Latest news with #WeddingSutra
Business Standard
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Business Standard
The 8th WeddingSutra Influencer Awards to be held on August 20 at The Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai
PRNewswire Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], August 8: WeddingSutra is all set to host the eighth edition of the WeddingSutra Influencer Awards on August 20, 2025, at the iconic Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai. The awards honour the creative forces driving India's ever-evolving wedding industry. From heartfelt moments and gourmet feasts to dazzling sangeet performances and immersive decor, every detail in Indian weddings is brought to life by a community of talented professionals who juggle tight deadlines with the need for constant innovation. These awards aim to recognise the unsung heroes powering the celebrations and shaping the industry with their innovation, excellence, and passion. The distinguished jury panel is led by Priya Tanna (President of The Right Side) and includes Ashish Bhasin (Founder of The Bhasin Consulting Group and former CEO, APAC, Dentsu), Digvijay Singh Kathiwada (Director, House of Kathiwada), Himani Rajiv Shah (Lifestyle and beauty influencer), Iqbal Khan (Actor), Karen Anand (Food Writer, Restaurant Consultant, and Chef), Khushnaz Turner (Luxury Lifestyle Influencer), Raaj Sanghvi (CEO, Culinary Culture & Co-founder, Sanguine & Caviar Noir), Rahul Jagtiani (Entrepreneur & Founder, Plush Ventures), Rashmi Uday Singh (Food Writer, TV Host, and Author), Renu Oberoi (Jewellery designer), Riyhad Kundanmal (Architect, Entrepreneur, and Founder, KaRRS Designs & Developments), Vaishali Banerjee (Managing Director, India, Platinum Guild International), and Vivek Dhadha (Luxury Lifestyle Influencer). With their diverse expertise across fashion, advertising, media, and entertainment, the jury will evaluate the entries based on creativity, impact, and industry influence. This year saw an outstanding response, with over 5,000 submissions across 27 categories, representing the full spectrum of wedding expertise. The upcoming event will be co-hosted by the IHCL Group and uniting standout names across the wedding landscape for an evening of celebration and recognition. Parthip Thyagarajan, Co-founder and CEO of says, "India's wedding ecosystem thrives on creative collaboration. These awards are a way to celebrate the work of those who are constantly pushing the envelope, offer a platform for discovery, and encourage new avenues for collaboration and growth." About WeddingSutra Launched in 2000, is today India's leading wedding media platform, connecting couples and families with some of the finest professionals in the industry, ranging from planners, caterers, photographers to entertainers and more, to help them curate unforgettable celebrations.
The Wire
08-05-2025
- Business
- The Wire
The Wedding Pie: WeddingSutra's study on why everyone, from MBAs, CAs, and Bollywood stars want their share
Wedding jobs are not just about planning. Right from creative professionals to those who know their way around paperwork are finding their niche here. MUMBAI, India, May 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — There was a time when the idea of a well-educated or professionally qualified individual making a career in weddings was unheard of. But fast-forward … Continue reading "The Wedding Pie: WeddingSutra's study on why everyone, from MBAs, CAs, and Bollywood stars want their share"
New York Times
26-04-2025
- Business
- New York Times
Hosting an Extra-Large Wedding? Here's How to Plan Like a Pro.
