A Wedding Plan(ner)

How often do we hear a “Yes” from a would-be bride or groom, when asked if they would take the services of a wedding planner for their wedding…certainly, a whole lot of times. This is a mere recent concept..something which has gained a lot of popularity in this dynamic and modern society.

- So, Why is it that the Concept of having a wedding planner become so popular in the recent years??

It is because of the busy lifestyle of people; the bride, the groom, their family or the relatives are so engrossed with their personal and professional life that they do not have time to work out every single detail that will go into making their “D Day” a memorable one and so they outsource all of these activities to a Wedding Planner.

Wedding Planner acts as someone who would work on all the matters related to a wedding, on exactly the requirements as would be specified by the bride and the groom. Their services are not just restricted to the requirements on the wedding day like catering, accommodation, decor, photos, videos etc. But, it goes beyond that to include post-wedding services like gifts for guests, honeymoon arrangements for bride and groom and a lot more.

Thus the dynamic wedding industry coupled with an unexpected increase in the budgets, and an increased focus on making every detail perfect for the wedding day has ensured that the services of a wedding planner as something to be sought out for!!

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Are Luxury Brands Affordable?

Journey of the “Brands” in India

“Tu taan Cotton County paundi si, ohne Gant lia da”

The highlighted words in the above line are the brands of apparels. It’s a line of famous Punjabi songs which describes the comparison of Indian Vs the Foreign Brands

I still remember the times, not so long ago, when shopping in Sarojini or Lajpat Nagar in Delhi was just the best thing that could happen to a girl and for some high-end shopping, it was the famous Connaught Place which had some of the best brands available.

And then came along, the Mall Culture, and the whole definition of Luxury for Urban India changed and how. Brands which were unheard of are common place now. And, I am sure everyone has seen at least one brand which they can’t pronounce correctly. Yes, of course there are brands like “Ermenegildo Zegna “.

Today, shopping from brands has become normal for any middle-class Indian family. These brands start their range from 500-600 which makes it rather easy for anyone to own that brand.

And these days, even singers use brand names extensively in their songs.  I am sure we can all relate to the following lines “Rado ki ghadi haathon mein ,Perfume Gucci wala “!

Brands have travelled a rather Long Journey in India. Few brands have succeeded, few lost dropped off as they didn’t do well. Some had to even shut shop and return to their countries because of the Overheads such as huge rentals and other fixed costs. If some of them such as the men’s luxury brand Dunhill have had to close out because doing business in our country was no longer viable, others such as Hugo Boss and Judith Leiber had to shift to smaller outlets.

Govt’s approval for added FDI in our country just might be the motivator for such upcoming brands.

From Zara to Starbucks, there are innumerable brands available now to lure us into spending.  But, surely it will take a long time for these international brands to replace our desi Haldiram’s and not to forget Bata Rs.999.

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Mirror Mirror

Mirror Mirror on the Wall .. Who is the Fairest of us all??

Since time immemorial, beauty has been a virtue associated with women. All women are expected to be beautiful. In Indian society the ideal of a woman is “slim”, “fair” and “beautiful”. One look at the matrimonial columns of any newspaper will reiterate the fact that our Indian society is obsessed with beauty. It is this attitude that raises expectations from ordinary women. Any woman who does not fit the ideal i.e “fair”, “slim” and “beautiful” is not considered attractive or beautiful enough.

Like in Greek mythology where Aphrodite or Venus was considered to be the Goddess of Beauty, our Indian mythology too is abundant with Beautiful women like Goddess Parvati, and Maneka who lured the great sage Vishvamitra with her Beauty. One has to understand that each individual is unique and has her/his own charisma. To expect all women to conform to the “ideal” is futile.

Coming to the present context, living in a world of commodities, more often than not, we tend to overlook the historical context, the cultural and social implications of; the impact on mentalities, and the impact on our lives of commercial products and the marketing techniques used to sell these products. One of the best examples is that of ‘Fair & Lovely’, a product of Unilever, which is marketed in India by Hindustan Lever Limited, the Indian subsidiary of Unilever.

One of the market leaders in fairness creams, ‘Fair & Lovely’ targets young women who aspire to be fair. Here fairness is closely associated with the “ideal” beauty. Thus, fair women are considered to be beautiful.

If one closely follows the advertisements one can guess that the brand promotes a certain type of a woman who is fair. What makes this situation more problematic is that beauty is equated to having a fair skin tone. It automatically puts whites above non-whites and justifies their success on a sub-conscious level.

Infact, this craze for white skin has been aggressively marketed. In advertisements, it is always shown that in order to be successful, liked and approved by others, one needs to have fair skin. However, this is not true. In order to succeed in life one needs to have character and depth. That is what makes an individual successful.

Like the popular saying goes, “Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder.”

-Arpita Bhattacharya

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Indian Wedding Bazaar - One Stop Shop For All Your Wedding Needs: Arranged Marraige – A Man’s Take

Indian Wedding Bazaar - One Stop Shop For All Your Wedding Needs: Arranged Marraige – A Man’s Take: Hello, I should love you?!… I just learned your name, Can’t be the Mr before your sister, that’s just a shame! Thanks Uncle! For ...

