INTERVIEW: Rituraj Khanna on his new book '-Stress-Free Wedding Planning'

In this exclusive interview, Rituraj Khanna, Chief Executive Officer at Q Events Pvt Ltd, speaks about his new book and the evolving landscape of Indian weddings.

Excerpts:

What was your inspiration behind writing this book?

Planning a wedding is often considered one of the most exciting and memorable experiences in a person's life. However, it is also notorious for inducing stress and anxiety. As a result, I decided to write a book titled "The Ultimate Guide to Stress-Free Wedding Planning" to offer a comprehensive resource that helps couples, families, and wedding planners navigate the overwhelming process while maintaining their sanity. I immersed myself in various aspects of wedding planning, including budgeting, vendor selection, timeline management, and stress management techniques. I realized that I possessed a unique set of skills and insights that could greatly benefit others. Writing this book allowed me to share my expertise and empower planners with the necessary tools to navigate the intricate web of wedding planning. This itself is reason enough to get inspired to write something which I learned over the years- my forte is the decor- but I like to poke my nose in every field of wedding planning and when I thought I have become like an encyclopedia of my field, I started to pen down what I knew- I love to share my knowledge and I know thousands of students who could learn the basics of weddings through my book.

Why should people read the book?

Anyone and everyone needs a shortcut to success, here is the first step, I am not saying skip your studies and read this book, just browse through it every day you are bound to get your answer, if not in this book then maybe the 2nd or the 3rd book will enlighten you, just keep reading as I will keep writing.  

What are the key takeaways from your book?

I have tried to simplify the Wedding planning process with practical solutions. The scope of wedding vendors and specialists; a description of budgeting; a full chart that educates you about what flowers one can get in which season; photographers and more. It is a promise that you will be more than half an event planner after reading my book. The biggest takeaway is that passion is one word that is not in my dictionary- how can you have the passion for anything until you enter this never-ending world of events, according to me it’s only after three to four years one can really make sense of whether décor attracts them or it’s backstage or they want to become a good specialist, man this business is endless.

How has the wedding industry changed post-pandemic?

10 years back the event industry was slowly heading towards becoming the most sought-after business, everyone wanted to become an events person, we all were at our peak when our invisible friend- the coronavirus entered our lives and we all went rolling down the hill. Everyone had invested heavily in production, houses, cars, and travel, and everyone knows what happened. Then again after two years, God blessed us, and we did our biggest events ever after covid. People started traveling more, ideas started running short but we were back to our usual bold and beautiful selves. Our community is growing fast, I say the more the merrier.

What have been your biggest learnings from the industry?

During the last 8 years, I think every wedding planner had loads of work, the biggest events were happening, it was almost a 12-month season, and something or the other used to keep happening. When the pandemic hit, the first few months we didn’t know what hit us, it was very tough, tougher because we had to close down entirely. Everyone’s businesses were in a mess, we had put all our money into our business and expanded. Surviving through covid was no less than fighting your way through war, suddenly we were kicked into our homes and the only thing we did was eat, sleep, and do endless webinars. Two years passed and we were struggling, then the world reopened slowly, we came back to normal, and from then till now God has been kind. Suddenly our calendars were full, we had lost out on a lot of things including people we loved, but life has to go on.

Finally, what is your advice to budding wedding planners?

Advice doesn’t come for free (laughs). I have very simple mantras, love yourself only then will you be able to love your work, your team is your power without them you are a big zero, and never lie to a client. We are in the business of selling dreams and if you fail in selling dreams nothing could be worse