Cover Story

A blissful business

Tying the knot has never been a happier affair. And no, we aren't talking about just the couple. Wedding planners, hotels and NTOs are all reporting a growth in this segment, a sign that the tourism industry needs to seize this trend and help it unravel. Andrea Lopez reports

A wedding planner pointed out an interesting observation to me; she said it was quite strange that the business of planning and organising weddings began as a western concept which, like other things, found its way to India and re modeled itself to suit Indian sensibilities. Queer, seeing that Indian weddings are two or three times the size of their western counterparts and have twice the amount of fanfare, one would think that it all began here. Nonetheless, the business of weddings is firmly rooting itself in the market, with more event management companies opening divisions to cater exclusively to the wedding segment. Tour operators have also got on to the bandwagon and traditional honeymoon packages now come with arrangements for themed weddings in exotic destinations - the Caribbean Islands for sunnier wedding experiences, South East Asia for its oriental appeal and sometimes, even Europe for its romantic charm. Buoyed by this interest from the Indian market, NTOs have not lost time in jotting down weddings as part of their strategy. Services from chauffeur driven limousines to private venue arrangements are all part of the bouquet.

On the domestic front, NRI weddings are a hot favourite with the bigger hotel chains, and often nearly entire hotels are booked out to accommodate wedding guests. Palace hotels like the HRH Group have been operating in this space for years and see immense potential in the business. They can, in fact, be credited to have pioneered the concept of 'regal weddings' at Udaipur for families from India and overseas. Jagmandir - the palace on an island on Lake Pichola, Zenana Mahal, The Durbar Hall or Manek Chowk are rich heritage-venues and ceremonies at The Zenana Mahal offer opportunities to plan out the evening, with song, dance, barbeques and buffets. The heritage environment that is offered is deemed fit for a king, with a line-up of horses and vintage cars for the guests. The idea is to live up to the promise of making wedding guests 'Experience the original in the Abode of Kings', says Princess Padmaja Kumari Mewar, joint MD, HRH Group of hotels.

In 2007, Indian businessman Arun Nayar married English model Liz Hurley in a castle in Gloustershire followed by a private Hindu ceremony at the Umaid Bhavan in Jodhpur. The cost of the wedding was estimated to be Rs 10 crore and the three day affair shot the city to international limelight. Medium budget weddings are also getting specific about their requirements; innovative themed and destination weddings with a small guest inventory could be the weddings of the future. What's more, unlike earlier days where wedding ceremonies were an impersonal affair that offered guests an opportunity to feast on an elaborate menu, modern day couples are looking at creating a memorable affair and are therefore willing to spend on their guests and wedding so that it becomes a mini vacation that is enjoyable both for them and their guests.

There's more cheer

The people who work behind the scenes; the event managers and planners report that they too have witnessed a growth in interest and business. The reason is quite simple. Apart from more people wanting to make their big day special, the awareness about themed and destination weddings is gradually beginning to spread through word of mouth and promotions. Says Jai Raj Gupta, CEO, Shaadionline, "There is a huge potential to tap the wedding segment but the awareness is low. Currently I would say about 500 weddings pan India use the services of wedding planners." The good part however is that the numbers have been growing five fold year on year, he says. Wedding planner Tejal Kakadia, who founded Mumbai - based KnotForever, and whose interest in jewellery design paved the way for a career in wedding planning believes the segment has a lot of scope. "When I began planning weddings six to eight years ago for family and close friends, I realised that there were only event management companies that were involved in the business. But I think because weddings are such a private affair, it isn't a business really and often calls for a personal touch." She adds, "When I started out in 2003, people associated wedding planning to be a thing of the West. The reaction was that in India, only the very affluent would hire a wedding planner. I think with more wedding fairs and expos, people are now becoming aware of additional services of a wedding planner which don't work out to be too expensive. Moreover, since wedding planners have their own network of vendors, they're actually able to clinch better deals for the client." For the wedding planner, apart from it being a huge time investment, it is crucial to understand what the client is really looking for. "Some people have had this dream of a luxurious wedding, others are content with something absolutely minimalistic; as a wedding planner, you have to understand your client's style," she explains.

