Besides digging deeper into their pockets, clients today are also digging deeper to achieve customized experiences at their weddings. With such differentiated demands, it often becomes challenging for wedding planners to deliver to an over demanding client while working with the same set of performers and service providers.
To address the issue
SamitGarg, E-Factor Entertainment and Karan Soorma, Cineyug chaired a panel discussion on the first day of the International Convention of the Wedding Fraternity ‘15. The panel discussion was moderated by
Roshan Abbas, Encompass.
Roshan Abbas began the session by highlighting how the clients who hire wedding planners today want to feel special and are looking for a level of exclusivity at their weddings and hence the demand for customized entertainment at weddings are increasing steadily.
Karan Soormacommented, “It is very important to always keep the performers in the loop and always communicate what is being expected of them. Since we are an entertainment centric company and we keep on doing awards and entertainment based shows it makes it easier for us to convey such demands as the relationship that we have with artists helps us.“
Responding to this SamitGarg added, “For us it is very important to put together a storyboard and once we get the story right which typically stems from the need of the event and the clients it is only then when artists come in the picture.”
Sharing his personal opinions Roshan Abbas explained that in some situations it is the clients who have a very unclear idea of what they want. Most of the times all they expect out of their event is to be bigger than before, better than before and louder than before. “There is also- cheaper than before”, commented Karan Soorma.
When asked about the most bizarre demand for customized entertainment made to them, Karan Soorma responded by narrating an incident where an entire wedding venue had to be shifted from Goa to Dubai to accommodate the performance of RahatFateh Ali Khan.
Another issue faced by the wedding planners today is determining when to agree for providing customized entertainment experience and when to refuse it? As Roshan Abbas asked if there was a ball park figure below which the wedding planners should not undertake the pain of customized entertainment. SamitGarg responded by saying, “If the budget of the wedding is below 50 lakhs customized entertainment efforts are not worth it.”
Adding further and responding to the top three requests the panelists usually receive for customization at weddings? SamitGarg replied to the question by saying, “Short and impactful, affordable and never done before.”
Speaking on the issue of ascertaining the credibility of a wedding planner who claims to have done customized entertainments? Samit added that due diligence is one practice a client can follow to sift credible wedding planners from non-credible ones.
When asked by the audience if hotel venues are at a disadvantage compared to open venues when it comes to providing customized entertainment at weddings. Samit responded by saying that hotel venues were not at a disadvantage because of their venues itself but because of the fact that these venues come with a big list of Not-to-do’s, which is the primary reason why an event planner feels it is better to organize social events outside hotel halls and auditoriums.
