Dream Weddings

The date is set, the invites are printed, your outfit is commissioned, you aren’t leaving anything to chance for your big day. You want it to be the wedding one reads about in fairytales. And décor specialists can help you achieve that and much more with their unique set designs based on any theme you fancy.

While the traditional Indian wedding theme with its marigold and jasmine blooms dotted along drapes of bright orange and pink-coloured paisley-printed fabric is still relevant, many are opting for more western themes. And renowned wedding planner Gurleen Puri tells us how she’s been incorporating more contemporary styles in the events she designs. “We have done events based on themes like Mediterranean, Asian, Cherry Blossom, European vintage, Buddha Bar, etc.” Puri, who has been styling wedding venues for 25 years, counts the likes of Adi Godrej, the Adani family, the Piramals, Manish Malhotra and Aditya Chopra, etc, among her clients. Right from designing the invites to choosing the gifts that go along with them, to selecting souvenirs for the wedding, everything is crafted as per the theme which takes at least two to six months and starts from Rs.300,000 for just one function.

Setting the stage

What if you have chosen a heritage theme that entails re-creating an iconic structure? Luxury set and floral designer, Abhishek Kaushik, can create a replica of the monument you wish, against which you can capture that picture perfect moment. “A lot depends on the space available at the venue. We have an in-house team that builds the set designed by us and in some cases, we send the sketches to China and get it produced there,” he says. Kaushik, who has designed sets for clients like Salman Khan, Diwan Sahib family and Arjun Rampal, charges a minimum of Rs.1,000,000 for his creative set designs.

Speaking of designs, wedding décor is incomplete without the elaborate flower arrangement. From classic centerpieces to huge floral installations using de-constructed flowers, 3D Décor’s Dinaz Noria does it all. “In February, we designed the venue for Sanjiv Geonka’s son’s wedding. The Goenkas asked for a subtle yet powerful design, so we covered the entire wedding hall with gysophelias in a manner that it looked like cloud bursts floating atop the tables,” explains Noria. The Hyderabad-based wedding décor specialist’s services are called upon for most high-profile weddings down south with her clients including the likes of the GVK family. 3D Design’s work will set you back by Rs.1,000,000-1,500,000 if you only source their designs and if you want the ace designer and her team supervising every element of all the functions, it will cost you anywhere between Rs.2,500,000 to Rs.25,000,000.

The finishing touch

With the elaborate sets in place donning exotic flowers such as hydrangeas, orchids, lavenders, daffodils, etc, the venue isn’t quite ready yet. Wedding designers also use props sourced from craftsmen across the country to serve nothing but the best to their clients. Ace wedding planner Vandana Mohan who was the reason behind much-talked about high-profile weddings like that of hotelier Vikram Chatwal and Deepak Parekh’s son tells us more about her signature style, “For us it’s more about the concept rather than the theme. We always inculcate an element of craft in our work, be it Madhubani paintings, paper flowers or hand-block printing,” she says. At a recent wedding organized in a palace where the concept was music, Mohan’s team set up 15-ft high violins filled with flowers, a circular bar against the façade of musical notes and center pieces shaped in the form of harps and musical notes.

And for those of you who are inspired by the world of Bollywood, Priti Sidhwani’s DreamzKraft will ensure you feel like a celebrity on your wedding day, complete with a song-dance sequence. For a starting fee of Rs.3,000,000, you can commission a customized set up that reflects your personal style. “Our experience in designing film sets comes in handy. Our strength lies in our ability to create breath-taking designs that result in an experience that our clients cherish forever,” says Sidhwani. She also mentions the popularity of the theme of the Buddha Bar and a Broadway-themed sangeet ceremony that was part of IIJW chairman Vipul Shah’s son’s wedding. DreamzKraft has also been responsible for the wedding décor for celebrities Lara Dutta, Preity Zinta and Sonakshi Sinha’s family.

So, once you have a date fixed, all you need is to simply fix an appointment with one of these wedding décor specialists and let them plan the wedding of your dreams.