venue) or the verdant expanse of Congress MP Mani Shankar Aiyar’s New Delhi garden (the Sarkar venue), or indeed the Parsi agiary in Colaba, Mumbai (the Balsara venue), its definitely class over conspicuity for the new age corporate scions. Outfits are being chosen with the wearer not designer or brand in mind, and at least in one case the bride will be doing her own makeup Sangeet and mehndi functions are in tune with the specific interests of the couple and there are wedding websites and hashtags so that attendees can post pictures and pool information. The central pool of captured moments thus created make for a more diverse record rather than just what wedding video or photographers shoot. According to Chennaibased wedding planner Vidya Gajapati Raju Singh, not just parents, even kids are spending their own money for their weddings.
Families — often without even wedding planners and facilitators — are in the forefront to ensure quality. Lara Balsara’s marriage to Air India pilot Kaizad Vajifdar, for instance, will be an in-house effort with not only the cards by Madison, but the organising by family members. The bride in a baby pink saree by Sabita Dhanrajgir and the groom in Raymond’s Made to Measure (a Madison client!) suit will sit down with family and friends to a Parsi bhonu catered by Godiwalla, and even the photography will be done by her in-laws, who are in that business!
Without revealing her client list for the season, Mohan says the spotlight is indeed on India, there is a revival of tradition and craft for the ceremonies and décor, and even back-to-basics when it comes to food. So there’s actual tie and dye/leheriya from Rajasthan or the real Benarasi brocade not tinsel, beaten brass work and traditional flower craft from South India for the venues, and lesser known but interesting cuisines for the table.
(With inputs from Sujata Reddy, other verticals)
And look no further than the nuptials of the progeny of some of India’s best-known corporate names, starting with this weekend, for the details.
No doubt HDFC’s Deepak Parekh could’ve pulled in the Bollywood badshahs to shake a leg at his younger son Siddharth’s marriage on November 29 and media baron Aveek Sarkar could have done the same for his daughter Chiki’s wedding on the same day in Delhi. Ditto for ICICI’s Chanda Kochhar, whose daughter Aarti will tie the knot on November 30.
Add to that the forthcoming lagan of ad world legend Sam Balsara’s daughter Lara in mid-January in Mumbai, and the justsolemnised weddings of Pepsi-Co’s Sanjeev Chadha’s son Kabir on November 28 and IPG Media Brands India CEO Shashi Sinha’s daughter Ritika on November 21, and it’s clear that the watchword for these corporate stalwarts — or at least their children — are personalised festivities rather than conspicuous consumption, preferably away from the media melee.
Given the net worth of the families, they could splurge like the BFIW of yore, with budgets going up to Rs 500 crore. But leading wedding planner Vandana Mohan says, “Spends have stabilised. No one is going crazy or spending money mindlessly.” For these corporate and professional scions, spending time on the finer details —like receiving guests and choosing return gifts — is as important, if not more, than spending money.
Agrees Samhit Garg of E-Factor Entertainment, “Corporates want to keep their functions understated, focus on good-quality hotels and food rather than spending excessively on every aspect of a wedding.”
Smaller, relaxed dos at unexpected venues as well as famous fivestar hotels, leading up to the main event — often in an offbeat setting — are the new normal, with plenty of opportunity for power powwows (given the parents’ friends circles) as well as good fun (given their offsprings’ diktat!).
While ‘out of the box’ choices for invitation cards continue — Barkha Athania from The Wedding Company mentions “Save the Date cards printed to look like movie tickets or plane tickets, 3D wedding cards and booklet cards, and even one on individual iPads” — the accent is increasingly on distinctiveness and discreet spending rather than unadulterated opulence. According to Chef Himanshu Taneja of Mumbai’s JW Marriott, “People are opting for elegance over gaudy weddings. But that doesn’t mean it is cheaper. We hosted a wedding this June that worked out to Rs 13,000 per plate and the venue to Rs 1.5 crore. Even working professionals are willing to spending money but it’s not a waste. They are being practical because they get value for money.
But down-home authenticity in terms of décor and atmosphere is gaining ground, at least among corporate celebrants, with the foreign component being an extended honeymoon at a locale often selected for reasons other than its glam quotient. Be it Jodhpur’s Umaid Bhavan (the Parekh venue) or the verdant expanse of Congress MP Mani Shankar Aiyar’s New Delhi garden (the Sarkar venue), or indeed the Parsi agiary in Colaba, Mumbai (the Balsara venue), its definitely class over conspicuity for the new age corporate scions. Outfits are being chosen with the wearer not designer or brand in mind, and at least in one case the bride will be doing her own makeup Sangeet and mehndi functions are in tune with the specific interests of the couple and there are wedding websites and hashtags so that attendees can post pictures and pool information. The central pool of captured moments thus created make for a more diverse record rather than just what wedding video or photographers shoot. According to Chennaibased wedding planner Vidya Gajapati Raju Singh, not just parents, even kids are spending their own money for their weddings.
Families — often without even wedding planners and facilitators — are in the forefront to ensure quality. Lara Balsara’s marriage to Air India pilot Kaizad Vajifdar, for instance, will be an in-house effort with not only the cards by Madison, but the organising by family members. The bride in a baby pink saree by Sabita Dhanrajgir and the groom in Raymond’s Made to Measure (a Madison client!) suit will sit down with family and friends to a Parsi bhonu catered by Godiwalla, and even the photography will be done by her in-laws, who are in that business!
Without revealing her client list for the season, Mohan says the spotlight is indeed on India, there is a revival of tradition and craft for the ceremonies and décor, and even back-to-basics when it comes to food. So there’s actual tie and dye/leheriya from Rajasthan or the real Benarasi brocade not tinsel, beaten brass work and traditional flower craft from South India for the venues, and lesser known but interesting cuisines for the table.
(With inputs from Sujata Reddy, other verticals)
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