GoT theme gains fans at big, fat Indian pre-wedding events
The world-famous big, fat Indian weddings now have almost equally big, fat prewedding functions. And right now, with the Game of Thrones Season 7 having just begun, the TV show is the ‘in’ theme for people spending a packet on ceremonies like sangeet and mehendi.
“There are a lot of themes that are yet unexplored, and Game of Thrones is among them. I do suggest this theme to my clients, as it gives [them] a chance to experiment,” says photographer Rahul Saharan.
At the recent sangeet of a Mumbai-based couple, who opted for a GoT theme, the décor had elements from the TV show such as custom-made dragon eggs, sigils of the four houses of Westeros, and the Iron Throne. The sangeet was part of the destination wedding in Udaipur.
Shaurya Mehta, the groom, says that he and his wife are both fans of the show. One thing he’ll always remember from the sangeet is “our entrance, with our closest friends and family holding up swords... while a few men and women guided us with flaming torches and sigils and the Winds of Winter track played in the background”.
Photographer Anand Rathi, who covered the ceremony, says that the series has novelty value for couples always looking for “kuch naya”.
Gone are the days when pre-wedding ceremonies were restricted to traditional mehendi nights, where ladies of the house gathered and indulged in singing and dancing around a dholak. Today, events like Sufi nights, hasya kavi sammelans, mujara nights and fashion shows have become pre-dominant themes. To add to this, couples are recreating themes from their favourite TV series to make these affairs more personal.
“There are varied themes that couples are exploring. Every pre-wedding event is a story in itself. Moroccan, sufi, vintage, English Hi-Tea, retro, modern and club are the common themes now,” says wedding organiser Kaveri Vij. She adds that customers often come prepared with an idea of what exactly they want. Photographer Anand Rathi says, “Such events are shot like films, with avant garde equipments and sometimes, with crew from Bollywood.”
Mukta Kapoor, a wedding organiser shares that the cost of the pre-wedding events is almost at par with the actual wedding. “The cost depends on the designing and the personalisation of each event. They start from somewhere around ` 5 lakh and there is no upper limit to this as guests can even ask for a jet plane entry to their wedding. We have done pre-wedding events ranging from ` 5to70 lakh,” says Vij.
“For about 100 odd people, including food and decor, you are looking at anywhere over ` 10 lakh,” says Kapoor, who is currently planning a wedding party with a Phoolon ki Holi theme for an NRI couple. She adds that now, couples are also planning destination pre-wedding shoots with their friends. “Global pop stars are also being flown in to perform at pre-wedding events,” shares photographer Badal Jain.
What is the most expensive event Kapoor has organised? “We did a function in Jodhpur (Hari Mahal) last year, which was very elaborate. We spent around `80 lakh for the wedding and `60 lakh for the pre-wedding events,” says Kapoor.