Planned surprises: Organising a surprise anniversary celebrations will no longer be a complex task
Surprise!! Exclaimed 10 strangers from different corners of Praveen Nandilath’s villa in a gated community. A photograph of himself and his wife Shilpa Praveen from their honeymoon was projected on one of the villa’s walls. On the occasion of their anniversary, he had the pleasure of listening to about 20-25 Ilayaraaja songs (his favourite musician) and was showered with many gifts. His wife Shilpa, called The6.in — an exclusive surprise planner in the city to plan everything.
“Though initially Praveen was confused about what was happening, it turned out to be great. I spoke to Shakthivel, the founder to discuss what can be planned and he made it easy. I shared the photographs with them and explained that my husband loved cars. They made a caricature of him with cars and presented it to him. It was in fact amazing to see him enjoy his favourite songs,” says Shilpa.
Most of us, at one point or another have planned a surprise for our loved ones — be it a birthday or an anniversary. However, organising a surprise is made easier today with the help of surprise planners. Ruchi Chopra, the founder of Any Surprise Any Day (ASAP) says that it is of utmost importance that the surprise they organise is quite memorable. “It is a matter of the heart. When customers come to us, we suggest ideas and give various options. We do not have definite packages but customise experiences. In fact once, one of the surprises was planned for a pet lover. So we got a pup for him as a surprise and it turned out to be great,” recalls Ruchi.
Organising surprises for Shakthivel began when he was in college. From then till now the6.in has organised about 2,000 surprises for people in Chennai, Coimbatore and Bengaluru. “We organise surprises exclusively. From just a bouquet with a cake to wedding proposals, we have executed surprises that have been cherished by our customers. Something that I did for friends during college has become my business model,” says Shakthivel.
Splatter Studio is an art gallery that doubles up as an exclusive dining space from 8 pm to 10 pm for couples. The ambience is lovely as one is surrounded by beautiful artwork. Senthil Ram, the founder of the studio was a witness to a birthday surprise thrown by a diner. “We had a guest bring his wife over for her birthday as a surprise visit to our gallery. She was totally taken aback by seeing a dining table set in the middle of the gallery and to top it off he had ordered a custom portrait of her father as a special birthday gift. It is fun to watch people come completely unaware and then get surprised over the arrangements,” says Senthil.
Preethi Kannan celebrated her parents’ wedding anniversary recently by opting for a surprise planner and her mother was bowled over by the plan. “A man walked in from the back gate of our house and performed a number of Hindi songs ( those which are favourites of my mom and dad), there was a beautiful bouquet and a delicious cake. After the performance, we spent some quality time and it was evident that my mother loved every minute of it,” concludes Preethi.
