Wedding Wise

Most planners are gearing up for a 20-25 percent cut in business over the next year. “So far, things are okay because India is not in recession,” says Ravish Kapoor, who has partnered with Los Angeles-based event planner John Connolly to set up his own company in the Capital. Everything about Kapoor spells top-notch service and a matching price tag to boot— for instance, some of the invites designed by him can cost upto Rs 20,000 per card. Kapoor says the change in the client’s approach may begin to show in the next three or four months.

While cutting back on wedding expenditure, people are likely to scrounge on elaborate flower arrangements, a lot of which are imported from Thailand, and exotic, pre-marriage theme parties. According to the hospitality industry, bars are stocking more varieties of cocktails, and less of expensive single malts and imported wines. “The bookings for this season will go as planned, but the coming year will be different,” predicts Rubina Mittal, of Delhi’s Pinnacle Designs and Exhibits.

With celebrities like the Chatwals and the Mittals setting the norm for extravagance at weddings with fancy sets and themes, and Bollywood actors performing at these dos, most planners admit that a wedding is more about entertainment than just the actual ceremony. But all that might be set for a change now. “Business has come down a fair amount because most people are opting to rent out a particular part of the property rather than the entire premise. People have been opting for just about two to three ceremonies instead of the customary five to six,” says Rohit Gupta, Chairman, Tivoli Gardens, the popular wedding venue just off MG Road. Gupta, in fact, forecasts a drop in business for the sector by over 35% by the next wedding season, in February. But the quality of these ceremonies, says Mohan, will hardly suffer. “The pudding is there. It’s only the cream that’s going to be missing. The quantity will feel the pinch, not the quality,” she says.