Glamour Quotient: Kiara-Sid Like Royal Entry, Parineeti-Raghav Like Varmala In Demand

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): A replay of film actors Kiara Advani and Sidharth Malhotra’s royal entry and Parineeti Chopra and Raghav Chadha’s varmala and the dresses worn by them in their weddings are the latest-in-demand among the couples tying the knot.

Wedding planners in the city say that the latest trend is that the would-be couples want choreographed entry among the guests. The brides and grooms are accompanied by Russian dancers. Some prefer to walk on a carpet of fireless smoke while others enter to the accompaniment of pyro (cold) fireworks.

The bride, in some cases, makes an entry with her family members holding a phoolon ki chadar over her head. Wedding planner from Perfect Productions Shikha Bhardwaj said that decoration of wedding venues in pastel colours is more in demand.

“Varmala on movable rath, ethnic decoration with jute hangings are also preferred,” she added. According to Shikha, now both the parties prefer to organise Haldi, Mehndi and Sangeet ceremonies jointly. “This allows intermingling of the guests from the two sides before the wedding day,” she says.

Unlike earlier, the bride and groom now wear customised and designer dresses not only on their big day but also for other ceremonies. “A bride wearing a Rs 30,000 lehnga for Mehndi is common enough,” she says. Another wedding planner from Benchmark Events, Lucky Panchal says that the preference has shifted from gaudy looks and bright lights to subdue but classy look.

“Contemporary and Carnival themes are sought-after,” he said. Flowers from foreign countries are often used for decorations on a desi theme, which offers contemporariness and contrast at the same time, he said.

“The Covid days are fading away from the people’s memories. The big fat Indian wedding is back in fashion,” says Panchal. He says that nowadays picnics and heritage walks also form part of weddings. “If the guests are from other countries, it is often important to show them around,” he says.

Deva Jain, director of Your Wedding Manager, says that hospitality and ‘guest management’ have emerged as a key component of wedding planning. “Receiving the guests at airports or railway stations, driving them to their hotels and taking care that they don’t face any problems – all this has become very important,” he says.

Manish Soni, owner of Mahamaya Marriage Gardens said that not all clients hire wedding planners. “Sometimes, we manage things for our clients,” he said. According to him, what the brides and the grooms want the most is a grand entry. “The younger lot doesn’t like shor-sharaba. They want lots of flowers and lots of peace,” he says.