Onika Maheshwari/ New Delhi 

The famed Big Fat Indian wedding is not only getting fatter but also spawning new careers and economic and creative opportunities for young professionals.

Mohsin Khan, from Delhi, is the epitome of what the Big, fat Indian weddings mean for the economy and making the special day for the couple and the extended families of both a unique memory.

Mohsin Khan is an extremly busy person with the wedding season on in north India. This cheerful professional organizes people's dream weddings through his  venture  Vivah Luxury Weddings. Mohsin Khan's expertise in is organizing destination weddings - his venues include both in India and abroad.

"People are spending like anything on their weddings in India, says Mohsin Khan in his thirties. "New generation couples are asking for cocktail mixing, gaming sessions, and top-up restaurants at the venue. Many are also offering  welcome dinners which is a Western concept," he told Awaz-the voice. 

According to CAIT estimates, 48 ​​lakh weddings are being solemnised in November-December generating a business of Rs 6 lakh crore. Weddings have a major share in retail sales in India.

A varmala stage

Mohsin Khan says that be it a destination or theme wedding, the couples want to follow the Bollywood dream sequences for the special day."From the venue of the ceremonies to the bride's entry, everything should be picture perfect... dresses of the groom and bride are colour coordinated; choreographers are engaged for dance sequences, and makeup artists for creating star looks.

There are thousands of elements in an Indian wedding that were traditionally planned by the families so far. Nowadays, instead of the preparations being outsourced to relatives like Mama and Chacha, the entire load is shifted to wedding planners.

What is the price of a top-end wedding?

Asked what he thinks of the budget for the dream weddings of actors Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh in an Italian castle, Mohsin smiles. "These are normal and not high-end weddings. This wedding is normal. You must see the weddings of Indian business tycoons which run into over 100 cr budget."

His company organizes everything - from budgeting, inviting guests, food, catering, bridal makeup, decorations, etc. for his clients.

He has an interesting take on the complex social equations that come to play out at the Weddings. "At times there is a conflict of ideas between the groom and the bride or between the two families. He has to do not only tightrope walking but also break the logjam with some innovative ideas.

Similarly, he obtains a list of relatives notorious for making a fuss and nitpicking on social occasions. His bartenders identify them and make sure they are served well and taken care of in a special way so that they have no occasion to complain.

That takes off a huge burden from the family of the groom and bride.

Carnival themed set for a wedding

Mohsin says people are ready to spend good amounts for weddings to be able to enjoy the celebrations and not become tense arranging things and rituals.

Mohsin Khan says that Indian weddings are getting cheaper in Thailand because more people prefer the country for their special day. "Almost 60 percent of destination weddings held in Thailand are of Indians. At the same time, some overseas Indians are also holding their wedding functions there. "There is a good flower market there. Targeting weddings and honeymooners there, tourism revenue is expected to increase between 600 billion-700 billion baht (US$16 billion-$19 billion) this year. Thailand is perfect for a great destination wedding," Mohsin says. 

Mohsin Khan says a wedding plan can often balance out its cost based on the savings it makes for you during the planning process. Wedding planners have connections, know the best deals, and can identify when something is worth its price or when you should move on.

Going for a wedding planner with a small budget always helps. Mohsin says, "We know how to negotiate with vendors and get the best quality at the best price everywhere. We also usually get trade discounts from companies as we are their regular customers. Some planners will pass those discounts on directly to the clients on a budget."

Mohsin Khan says the weddings have become a perennial business in India. For international clients, marriage can be organized any time of the year. In India, most people get married between October to March. There is a brief wedding season in August-September. However, for most Indians auspicious date or Muhurat is important and hence some specific dates are very heavy.

Mohsin Khan says, Pandits find the best muhurat for marriages in November and December. The whole of November is always booked. In November, there are some dates with lakhs of weddings and coping with it is a challenge for him. A lot of marriages happen during Tulsi Vivah. After that, it opens after Lohri. Then a lot of marriages happen in February too.

