A firsthand account of my tryst with the wedding fraternity

Very aptly quoted by Mr. Sabbas Joseph “We are in the business of happiness”. I strongly believe that true happiness is created and magic flows as an obvious byproduct only when individuals themselves are in a joyous space from within. The ability to create intelligent synergies comes from inculcating high emotional intelligence and that cannot happen if the wedding fraternity is not ‘happy high’.

Knowledge sharing and networking platforms are a huge catalyst in establishing this holistic celebration of all of us involved in wedding planning and the world of everything experiential. “Clients do not come first. Employees do. If you take care of your employees, they will take care of your clients”- These words of Richard Branson will forever stand true. We all are the employees of the wedding fraternity and when the czars in the business decide to nurture the wedding community at large, India becomes the global trendsetter in the wedding business.

I first attended the International Convention of the Wedding Fraternity in Delhi in 2015. Being part of such an enriching event & the exposure to global creative minds reiterated my belief in proudly being the band baaja baraat girl specializing in understanding and executing the nuances of the hardware and more importantly the software of hospitality.

Wedding Fraternity Meet hosted the wedding community in an exhilarating evening filled with culinary delights, song and dance where wedding planners from all over came together to “just be” was rather heart warming.

Both these events have become a permanent fixture in my annual Calendar as key investments and these 6C’s explain why:

1) CONVICTION: By meeting people from all parts of the world striving to become bigger and better, one realizes the potential the trade has and the opportunities that lie ahead on a global platform. The world truly becomes your oyster.

2) COLLABORATION: When there is a direct exposure via various expert sessions from India and the world over, it makes you realize that we are all one really large team. The team operates with a single vision of bringing alive dreams at various scales with high levels of design & style sensibilities. The numbers make it one of the fastest growing businesses today due to globalization. We truly live that “nothing is impossible”.

3) CREATIVITY: Witnessing work showcased by leading wedding planners, makes you revisit your own creative goals and helps one set new benchmarks for the business. This also helps planners declutter and think about what they don’t want to do. Time out from the daily routine makes all in the business think through peacefully, thus redefining objectives & vision.

4) CRAFTSMANSHIP: When a master in the trade talks about a concept like “ #mining ”, it makes you focus on new age brand building. Understanding new trends in the business is really critical to building your craftsmanship & skill. Implementation of digital platforms, impactful usage of social media, focusing on the importance of training & development, hence packaging and customizing the wedding business to keep up with this sort of an evolution is what takes it to the next level.

5) COMPANIONSHIP: The congregation of so many like-minded people leads to some valuable networking. Coming together with those who are masters or fresh minds in elements / services that are core ingredients for weddings, open our mind to possibilities. A few selected ones also become really long term companions. These special new energies bring about an overall positive aura and embark new verticals & solutions in our professional spaces. It’s an organic commencement of growth of the industry at large.

6) CELEBRATION: There are no words to really define the resilience of the mind and body that goes in to being a wedding planner. The emotional responsibility, self goals and trust of clients along with money management and the ever lasting smiles that we have to live up to is at par with a doctor in an operation theater treating a loved one. Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs proves that we all need a little bit of love and appreciation. A ‘SET UP’ that we only enjoy and not have to work on is a breath of fresh air.

Wedding planners and everyone who are part of the experiential marketing business have intrinsically reached a level of self-actualization. We now become willing givers to our associates, vendors and clients. This feeling of being together at such events and understanding the value of Interdependence enables us to be the best versions of ourselves.