Band Baaja
Baaraat! For her, conjuring the big fat Indian wedding is a piece of cake
She grew up in Bengaluru and after working for almost a decade in advertising and marketing, she moved to Switzerland and created a niche for herself. Meet Shilpa Sukumar, a wedding planner, who started a luxury event design company that specialises in planning destination Indian weddings in Switzerland and Europe. This beautiful entrepreneur is an expert in weaving Bollywood- inspired dream wedding ceremonies for couples, who demand unmatched glamour and style on their big day. Speaking about her journey in this profession, Shilpa mentions, “After finishing my MBA with a major in tourism in Switzerland, I wanted to do something in travel and looked at various opportunities. The destination wedding market seemed very viable but an untapped market for Switzerland and Europe as a whole. Also it gave me an opportunity to combine European styles and designs with Indian traditions.”
Interlaken and Lake Geneva region of Switzerland are the favourite locations among her high- profile clients, who have colossal budgets that go upto ` 25 crores. Shilpa elaborates on these lavish weddings and says, “We have done weddings for some of the biggest business families, and my brief is invariably ‘ surprise and amaze us.’ We have done weddings ranging from ` two crores to ` 25 crores. We even get unusual requests like one of our clients expressed to have cherry blossoms as a major feature. While it was just the beginning of the cherry blossom season, the flowers were not yet in full bloom. So we decided to translocate 60 real cherry blossom plants and attached over 6,000 faux cherry blossom stems to create a lush and beautiful walkway. The entire walkway was then covered with a red carpet giving a feeling of walking down a glamorous movie premiere or awards night. It was nothing short of a spectacle that created so much commotion on the streets that barricades had to be installed to indicate that it was a private party.”
Shilpa’s job is no doubt stressful and demanding, as the planning has to be flawless as there are no easy fall back options. So how does she manage it all? She says, “Executing an Indian wedding in a culturally different country is very difficult. Planning every detail, vetting every vendor, maintaining a reliable sup- plier network, having emergency procedures for unforeseen circumstances and acquiring all the necessary permits and permissions is all part of the job.” She adds, “On an average, it takes a minimum of three months to plan a grand wedding but having said that, we have also executed weddings within a months notice. As a business owner there are really no fixed working hours or days. But at the same time, my business is seasonal leaving me with enough time for my family.” Like her profession, Shilpa also has some interesting hobbies. She mentions, “I love to dabble in almost everything that takes to my fancy. But due to my limited free time these days, I am limited to my participation with an English musical theatre group. I love everything to do with beautiful designs and styles as I heavily rely on new inspirations for my own designs. I pick bits of what inspires me and twist it to make something unique and special. I am fond of fashion as well, but I prefer buying creative pieces to labels. I will only buy a brand if its value is in its craft and not in its name.”
Executing an Indian wedding in a culturally different country is very difficult