In the entire process of planning a wedding, other services come into play, including those of the vendors (transport, musicians, florists, decorators), spilling on to tourism. Guests who travel long distances to attend weddings are bound to stay on an extra day or two to explore a particular place. In fact Kakadia even prints little guide books of must do's and must see's for guests new to a place which they can wake up to find in their hotel rooms a few days prior to or after the wedding. Although some wedding planners may chose to go solo and rely on word of mouth to market themselves, others work through tour operators, who are the first points of contact for clients looking for destination weddings, some also choose to align with tourism boards. Shaadionline for instance is associated with the tourism boards of Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia; all three hot favourites for weddings because of their comparatively cheaper cost and multiple hotel options.

Hotels roll out the red carpet

The beachfront property of Kenilworth Beach Resort and Spa, Goa, recently appointed as one of the Small Luxury Hotels of the World, considers the wedding segment to have immense business potential, particularly since the resort has large outdoor banqueting facilities. It has held several wedding functions in the past couple of years and most of them from November to April. The resort has registered a growth of about 15-20 per cent with majority of its current bookings coming from NRIs based in the UK and Western Europe. Says Chantalle Cropp, GM of the property, "A fair amount of interest is also being generated by resident Indians, especially from the metros of Delhi and Mumbai. Almost all the weddings are destination weddings, where the focus is on the outdoor venues at our resort for the wedding ceremonies and receptions, and the emphasis in the menus is on Goan Food, especially seafood, to showcase the destination. We can cater to a wedding party up to 1,500 persons in our lawns, but usually most destination weddings are personal and smaller affairs with majority of guests staying in the hotel itself, ranging from 80 to 120 persons." She says that it makes very good business sense for the hotel since a wedding takes care of room occupancies and food and beverage for at least three to four nights. Additionally, the resort offers honeymoon packages on requirement, and usually for in-house weddings, the bride and grooms wedding night stay is taken care of within the package. "Destination weddings as a concept, is definitely a trend which is here to stay and Goa as a destination will always catch the fancy of people looking for the same due to its natural beauty and culture. Theme weddings is definitely a future trend which will incorporate a fusion of traditional ceremonies with modern entertainment," says Cropp.

And beyond

Overseas destinations are also on a quest to lure the Indian market for weddings. A delegation from Fiji promoting its sea side resorts, was in India recently and they expressed a strong desire to woo the wedding market. Special packages have also been designed which, for a typical Fijian wedding, would include two Fijian flower girls, four Fijian warriors, both in traditional dress, a Fijian choir and a decorated beachfront wedding bure. The bride can even be ferried by boat around the island to the wedding bure. Says Karyn Blenkiron, sales and marketing manager, Sonaisali Island Resort in Nadi, "We also have a full time wedding coordinator who meets the wedding couple on arrival and looks after all their queries and concerns."

The strategy is to work through wholesale partners and wedding exhibitions, as well as tap the more popular social networking mediums today, including Twitter and Facebook. When asked about where India features in its plans and the potential that it has, Blenkiron says, "India is currently a new market for us, but we will work closely with agents and operators. We see the wedding market continually growing in Asia and particularly India for Fiji. Fiji is a unique destination for weddings and themed weddings are becoming increasingly popular, as is having both a traditional Indian wedding and also a western wedding ceremony. Also, we see that more couples are travelling further overseas (Australia/New Zealand) after getting married in Fiji." This could be an interesting trend to follow.

