Amazed to see the stars and moons descending on the marriage venue or an ambience that recreates a sea in hues of blue all around? Or a venue that resembles a palace straight out of Rajasthan with gorgeous decorations? Well these are a few themes that are being preferred by most families for marriages. Something that was years ago restricted to the royal families or the glitterati, theme wedding has now become common to all classes.
And to suit the requirements, wedding planners are offering plenty of options to choose from. These themes could include gardens, palatial, sea-side, traditional and devotional and so on.
Manas Ranjan Das of Bahaghara talks about how he has been arranging theme weddings all over Odisha for more than three years now. He said most of his customers are seeking themes rooted to tradition while some others want their weddings to be modern with tinges of the traditional element.
‘’The stress is more on cultural themes. They insist on typical Odia music, food and even settings. Folk music is being preferred over DJs and Patra-poda over chilli-chicken,’’ said Das. It is not that the parties do not opt for a modern theme, but it is more of a mix, he adds. Even Christian brides are dressing up in red instead of white.
Das describes a recent wedding in Bhubaneswar where the entire marriage venue was designed to look like a sea-side. Blue lights were set all over to give the feel of the blue sea. Yet another theme was where the venue was transformed into a dome like structure under the open sky. Not only the settings but even the attire of the bride and the groom are at times selected to be in sync with the ambience.
This theme arrangement is not limited to marriages but also covers other rituals like mehndi, sagai, sangeet and others. Though these rituals do not form a part of the traditional Odia weddings, yet people are organising these events.
Opting for theme wedding is an expensive affair as the standard packages start from Rs 15 lakh. However, there are many affordable options available. The planners are also open for customisation as per the needs of the customers.
‘’There are more middle-class families who are opting for theme weddings. One of the reasons for this is the busy life today. Shortage of manpower as most of the members are employed and cannot spare time for the arrangements has helped the wedding planning business,’’ said Das.