Chennai is fast turning into the most preferred destination for luxury weddings with an expansive shoreline and many five stars opening for business in the last two years. From easy access to flowers, Kancheevarams and enthusiastic labour, Chennai is the gateway of the South. Many NRI’s come back to Chennai to shop for their wedding trousseau and choose to have one function here. We speak to celebrity wedding planners and families on this.
The metropolitan city of Chennai with its lush landscapes, sun kissed beaches and tranquil Bay of Bengal is an inimitable gem in the south blending tradition and culture with a flair of modernity. Mahabalipuram, situated along the scenic East Coastal Road, with its architectural wonder serves as a perfect backdrop for matrimonial memories adding grandeur and heritage to an already rich culture.
Over the recent years, quite a few hotels and resorts have popped up along the city’s coastline playing a perfect host to occasions and events. This has upped the city’s popularity among the country’s couples as a possible destination for both ultra luxurious as well as an easy going budget wedding. This has also sent wedding professionals ferrying to deliver the best services amidst the rising competition.
“Chennai is very competitive when it comes to pricing in the hospitality industry”, feels Manoj Nagpal, one of the city’s oldest wedding decorators. “Goa’s is becoming very crowded and saturated and people are opting for Chennai for a beach wedding experience”.
Many properties have in-house event planning for the ease of the clients bringing them all wedding related service under one roof. “We have had many clients from other towns and countries”, says Rhonda, manager of a popular wedding venue. “We prefer them using our vendor for décor services as they know their way around the place and the clients find the arrangement hassle free too”.
Being a land of pattu sarees, Chennai is a shopper’s paradise for Kancheevarams. Starting from a few thousand rupees, the wedding specials can go up to lakhs. From popular brands to high end designers, special weaves and exclusively curated and designed sarees are available for those who yearn for craftsmanship.
“Chennai is mostly sought after for its coastline”, feels Reema Thakkar Tiwari, a bespoke wedding planner. “We have had clients who are willing to splurge as a long as their guests are given an experience of a lifetime. We have flown in exquisite flowers from other countries on request just for the decor alone so you can imagine the budget of such weddings”.
For guests from out of town, the resorts are booked completely with venue and rooms for the entire wedding and in case of a luxury resort or a star property the billing can run up to a few crores with the wedding planning and décor all put together.
With this great increase in the Tamil Nadu market share for destination weddings, Marriott International has brought its flagship event- Shaadi by Marriott to Namma Chennai. “From curating personalized wedding experiences to playing the perfect host, the Tamil Nadu edition of Shaadi by Marriott will give you a glimpse on the luxurious and holistic wedding experience created at Marriott Group of Hotels”.
Aiming to be a platform for the wedding fraternity to collaborate, network and explore myriad business opportunities in the south, the event will be graced by professionals from North and South Indian wedding industry. The event is all set to take place on July 18 and 19, at the Sheraton Grand Resorts and Spa, Chennai.
“The idea of the event curated by Shaadi by Marriott is to give them an exposure of the strength of the properties and locales available here”, says Arun Suresh, hospitality manager of a renowned star property “Chennai is well connected to most cities and this factor along with the amenities and facilities available here makes it a favourable choice”.
