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Young and Inspiring – Wedding Planners Anway P Bhoite and Vishaal S Shah of Purple Chariot
Wedding Planning, WeddingSutra Favorites, Young and Inspiring - Oct 29, 2018
Our series ‘Young and Inspiring’ showcases fresh, exciting new talent powerhouses from the design, fashion and event domains who specialize in creating dream weddings for couples with stars in their eyes.
Purple Chariot is one of India’s best wedding planning companies, and Anway P Bhoite and Vishaal S Shah are its wheels. Anway, the Creative Partner at Purple Chariot brings to the table his decade-long experience of working on weddings and movie productions. His clients include celebrities, high-profile personalities, and business families. Vishaal, the Managing Partner of Purple Chariot, is a serial entrepreneur who had twenty years of experience in the industry across various verticals of the weddings sphere.
Here, in a conversation with WeddingSutra, they share what it takes to be a leading wedding planning team in a highly competitive industry.
1. Tell us about your journeys and what motivated you both to get into wedding planning?
Anway: “I was the Creative Head at one of the premium wedding decor companies in Mumbai and had a rich experience of working on luxury weddings. However, being a people’s person, an ideator and creative at heart, I found my role there one dimensional. I wanted to create a 360-degree immersive experience for couples which went beyond decor and with that, I got into wedding planning.”
Vishaal: “I come from a background of branding and have experience in interacting with different stakeholders in the corporate space. Creating ideas and getting everyone on board was something that excited me. However, I was eager to do this on a larger scale, and wedding planning provided me with all the right opportunities. Anway and I met at a common friend’s party, struck a chord and became friends, A year later we organized our first wedding and merged our strengths to form Purple Chariot.”
2. Tell us about the first wedding you planned and when did you realize it was what you wanted to do?
Vishaal: “This, actually, was after the very first wedding we planned, designed and managed in its entirety. It was a three-night affair at Alibaug where the guests were spread across four properties. Coordinating between so many venues and bringing everyone together for multiple functions was a challenge. However, all our efforts paid off when the couple called us and started gushing about how perfect everything was. We knew it right then that this was what we wanted to do.”
3. What do you feel are the most integral aspects of designing a wedding?
Anway: “Having a good understanding of a couple’s requirements, the spaces you have and the experience you want to create are the most important parts of designing a wedding. This is closely followed by faith on the part of the couple. Their trust in the partners they bring on board is essential.”
4. What are your favorite wedding trends this year?
Anway: “Minimalism is going to be the trend for the season for sure. Thanks to the celebrity weddings we have witnessed, signature installations and lots of greens are going to dominate too.”
5. What are your favorite Indian and international destinations for a wedding?
Anway: “Well, each venue offers a unique charm and advantages. Having worked on multiple venues across India, we are a bit partial to beach weddings. The casual feel, views of the setting sun and the waves lapping the shore have its charm. With miles of beaches and some fabulous properties, Sri Lanka truly stands out to us. Moreover, having worked on multiple weddings there, we have become familiar with the territory and found the right people to create fabulous weddings.”
6. What has been your most memorable wedding planning experience?
Vishaal: “Oh, that’s a difficult one! Every year we do numerous weddings, and each one is a labor of love so selecting one is impossible. We could, however, share a few moments that we cherish from a few celebrations that we did last year. At one wedding we worked with top talents like Sonu Nigam and Ustad Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and the guests were enthralled. That was such a remarkable experience. However, it’s not the glamour quotient that makes moments so special for us. At another wedding, the groom stepped down from the mandap to receive his bride with a rose in his hand, and on a different occasion, the groom bowed down in humility to the bride at the garlanding ceremony. It’s moments like these that stay with us forever.”
7. What is the most challenging and interesting aspect of planning a wedding?
Anway: “When we sit with the bride, the groom, and their immediate families, we are dealing with six to ten excited, passionate people who want to create something fabulous and memorable. Everyone has their ideas about the functions, themes, decor, entertainment, and so on. Balancing everyone’s choices and options and bringing them on the same page, I would say is both challenging and interesting at the same time.”
8. Any tips for couples planning their wedding?
Vishaal: “Wedding planning is easy. All you need is to be good at coordination and organization, make a zillion calls in the process, tie up loose ends, handle the needs and tantrums of multiple vendors across the spectrum and be prepared for any last minute disasters that may arise at any moment without the guests getting know about it. Well, you can do all this. The question, however, is, do you want to handle your wedding or do you want to enjoy it? Getting a wedding planner and designer on board is a no-brainer. Our advice would be to get them involved from the very beginning. Trust me, it makes a huge difference.”
9. What do you love most about your job as a wedding planner?
Anway: “This profession is all about emotions and relationships, and it gives you the opportunity to be part of someone’s life at their most precious moments. What is forged at a wedding is something that is beautiful and that’s what brings us joy.”
