Indian Weddings: The Story of Luxury and Grandeur Virushka, DeepVeer, Ambani, Piramal, do these ring a bell?
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Yes! These hashtags were trending when these guys hosted their big fat weddings, which took the internet by storm. These Larger than Life weddings did not become the talk of the tinsel town only because of the big names associated with them but also because of the grandeur associated in the entire planning of the festivities. Just like any other Magnum Opus Production every year, behind all these weddings, the crème de la crème of caterers/decorators/stylists/planners worked day in and out to create some never seen before experiences.
No doubt, experiencing a Big Fat Indian Wedding is like watching any of the Johar's/Barjatya's/Bhansali's massive spectacles live. The luxury and grandeur shown in such movies is what encourages the "not-so-celebrity' couples dream about such weddings and invest a major part of their family's savings to create the NEXT LEVEL wedding experience not only for the bride-groom but for all the hosts/guests.
There is a sudden change in this 'so-called' celeb style weddings, and that's because we consume weddings as an event now. The "Bollywoodization' of weddings has evolved & the Millennial'ization has started.
The luxury & grandeur associated with such typical "Big Fat Indian Weddings' is now at the cusp of Modernization. The clients are now searching for Experiential Agencies (and not old-school wedding decorators) who can intelligently "Curate Experiences'. Gone are the days when you need to call the "Biggest Celebrities' or names to ensure that your wedding is the most talked about in the right "Social Circles'.
The Knot - so Digital!
From the use of Technology - Social Media or Experience planning to hiring the right planner & designer who would integrate the right partners to make your wedding worthy of being talked about or covered by the right platforms online, the families are getting ready to accept the new trends that carve the path for Indian Weddings 2.0.
Do You Know?
A large Multinational technology company from Japan has setup a special team to help Wedding Planners in India to curate the right technology and content for Video Projection or Projection Mapping, which projects content to make any surface come alive.
Not Only This, Have you Heard of Experiential Cakes?
Not only the Superhero movies, but the traditional 3-tier cakes are now turning into experiential 3D printed cakes.
With the help of projectors, the whole wedding story of the couple is being projected and played on the cake before the actual cake cutting ceremony.
Say Bye to Photo Prints and Hello to GIFs
The regular photos are now passé. The latest trend is a GIF photo booth or the creation of special Instagram or Snapchat filters to personalize the whole wedding experience.
Anything and Everything on Your Handheld
"Wedding Apps' are the new "in-thing' There is a sudden boom in personalized apps that help in streamlining the RSVP & hospitality process that also helps in making a parallel wedding social network.
And You Think Only Brands need Logos
We all know about "# Hashtags', which are creating buzz on the internet and aid in trending the wedding – Pun Intended!
Another noticeable change in the new wedding trend is Couple Logos, which goes along with GIFs & video invites; completely super seeding the cumbersome-traditional Physical Card invites that look like a thing of the past.
The Mera Waala Perfume
Wedding Favors going to the next level, a personalized Perfume Bottle is given to you which is made right in front of you mixing the fragrances/perfume notes as you like in a bottle specially made/designed for you !
The Robotic Bartending
The typical alcohol experience which used to engulf around a bartender making crazy cocktails & jugglers creating the "wow' effect has now shifted to people curating Molecular Bars and getting Robotic Bartenders to curate your perfect cocktails, taking the whole "enjoying a drink' experience to newer heights or should we say tingling the taste buds.
DJ Wale Babu Mere Gana Laga do
Now no more hovering around the DJ to request for your foot-tapping number. Amidst a cocktail function, you can now request for your favorite dance number by posting it online on the app especially curated for the wedding and let the DJ take the personalization to whole new level by projecting your photo on-screen while playing your request.
Allergic to Peanuts?
Are you worried that this dish may contain peanuts? Another brilliant innovation is RFID badges! With the wedding invites, the guests will receive their RFID badges which will help the waiters to know about their meal preferences & allergies beforehand and the registration team as how you enjoy your favorite scotch – on the rocks or with water or any other mixer.
Capture What Photos Can't
A new trend has also started where the couple wears tech wearables (heart-rate bands) to track their heart rates while seeing their spouse walking down the aisle during the wedding. This perfect "aww' moment is well captured and being used by the video editors who make the wedding film post the entire festivities.
Yeh Sab Toh Theek hai? But Naan Kache Nahi Hone Chaiye?
All the advancements do enhance the whole experience, but the key part of any Indian wedding still emphasizes on the visual & culinary aspect that is achieved by a larger than life décor & food planning. The right Partnerships play a key role in this aspect.
The recent Ambani weddings saw the planners hire floral designers to come down from Paris to curate the right moment & decor with the Indian Floral partners.
The caterers are trying to integrate various culinary engagements like live interactions whether it is through iPads to order your desired combination of ingredients on a Teppanyaki grill or to curate a MasterChef session for an intimate dinner that enables the "WOW' gastronomical experience.
The use of Interactive technology, Holograms, Innovative installation are being introduced to make the entire Wedding Journey for a guest an engaging & memorable experience for forever.
The trend is shifting, from talking about the scale, size to the grandeur of the Indian Weddings, people have now started talking about the holistic experience & how to make a wedding more newsworthy & trending!
The Indian Weddings & Wedding planners are evolving, and the industry is moving towards modernization – May the force be with us!
