What Being an Indian Wedding Planner in the USA Is Really Like – A wedding planner’s life, thanks to the influence of social media and excessive digital content consumption, is often portrayed to be glamorous, easy, fun, and filled with aesthetic and pretty elements like flowers and silk drapes. Their day-to-day affairs are nothing short of Instagramable reels and posts, and their job is essentially one big party.
While flowers and drapes are indeed part of the job, it is far from glamorous and easy. In fact, it is one of the most challenging jobs, as it involves hours’ worth of hustling and coordination, clad in sweats or slacks. Especially when planning an event as complicated and large as an Indian wedding, what goes on behind the scenes is nothing but hard work.
However, the smiles on the faces of the happy couple at the end of it all, make the process worth it.
To give you a clearer idea of what we do, as a thoughtful Indian wedding planner in the US, this article is an insight into our lives.
Things involved in the job of a wedding planner
Here is an overview of the various aspects that we take care of when planning and executing an Indian wedding from the ground up. All important decisions will be made by the couple; however, we help make their decisions easier and perform subsequent tasks in close coordination with them at all times.
- Wedding designing
- Budgeting
- Wedding theme and color palette selection
- Wedding decorations
- Event scheduling based on specific Indian cultures
- Itinerary preparation
- Coordinating with the wedding officiator/ priest
- Vendor selection and bookings
- Photo shoot coordination
- Menu creation
- Guest-list preparation
- Wedding outfit design and selection
- Vendor payments and further coordination
- Execution of wedding vision
- Delivery timelines
- Honeymoon bookings
- Other travel bookings for guests
- Invitations
- Save-the-dates
Each of these tasks is crucial to the smooth execution of the wedding, which demands that as a wedding planner, we put the utmost thought and effort into each. Not all weddings involve all of the aspects mentioned above; depending on the cultural and family preferences, and the personal interests of the couple, each wedding presents a unique experience for us.
Through the workdays of a wedding planner
Here is a more detailed look into what we do once we sign on a wedding project.
Communication 24/7
Needless to say, communication forms the crux of our work; without communication, a wedding cannot be organized. We start by scheduling consultation calls and subsequent wedding planning discussion calls with our clients to gain a thorough understanding of their wedding vision, their personal interests, preferences, and a detailed overview of the events, rituals, and ceremonies they need for the wedding. Some couples come to us with only a basic idea of what they have in mind, while others have clearer visions. Depending on the input we get, we go about the rest of the planning.
Once the vision and mood board are established, we also maintain constant communication with the booked vendors to ensure that their services and products will be delivered as planned and paid for. These vendors include everyone from the photographer and videographer to the caterers, the venue, the decorators, the music and DJ service providers, the invitation printers, the makeup artist, and the honeymoon package providers.
Creative brainstorming
A major chunk of our work involves brainstorming for creative ideas and design concepts to incorporate into the weddings we help plan. Once we get a fair idea of the wedding vision our client has in mind, we try to amplify the idea and transform it into a full-blown wedding. For this, we brainstorm themes, design motifs, color palettes, unique wedding installations and events, food choices, mood boards, photography ideas, and many more.
According to the preferences and set budget of the couple, we go about choosing different vendors, including the venue. We also further visualize the wedding incorporating various design options and décor ideas to come up with an optimal wedding setup for the couple.
To substantiate our ideas, we also draw up sketches and provide reference images, to help the couple decide on the creative aspects of the wedding. As an Indian wedding planner, this is an important step where the wedding slowly takes shape.
Through these creative discussions, we have approved and finalized versions of a wedding theme, a color palette, a layout and accompanying venue design, possible events, installations, and a mood board for inspiration.
Scheduling
Scheduling events, discussions, timelines, photo shoots, and things that the couple has to do before the wedding, is our next major duty as a wedding planner.
Once we have a list of vendors to contact, we schedule meetings involving them and the couple, so that they can convey their needs to the vendor team. This is a crucial step especially in aspects like photography, as it allows both parties to get to know each other and build a rapport, which is essential for smooth partnerships.
We also schedule different events for the wedding, timelines to finish tasks for the couple, pre-wedding or save-the-date photo shoots, and other things such as registering for gifts, food tasting, and dress fittings.
Preparation of itinerary
The wedding itinerary is what gives a final shape and direction to the wedding. For the same reason, we spend ample time creating it. As a hands-on Indian wedding planner, we schedule one or two meetings with the couple to draw up the itinerary in detail – this helps us ensure that all events are planned and prepared according to their convenience and preferences.
Once we have an outline, we flesh the rest of the details out and prepare a detailed itinerary that covers everything from the various pre-wedding, wedding, and post-wedding events, their dates and times, the ceremonies and rituals involved and their flow at each of these events, the photo shoot timelines, etc.
Payments and bookings
Handling the payments is another part of our duties as a wedding planner. Once the vendors are finalized, we provide necessary payments according to the schedules demanded by each vendor, after discussing with the couple. As we close in on the day of the wedding events, we provide full payments and confirm all bookings.
For the guests flying in from different states, countries, or cities, we confirm bookings of their hotel rooms. If there are transportation bookings involved for guests, we take care of that too.
We also undertake honeymoon bookings if required by the couple. We discuss places and itineraries based on their interests, and as the decided dates draw closer, we provide full payments and confirm bookings with the hotel, the flights, and other important elements.
Wedding outfit planning and customization
The outfits are undoubtedly a big part of wedding planning. We help our clients decide on their outfits according to the mood board and color palette that we created during the brainstorming sessions. We assist our clients in finding the best resources for materials and customized stitching and accompany them in their fitting sessions to guide them with their looks. We also help schedule fittings and discussions with the tailors so that our clients can concentrate on the important matters of the outfits, like the colors and embellishments.
Wedding-day coordination
On the day of the wedding is when we are the busiest. As a hands-on Indian wedding planner, we strive to be a reliable resource for our clients to leave tasks with, so that they get to enjoy their wedding day stress-free. For the same reason, we take care of everything from coordinating with the vendors and taking timely deliveries of rented products and services, to ensuring that the decoration is on point, ensuring that the food and refreshments arrive on time, managing the guests, providing assistance to photographers and videographers, conducting early walk-throughs of the venue before the event starts, and handling unexpected events like surprises, or unfavorable contingencies. Our goal is to let our couple take centerstage and enjoy the precious moments with their friends and family, while we efficiently manage the event behind the scenes.
Wrapping up
While the long list of duties that a wedding planner undertakes cannot be fully described in a few words, this article throws a good amount of light into the experience of a wedding planning company behind the scenes. In between the tasks mentioned above, there are many smaller tasks that we perform as well, such as preparing the guest lists and arranging for cleaning up after the events. Evidently, the life of a planner is less than glamorous and involves months of hard work. At the end of it all, as we mentioned, the happiness of the couple keeps us going, and makes us love what we do!
If you need a reliable Indian wedding planner to organize the wedding of your dreams, contact ForUrEvents. We are a one-stop-shop for all things wedding, with in-house teams for wedding photography and videography, catering, bridal makeup, music, and invitation card printing.
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