There are families with children settled abroad. Their parents are here or one of the bride and groom is a foreigner and the other is an Indian. Now we have made a concept that you come to India and see Indian culture, which will also increase the Indian economy. Keeping this in mind, I focus more on destination weddings.

Mohsin Khan says that because in destination weddings, the groom and brides' families hold it jointly. The planner works like a bridge between the two families. He handles both and brings them on one platform. The thoughts, traditions, and rituals of the two families are different and both have to be managed.

Bride and groom coming home in a vintage car in style

Mohsin Khan has successfully organized international and national destination weddings in Oman, Bahrain, Thailand, Goa, Rajasthan, etc. Mohsin Khan, who was earlier a banker, started a wedding planning company in late 2010 called  Vivah Luxury Weddings . Mohsin Khan has now become a successful entrepreneur as a wedding planner. Mohsin Khan's specialty is that he has detailed information about every single thing used in a wedding and he can organize a destination wedding of any theme at any place. 

Mohsin Khan said that nowadays people are going for themes like eco-friendly, Rajasthani, beach, royal, and fairy tale, for their weddings. However, it is our job to organize your wedding in a way that will become a long-lasting memory for the couple and their families. 

Mohsin Khan says that in low-budget weddings, it is a challenge for us to fulfill the wishes of the people within the same limited budget. Because the relatives and the wedding hosts demand a wedding like the Taj Mahal even for less money. Marriage happens only once, people invest their bodies, minds, and money in it. In such a situation, our work increases even more.

Everyone associated with event management agrees that this work is very stressful. You have to stand from the beginning of the event till the last moment. If even a small thing goes wrong, a function can get spoiled. If the event is for two days, you cannot sit for two days, you have to do full duty in the event.

If the function becomes a hit, then the rewards are also given accordingly. You are praised there and after this, you start getting more work. The chain of an event planner is formed from here. After one work, you get another work and then you start getting work like this. If the client is happy with you, then he asks his four relatives to get work from you. In this way, you keep getting work from the same family for a long time.

 Mohsin Khan says that the wedding budget depends from client to client. In India, marriage is not just a wedding but it is an emotion. An emotion gets attached to the birth of a child. Everyone starts having their own dreams. We bring that dream into reality but according to the budget so that the family does not feel that they are under a lot of pressure.

The whole world saw multi crore wedding of Anant  Ambani and Radhika merchant. “We arrange weddings for normal families. The budget of the middle class is also 40 to 50 lakhs,” he says.

 Mohsin Khan, who has been in the events business for a long time, says that now a basic wedding starts from Rs. 7 lakhs, a slightly better wedding costs 20 to 30 lakhs, and if you want to have a lavish wedding, it can cost anywhere between Rs. 80 lakhs to 1 crore. 

Bridemaids making a special scene for bride's entry

And for ultra-lavish weddings, there is no limit to money, even crores, because big artists come to them. Their fees are high. Luxury hotels are also booked. Destination weddings have their expenses.

In India, a common man spends 20% of his total savings on marriage. Nowadays, the trend of hiring a wedding planner has increased, so this expenditure may increase even more.

Mohsin Khan says wedding planners are expensive. He has advice for those who wish to have a stylish wedding function without having to pay for a wedding planner.

"One must consult wedding planners to get the idea of the work to be done and planning a wedding on a budget."

"We can advise you where to cut corners and get cheaper services of stuff to fit the major function of your life on a budget." He also advises people to do them and consult them. They will give you the right advice as to where you will find the right thing, where your work can be done well, and where you can save money. You will like someone's decoration, someone's catering, someone's venue, and someone's management. 

In this way, you can become the wedding planner of your event. For that  you and your family have to put in some hard work on researching the market and take your time to do it. “This is the precise work of the wedding planner.” 

He says wedding planning is a good career option. "I left a good job to start my business and have never looked back".

Mohsin Khan says to become a wedding planner, one should take courses related to wedding planning and event management. He is likely to set up an institute to train those wishing to get into these fields.

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"I have prepared the syllabi for each course. Since I am too busy with business and am doing all my myself, the school has not taken off so far. But it is in the pipeline."