HYDERABAD: Just like any other industry, weddings and the wedding industry have been hit hard, but couples and wedding planners are now working towards devising ways to adapt to the new rules and still have a memorable affair. After processing the new realities that hit the entire business economy, globally, we are designing ourselves to fight the good fight. This entails the ‘re’ word. A lot.
Right from getting used to readapting, we are now re-focusing on re-inventing and re-imagining solutions to the numerous new challenges we are facing today. But most importantly we have found that the joy, fun and revelries of life’s best moments are still around to be enjoyed - just in different ways.
It will take a combined effort in order to restart the industry and begin hosting in-person functions again and depending on the type of event and the venue, vendors will need to ensure strict safety measures.
Even the events in the aftermath of the pandemic will be much smaller, venues may have their own set of regulations to abide by, and as planners we need to make sure that the vendors we work with are well informed about hygiene and health and will have to advice clients to spend on sanitization meassures.
It will become an expected norm forvenues to be equipped with thermal scanning, as this is a musthave layer of security for those willing to attend the event to eliminate the element of risk for attendees.
Vendors will also need to wear gloves and masks to ensure safety. With the increasing use of social media and digital marketing, technology plays a major role now, as less contact with people means a lot of more online meetings, webinars, and virtual events.
The ironic part is that there are no best practices that we can learn from anyone or any country because everyone is in it together for the first time and we will all learn as we evolve.
The intimacy of events in terms of the gathering has made them very experiential, giving rise to the need for detailed and intricate planning.
The detailing of the décor, interactive experiences and entertainment along with favours has now become a growing trend that is here to stay. One can see this as a rampant trend in Hyderabad, where flamboyant event sets have been replaced by minimalistic décor.
In times when planners must submit the names and contact details of every single guest, the procedure of RSVP has become more elaborate and integral.
Furthermore, having to adhere to the government’s regulation of submitting negative certified COVID-19 test for each labour present at the site has made the production aspect of event planning a lot more painstaking.
Unfamiliar situations give rise to novel innovations and the trend of guests being given particular time slots to attend weddings is testament to it.
This trend involves sanitisation between the departure of a guest from the venue and arrival of the next to wish the couple and enjoy the meal.
Events is a huge part of everyone, whether it is a wedding, a business conference or a concert, we do not see this industry crumbling.
People will continue to fall in love, business will now more than ever want to hold events to engage in different aspects of life. The show will go on!