Destinations in Europe too are warming up to the idea of getting Indian couples to tie the knot in their territory. Italy for instance, which has for years lured scores of couples to spend their honeymoon in some of its romantic locales believes that for people willing to spend to make their special day even more special, Italy could be the perfect place. Under its honeymoon packages titled Kisses of Italy, weddings can be arranged for in Tuscany and other regions. Simonetta Ricci, director of Italian based tour operator ISCRA, which has an office in Mumbai says that they have been receiving requests for countryside villas from the Indian market. Tuscany, for its nature and romantic atmosphere is also opening up to the Indian market. According to her special interest tours to do with wine, fashion and architecture could be tours of the future. As the numbers visiting the region increase, so will the visibility of the destination as a venue for weddings, she opines.

Smaller budgets, sweeter venues

For relatively smaller budget weddings, perhaps Europe or the Caribbean could work out to be an expensive proposition. So to bring its own slice to the table, the Orient has chalked out its strategy. Destinations closer to home, including Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore believe that they've got their act right in promoting themselves for weddings. The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) through its campaign 'Amazing Thailand, Amazing Value' which positions the destination as complete value for money, apart from being aimed at the FIT and MICE market, also has weddings on its radar. Khun Sethaphan, director TAT, western & southern India, Sri Lanka & Maldives states, "TAT, in collaboration with various partners, will be aggressively promoting the wedding tourism segment in India. An offer we are currently exploring is a tie-up with Thai Airways by offering special discounts to newly wedded couples. We will also be providing up-graded rooms and champagne as a special gift to the newly wedded couple. As part of the special offerings to promote this segment, we will also be providing the first nine couples with gift vouchers worth THB 15,000 at the Central Bangkok shopping mall." Further, TAT plans promotions in wedding magazines and will also produce special wedding DVD/CD's as well as brochures to promote this segment. Additionally, there are plans for familiarisation trips for wedding planners and wedded couples who can return to promote the wedding tourism segment for Thailand.

According to Sonalee Vaz, Mumbai representative office, TAT, the tourism industry is experiencing more surfacing trends in terms of wedding tourism, in which couples planning to get married are looking at different options with regards to venues and are opting for more international destinations to get married as compared to the traditional domestic locations. Following this trend, TAT had organised a FAM trip for wedding organisers from India early last year, wherein they got a chance to explore options in Thailand for Indian weddings. This trip proved successful since it was followed by a grand wedding.

Vaz explains, "The wedding took place in Bangkok from June 28 to July 3, 2009 at the Hotel Intercontinental, Bangkok and was organised by Red Events India, a company that has organised over 400 weddings all over India and abroad. It was organised very well and the event proved to be extremely successful. It was featured on a television show on Indian weddings and was also published in most of the prominent wedding magazines in India." Following the success of this wedding, the company moved ahead with organising another Indian wedding in Phuket at the Sheraton Laguna Grande from December 7-10, 2009. "This is the third Indian wedding organised by Red Events in Amazing Thailand - a hat trick of sorts with assistance from the TAT," she says.

A promising future

Not to be left out is the online travel space. New Delhi based Travel Masti has opened its new division for weddings and plans to offer services in managing logistics for weddings and organising themed weddings. There are also plans to promote traditional Indian weddings to the inbound international market. The concept isn't a new one; Signs of inbound wedding tourism were seen as early as 1983. New Delhi based tour operator D R Talwar's company, Indiana Travels received its first request from a Japanese couple to arrange for their wedding in Chandni Chowk. In other words, if exotic destinations can look at India as a serious market for weddings, there's no reason why India cannot cash in on the concept from its international visitors.

Even cruise ships, a product that is still to stir great interest from the Indian market are looking to extend traditional honeymoon packages to include a wedding ceremony and reception on board. If marketed well, cruise ship weddings could rival destination weddings for their value for money. The Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) has reported an increase of almost 60 per cent in the weddings business in the last decade. The fact that more tour operators are opening their own divisions to cater to the business of weddings is a sign that it has a bright future. And with the number of high spenders in India pegged to grow considerably in the next decade, it is certain that this business can look forward to a happily ever after ending.