Arranged Marraige – A Man’s Take

Hello, I should love you?!… I just learned your name,

Can’t be the Mr before your sister, that’s just a shame!

Thanks Uncle! For this insisted introduction,

The relentless relative with a monolithic midsection!

LOVE is an Idea that is truly divine,

For all our family can never design,

My Heart with a girl who is one of a kind,

Hairs that curl and a mountain of mind!

If ‘YES’ was my answer, then tradition cheers..

Splitting two hearts apart… in silence and tears !

NO!  was my call, with murder madness,

Window to the wall..  a circle of sadness.

The show was done and freedom was won,

I stopped speaking secret alphabets,

Raised the fingers weaved like minarets,

Freed me from my dark dreams and gave me candy bars and Ice-creams!

By Dileepan.S

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The ‘Scent’ of Henna

“The haldi was washed off, but the yellow hues remained. Night fell, the lights came on, and the smell of mehendi wafted through the decorated doors.”

Introduction:-

Mehendi is the ancient art of henna body painting, and traditionally practiced in India, Africa, and the Middle East wherein the henna plant is believed to bring love, luck, protection, and good fortune. It is used for weddings, important rites of passage, and times of joyous celebration

This is a very formal definition of this art but, in reality we don’t really need any such definitions, because of the fact that its importance and relevance is engraved in our tradition from time immemorial.

We are well aware of the importance of Mehendi or more technically called “Henna” in our lives. But, when it comes to marriage, it is one of the most auspicious elements in a bride’s look.

Case:-

Although Mehendi is an integral part of every bride’s life and is extremely auspicious, but still when we talk about the main expenditure in a wedding, we’d think of attire, jewelry and venue but do we really think of mehendi as a costly affair?

No, we don’t but considering the market trends and boom in the wedding industry, it has become a costly and an exquisite affair.

I would like to quote a very important example to support my argument of increase in “High-end mehendi walas”

Mr. S (name not mentioned for privacy reasons) is a Mehendi Designer located in South Delhi.  He has been in the field off and on for the last 20 years and he tops the search list when you search for “mehendiwalas in Delhi”.

His website also shows his pictures with celebrities like Sridevi.

Although, he has a website but he is scared of advertising and marketing his services on a large-scale because of the fear of his designs and art being stolen. Therefore, he has mostly build his reputation mostly on “word of mouth advertising”

After speaking to him and taking his valuable inputs about his business, I did a small calculation explaining about his approximate revenue.

Per wedding cost: Bridal Rs 11,000-15,000

Rs 8,000 more for guests which includes 2 artists for 20-25 guest list (Rs 4,000 for each artist)

On an average he is booked for 10-15 days a month for 6 mths and 20-25 days for another 6 mths

Per wedding = 15,000(bridal) + 8,000(guest) = Rs 23,000

Therefore, he is earning in off-season

23,000*12 marriages approx=2,76,000

 2,76,000*6 months= Rs 16,56,000

Peak season

23,000*20=4,60,000

4,60,000*6 = Rs27,60,000

Total 27,60,000+16,56,000= 44,16,000 per annum

The above figure is not exact and is based on the following assumptions:-

1)      For every marriage, he caters to both the bride and guests.

2)      He sends minimum 2 artists for guests.

Note:  Although, the above scenario is the most favorable one according to Mr. S, we can still consider scenarios where he either caters only to bride or only to guests or combination of both. Therefore, let’s have a look on other three scenarios as well.

Scenario 1: Few weddings catering only bride

If he is doing 192 weddings in an year (20 weddings for 6 mths in peak season and 12 weddings in another 6 months of off season)

20*6= 120

12*6=72

Total =192

Out of 192 weddings, he is doing 50 only for bride and rest 142 for guest and bride. (Assumption)

50*15,000(bridal cost) = 7,50,000

142*23,000(bride and guest) =32,66,000

Total=40,16,000 per year

Scenario 2: Few weddings catering only guests

If he is doing 192 weddings in an year (20 weddings for 6 mths in peak season and 12 weddings in another 6 months of off season)

Out of 192 weddings, he is doing 50 only for guest and rest 142 for guest and bride. (Assumption)

50*8,000(guest charges for 2 artists) =4,00,000

142*23,000=3266000

Total=36,66,000 per year

Scenario 3: Few weddings catering only guests,few catering only brides and rest for both

If he is doing 192 weddings in an year (20 weddings for 6 mths in peak season and 12 weddings in another 6 months of off season)

Out of 192 weddings, he is doing 50 only for guest, 50 only for brides and rest 92 for both.

50*15,000(bridal cost) = 7,50,000

50*8,000(guest charges for 2 artists) = 4,00,000

92*23,000 (bride and guest) =21,16,000

Total=32,66,000 per year

Therefore, we have seen all the scenarios to find out his approximate revenue every year.

And did we ever think a mehendi wala could earn this much?

It’s rightly said, the willpower of an artist takes him and his art ahead in the road of success.

         – Tania Arora

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