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Dubai Diary- Rajani family share their Wedding Planning Experiences
Destination Weddings - Mar 8, 2013
When Nanik Rajani, a Dubai based businessman was planning his younger daughter Sonia’s marriage to Dubai Jeweller Nitin, the time frame to plan it was less than two months. Having planned his elder daughter Sapna’s wedding in Pune two years ago, he and his family all in Dubai, were confident that they could manage to co-ordinate the younger daughter’s wedding in India too. A few days later, his daughter bride-to-be Sonia while researching online visited the website of Dubai Wedding Planner Rimjhim Bhagchandani. Sonia convinced her father that they should meet Rimjhim. Explains Rimjhim: “I have planned many weddings in Dubai and Thailand, but only one wedding in India. So I was unsure if I’d be interested in managing a wedding in Pune, a city I have never visited earlier. But in the last one year, many clients have been approaching me to manage their son or daughter’s wedding in India, so I thought why not take up the challenge.” Adds Rimjhim: “I had to make two trips to Pune, to meet with the venues, caterer, decorators and the team which would take care of the ground level hospitality– in the end it was all a great experience. Every wedding is different, and so is the process of organising it in different countries. This is the second wedding I managed in India, the earlier one in Amritsar and just like I felt that there was magic in the air in Amritsar, Pune too holds a special place in my heart.”
We met Mr Rajani at his apartment in Dubai and like every parent who are eager to talk about the wedding planning experience, he too was happy to share. “I wouldn’t call wedding planning stressful. As the bride/ groom or the parent of the bride/ groom you alone can control how stress-free you wish to remain, or how you want to sweat the small stuff and end up being stressed always. Even the decision to hire a Wedding Planner is personal. For many years, families have managed big celebrations without Wedding Planners, and now an increasing number of NRIs like us, are seeking the services of a Wedding Planner. In my opinion the big mistake many families make is to hire a Wedding Planner and then control everything themselves- this defeats the purpose. Being a creative entrepreneur myself, I realised a Wedding Planner can work effectively only if given all the freedom, you have to trust them and their decisions, else don’t hire one, go ahead and do it your way.”
Sonia says: “In a way I’m glad the planning period was short– everything went as per our plans. The only stress I had was with clothes. I met a Mumbai based designer who promised to deliver everything as per the desired dates, we gave an advance too, but he didn’t turn up for the second meeting. Fortunately I spoke to a friend who told me about a bad experience she had with the same designer, he didn’t deliver the clothes as per schedule, and after the delivery there were some alterations required, which couldn’t get done, so the outfit was literally a waste. I decided not to risk it and get my outfits from Sanskriti, the newly opened boutique in Bur Dubai. They may not have a great offering or choice like some well-known designer boutiques in Mumbai and Delhi but they deliver what they have to, as per the specifications on schedule. I had to worry about getting a good Makeup Artist too, since the best names were all booked, I was lucky to find Kumar Iyer who gave me the look I wanted for all the functions.”
Who else would the father of the bride like to recommend for those planning a Destination Wedding in Pune. “Soul Kitch for catering, we visited them just once to try their cuisine, and felt they were flawless- quality of food, variety and presentation. Hotel Sun n Sand for their excellent hospitality, the Marriott for their beautiful location and super service. Event Dynamics did a great job with the set-ups, flowers and the mandap. And not to forget DJ Manoj and singer Shobana from Dubai who rocked the parties.”
Photos Courtesy- http://www.tajmodeling.com/