At some of the largest weddings Priya Maganti has planned in India, there were 50,000 guests, give or take a couple hundred. 'To be honest, you can't count after a certain point,' said Ms. Maganti, who runs RVR Eventz & Design in Hyderabad, India. 'Everything doubles or triples: your food catering, your seating, your gifts, your planning team, the allergies and requirements.' Having that many wedding guests isn't exactly normal in India, but large weddings of 500-plus are more common there than in many other countries. 'Weddings are a way of life in India,' said Parthip Thyagarajan, the founder of WeddingSutra, a planning website. 'A wedding is not just about the bride and groom in India. It's about two families talking about their values, their vision and communicating to the world who they are.' For some luxury weddings, 'there are up to 300 agencies, production houses and planners involved,' he added. An average Indian wedding will have around 310 guests and costs $10,000 to $30,000, according to Wright Research, an investment advisory firm based in Mumbai, India. By comparison, a U.S. wedding typically includes about 116 guests and costs $33,000, according to The Knot, a wedding planning website. Other countries are also known to go big. In Nigeria, weddings generally cater to at least 350 guests and as many as 1,000, according to planners, costing $9,000 to $14,000, according to Business Insider Africa. And in South Korea, the average wedding size is 279, according to Statista, a data gathering service, and costs around $36,000, as of 2022, according to a local matchmaking agency, Duo, cited in The Korea Times. With this much volume, event planners will have to put their organizational, social and time-management skills to the test. Some challenges they face are universal, but others are specific to large-scale events. For one, the more invitations issued, the higher the chances that an R.S.V.P. won't be honored. Planners estimate that 15 to 20 percent of people invited won't make it, according to Devanshi Patel, the founder and owner of Shreem Events in Mumbai. But sometimes, that calculation is off. 'In 2023, we had a wedding of 1,500, and 2,500 turned up,' said Khurram Khan, who co-founded Parinaya Sutra with Dheera Likhi. 'The other side is that you plan for more people, 1,000 maybe, and then 600 or 700 come. Then, you have a lot of seating and big spaces that aren't occupied.' Planners for bigger-than-average celebrations also need to manage crews to match. Recently, Ms. Patel had a team of about 150 people working on a 550-guest wedding in Jaipur, the capital of the Indian state of Rajasthan. 'We chartered two airplanes — the host took care of everybody's tickets — and the planners became like airport attendants for the guests,' she said. 'We customized the food on the plane and got a D.J. to curate the track list that we gave to the airline to put on the P.A. system. On arrival, we had an entire welcome for them with horses, camels, dancers from Rajasthan.' At a massive wedding, the entertainment must be top-notch and rapid-fire to keep the crowds engaged. Preston Bailey, who worked on last year's extravagant Ambani-Merchant wedding, said that big weddings have become like Broadway shows. 'Our goal is that every 15 minutes, there's a wonderful surprise,' Mr. Bailey said. Planners who have seen it all — and then some — offer some other universal advice. When choosing whom to work with, don't be afraid to ask all your questions. 'What's the backup plan?' Ms. Likhi said. 'What scale have they worked on? What's the maximum budget wedding they've handled?' Mr. Bailey said that being aware of unspoken signals is important. 'As soon as I get an inquiry, I try to return it as quickly as possible,' Mr. Bailey said. 'I am accessible — that's the first unconscious message that they get, which I think is extremely important.' A well-structured floor plan can make all the difference, whether you have 100 guests or 10,000. There should be different zones for eating, dancing and lounging, Ms. Likhi said. Create space between gathering points and encourage movement. 'The mains are in one place, the desserts are in a different place,' she said. None of the gathering areas should be near the entry and exit, providing room for the support staff to maneuver, she added. Several years ago, Noureen Morani and Karan Soorma, founders of Morani & Soorma, organized back-to-back destination weddings in the United Arab Emirates for two cousins, with the guest count fluctuating between 600 and 1,000 throughout the week. 'The hotel was about 1.5 kilometers long,' Mr. Soorma said. 'The team was sprinting around the entire property.' The two maintained detailed checklists and schedules to handle the events and the 20 different musical acts. Mr. Soorma also recommended setting timelines for major tasks and establishing agreed-upon payment schedules. 'Pay your team as much as you can in advance so they're motivated to deliver, and on the day of the wedding, you're not worried,' he said. During one outdoor event at a 600-person wedding in Sri Lanka, Ms. Patel discovered that rain was imminent. Luckily, she already had a hangar set up just in case, so she and her team began herding inside around 200 guests dancing in a procession. 'As soon as they stepped inside, there was a downpour,' Ms. Patel said. 'If a vendor screws up, you can get a second vendor, but with nature, it's really risky, and you always need to have a Plan B.' At a 600-person wedding in Jaipur, rain forced Ms. Morani and Mr. Soorma to move an entire outdoor setup into a ballroom. 'It had taken all night to get it ready, and we shifted it in six hours,' Ms. Morani said. 'The lawn became a swimming pool.' After pushing the ceremony back by half an hour, they informed all the guests of the schedule change. 'Keep the communication flowing,' Mr. Soorma said. 'Help people understand what's gone wrong and manage their expectations. Once people know what to expect when they're entering the venue, they're accommodating.' When all else fails, act cool. 'Panic is very contagious,' Mr. Bailey said. 'My advice is, whatever you do, keep your calm — at least on the outside.'
