The vampire groom weds the fantasy bride

With the wedding season at its peak (65,000 weddings took place on a single day in Delhi last week),top wedding planners and set designers have their hands full. Wedding planner Saloni Gupta of Karismatik has a series of themes lined up for weddings next month,the highlight being the Playboy-themed bachelor’s party. Gupta plans to bring down special tequila lollipops from the US for it. Last January,her company did a special “Taaron ki Chhaaon Mein” (literally,under the starry sky) wedding,where the venue was designed like an old Awadhi palace with a low seating arrangement with performances by Lucknawi dancers. “There was no standard bar; we had a huge thali on a slightly raised platform,where the alcohol was served,” she says.

There are many such instances. “We did an elaborate fantasy mirror wedding theme in Delhi last month — the bar,the lounge and the dance area all had a mirror backdrop,” says event manager Tejveen Kaur,who owns T’zires along with wedding consultant Neeta Raheja. They recall a Rajwarah theme wedding where the venue was decorated with peacock feathers and large paintings. The consultation fee charged by T’zires is three lakh,but depending on the design,the sum can even go up to a few crores. Last year,wedding planner,Meher Sarid was hired by a Singapore-based Indian family to plan a Chinese theme wedding ,in Singapore. Huge chandeliers,oriental tents and red lighting were the highlights.

For the whim and fancy of the elite,big budgets,creative and human resources must collaborate to make it work. A labour force of 50-75 people under 15 executives take a good 20-30 days to create a concept. For the “Magic Banyan Tree” theme,Jayakrishnan and his team took around seven days. “People don’t usually want their weddings ‘themed’ as such. Instead,they want something which will survive,” says Jayakrishnan. To survive means to live on as a part of peoples’ memories. Jayakrishnan is currently working on a concept of ‘Time and Space’ for an upcoming wedding.

Sarid says,with time,the themes might become more elaborate,but certain things will always remain the same. “There will always be a vedi for a Hindu wedding,lava pheras for a Sikh wedding and a raised dais for a Christian wedding,” she says. The more things change,the more they remain the same.