Growing at 28%*, India is a 60%* shareholder of the entire world’s wedding industry. While the monies are big, the sector itself is equally disorganized. Keeping this in mind the International Convention of the Wedding Fraternity (ICWF) was launched four years ago by the 5 Guys Project. Within a surprisingly short timeline, the event has grown to establish itself as the biggest B-to-B platform in India for the weddings community.
This year ICWF was held across 3-5 August 2016 in Jaipur attracting its highest attendance in four years inclusive of wedding planners, agencies and boutique service providers from across the globe.
The convention kicked off with a sun downer in the mesmerizing setting of Jaipur’s Nahargarh Fort as a meet and greet that progressed into an exquisite dinner at Gulmohar.
The following two days witnessed power-packed knowledge sessions and insightful panel discussions on subjects pertinent to the gathering assembled at Hotel Fairmont for the 3-day residential convention. The event was hosted by leading emcee and television personality Gitikka Ganju Dhar.
The conference took a ceremonious jumpstart with an inspirational
keynote address by Sabbas Joseph, an influencer of the Indian events industry, President of the Event & Entertainment Management Association and Co-founder of leading experiential agency Wizcraft. Read excerpts of the discussion between leading experts Geeta Samuel, Sanjeev Shankar and Sumant Jayakrishnan about
effectively designing the social space. Photography experts Ashish Chawla, Badal Jain and Sephi Bergerson discussed the
nuances of camerawork at weddings. Carla Marques of Filmmaster Events, a 40-year old prestigious Italian experiential agency, shared
pro-tips for infusing innovation and grandeur into events. And Veronique Dussault and Brian Tellis discussed
India’s increasing appetite for theatrical entertainment. Other speakers at the event included David Lee Beahm, Roshan Abbas, Lakshyaraj Singh Mewar, Tony Abou Ghazaly, Vijay Arora, Aarti Matoo, Siddharth Bapna, Ginny Kohli, Baisakhi Ghosh, Avinash Singhania, Rakhi Kankaria, Rajesh Gopinathan, Jaydeep Mehta, Keyur Patel, Rajesh Ravani, Aditya Motwana, Satish Ramnani & Ram Bherwani.
The 3-day affair concluded with the Great Indian Wedding Awards (GIWA), a glittering ceremony that recognized and awarded wedding specialists in their respective domains.
With this years edition ICWF has evidently marked itself as
India’s largest B-to-B community for weddings offering a unique platform to engage with the best in the business of private social events. Motivated with its success this year the organizers have promised a “grander and more enriching experience” at next year’s ICWF slated for 23-25th July 2017 at the spanking new Hyatt Andaz soon to open its doors to New Delhi.
* Approximate figures