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
WeddingSutra Favorites come together to divulge wedding market trends post #WedInIndia
MUMBAI, India , March 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Indian weddings have been a long tradition in India, celebrated for their grandioseness as well as the length and detail of these multi-day celebrations. There was a time when they had been viewed as extravagant and a show of wealth. In 2024, Prime Minister Narendra Modi turned his eye to destination weddings and appealed to NRIs as well as affluent Indians taking their baraats abroad, to instead explore newer locales in India for destination weddings. "The statements brought more attention to the multi-crore wedding industry with many now seriously looking at its larger economic impact, which would once have been brushed off as 'fluff', says Parthip Thyagarajan, CEO of "The 'Wed in India' movement is not just about logistical convenience. It is part of a broader shift fuelled by government initiatives to promote domestic tourism and tapping into a deeper desire among couples to reconnect with tradition and family roots," he adds. Weddings may be an all year affair but the peak season ends around end February or mid March every year. At the end of this peak season luxury wedding planners and influencers in the WeddingSutra network speak about how the market has evolved and new opportunities ahead. Rajasthan, Goa and Kerala have always been the top choices but some of India's locations that one wouldn't have considered a decade ago–Mahabalipuram and Pondicherry in Tamil Nadu and Dehradun in Uttarakhand–are prime examples. "They have ridden the wave of destination weddings to attract couples from across states and cultures," states Neha Seth Arora, cofounder of Saffron String. "Destinations like Kashmir, Hampi, and Rann of Kutch offer more than beauty—they promise immersive experiences. Hotel chains and Tourism boards should work with wedding planners and event curators to bring these venues to global audiences," she adds. Decor Experts Embrace the Movement "Earlier, a lot of our work involved replicating global trends, often with imported materials. Now, we are sourcing everything locally," shares Chetan Chouhan of Mokshiva Wedding & Events. "Our work with traditional craftsmen has not only enriched our designs but also created more opportunities for communities. When you see a guest admiring a hand-painted mural and then learn it was made by a local artist, it adds a layer of depth to the celebration," states Aakash Doshi, Founder, Zesst Events & Weddings. Photography Through a New Lens Photographers, too, are finding fresh inspiration. "Indian weddings have always been vibrant, but now, they are also deeply personal," says Rajesh Satankar, co-founder Knotting Bells. "One of my favourite assignments was a wedding in Rajasthan. The couple wanted their love for nature to reflect in their photos. We took portraits in a mustard field at sunrise, and those images felt timeless." "We're now doing more than just capturing moments. We're crafting visual stories that highlight the beauty of Indian culture and landscapes. Every frame is an opportunity to showcase not just the couple but the place they chose to celebrate their union," says Megha Israni of Israni Photography. Employment Opportunities and Women Entrepreneurs in Weddings Celebrating traditions, discovering new vibrant locations all adds to one thing – money being poured into destination wedding hotspots. "Every wedding generates employment for hundreds of people, from caterers and florists to local entertainers and transportation providers," says Chetan Chouhan Ekta Saigal Lulla of Weddings by ESL highlights the significant presence of women entrepreneurs in the wedding industry. She notes, "From local artisans to mehendi artists, makeup artists, clothes and décor designers, women form the backbone of this industry." The India Story "There is a desire to bring in 'The India Story' into everything- live experiences like ittar counters, block printing and bangle making at the Mehendi, to mandap decor, and regional Indian food at every function," says Anvi Thaker of The Creative Company. Abhirath Shah of ANS Weddings who recently organised a magnificent wedding in Vrindavan, states, "When you get married in India, your wedding isn't just another event. It becomes a living tapestry of tradition, love, and culture. Guests leave not just with memories but with a piece of India woven into their experience." Vithika Agarwal of Bengaluru based Divya Vithika Wedding Planners tells us how at destination weddings that she organises all over South India, they always team up with local businesses to offer guests a unique experience. "For a recent celebration in Coorg, we organised a coffee-tasting session with a local plantation. Guests also took home custom coffee blends as wedding favours." Concludes Abhirath Shah: "The 'Wed in India' movement has not only showcased the beauty of Indian destinations but has also reaffirmed the country's status as a global hub for luxury and celebration. It proves that when it comes to weddings, India offers not just venues but experiences that are deeply rooted in heritage, yet bursting with modern charm." About WeddingSutra Founded in 2000, serves as the ultimate guide for couples and their families, connecting them with top-tier wedding planners, caterers, entertainers, photographers, makeup artists, decor designers, and more, to create truly unforgettable weddings. Photo: View original content to download multimedia: Sign in to access your portfolio
