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Expert Speak: Wedding Specialist Sumeet Singh from The Palayana Hua Hin
Destination Weddings, Wedding Planning - Oct 14, 2019
An oasis of beauty and tranquillity in Hua Hin, one of Thailand’s fastest growing premier coastal regions, The Palayana Hua Hin is a Boutique Beach Resort with a plethora of diverse views and areas that offer some of the most romantic backdrops for celebrations of every manner and magnitude. Take your pick from gorgeous oceanfront vistas for your beach wedding, tropical gardens for intimate mehendi ceremonies, a traditional ballroom for an elegant sangeet or reception and a contemporary pool deck oceanside for a mad sundowner with your squad.
The Palayana Hua Hin is becoming a fast favorite with couples who prefer an intimate wedding with the warmth of familiar faces over huge guest lists and extravagant celebrations. With 44 rooms and villas spread across 12,800 sq. mt, the resort is perfect for a cosy destination wedding with about 110 guests.
And precious things really do come in little packages here. Experienced wedding specialists are on hand to craft your perfect day. The Palayana Hua Hin will tailor your experience to guarantee a truly memorable celebration.
We spoke to Wedding Specialist Sumeet Singh, about what makes the resort a great choice for Indian Weddings.
Tell us about the most appreciated experiences for Indian guests at The Palayana Hua Hin. Are there any that deserve to be explored further?
“The key at Palayana is customisation so every wedding is unique. While we ensure every couple has a personalised wedding, what remains consistent is the quality of cuisine, beautiful decor and well appointed accommodation. Guests love how spacious our rooms are and we fulfill their needs for delicious food with our in-house catering experts who appease all kinds of diverse palates. In terms of décor, we have a set of talented decorators who have provided their services at weddings hosted on our property and will continue to do so. However, over time, we have built our own infrastructure and inventory as well and if clients are looking for minimalistic décor, that can be provided in-house.”
How have the requirements at weddings evolved over the years and what makes the Palayana Hua Hin the preferred choice for millennial weddings?
“To start with, couples are now more judicious with their budgets. But what is also very interesting are brides and grooms who want to incorporate their love stories into the wedding celebrations in creative ways. These personalised details allow their wedding to stand out in the best way. Finally, you can see a dramatic evolution in the size of the guest lists. Couples like Joyreeta and Aseem hosted an intimate destination wedding here and spent their special day with just their closest.”
It is common knowledge that Indian guest lists usually comprise a high percentage of vegetarians. How do you accommodate these and other dietary preferences? Is the wedding party permitted to team up with a caterer of their choice?
“Our catering team, comprising 3 talented chefs, skilfully caters to vegetarians, vegans, Jains or any other sort of dietary restrictions. In fact, one of the main reasons Kanika and Abhinav chose to host their wedding at the Palayana Hua Hin was our versatility with menus. Sometimes, outside of restrictions, guests may even be looking for exotic, country-specific cuisines. Recently, guests wanted Ghanaian cuisine and we met their expectations!”
Does the hotel recommend wedding planners and decorators? And is the hotel comfortable working with teams of the couple’s choice?
“We’ve hosted about 40-50 weddings in 2018 and 20 so far in 2019. We’ve had the opportunity of working with several wedding planners as a result. We’ve had a pleasant experience and look forward to working with more. Couples who would like the benefit of our expertise are given recommendations based on their budget, preferences and the vibe they’re going for.”
What is the ballpark budget families should keep in mind when planning a wedding at the Palayana Hua Hin?
“We can offer an entire buyout of our hotel for 1 night and 2 days at THB 200,000-300,000. In terms of food, based on how elaborate the spread is and how many live counters they want, the menu costs can range from THB 800-2,000. We are a family-oriented property and therefore we try our best to tailor our services to our clients’ budgets.”
Are there destination wedding trends you think will be particularly surprising in the coming years? How well is Palayana Hua Hin geared up to embrace those?
“From first hand experience, we can tell you, minimalism is on the rise. Like I mentioned earlier, couples don’t want to splurge with no reason. They’re shrinking their guest lists to keep their celebrations intimate and spending their resources wisely in terms of quality food, accommodation and decor. It’s an analytical outlook and it actually means they can go all out and celebrate meaningfully with people they love.
Celebrity couples like Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma set a standard with their own wedding which triggered a trend of buyouts and privacy. They showed everyone how you can streamline the extravagance of an Indian wedding while maintaining the vibrancy and magnificence we all marvel at. As a property that can host events for up to 150 pax, this trend actually works in our and every destination wedding hotel’s favor.”
To explore the Palayana Hua Hin for your wedding, click here.
