Wedding Planners : Eventz and Trendz
Tell us a little bit about what you do.
We are an event planning company that handles various types of events, from corporate events, to dinner dances, Christmas parties, launches and many more, but our speciality is weddings. We aim to please and our goal is to make each event we handle a pleasantly memorable experience to our clients.
What would you say is the toughest part of your job?
Well, it’s a very demanding job in the whole; we work long hours and with different individuals when it comes to weddings. In the local context, most of the families get involved in planning and everyone wants to have a say in the big day. At times it gets a bit hard to accommodate the requests of everyone, and the couples too get stressed at these points. So we try our level best to work it out in the most practical way possible while trying to please everyone involved and mostly trying to relieve the stress levels of couples. It’s honestly tough. Patience and practical knowledge plays the key roles.
What’s the biggest last minute crisis you’ve had in your career?
Well, it happened at a birthday party, where the cake, which of course was outsourced, simply collapsed just 2 hours prior to the party. We were in shock at the sight, but as I said before, practical knowledge and being able to act on the spot, came in handy. Also the PR we’ve built in the past years helped us immensely. The good chefs at the hotel volunteered to help us at this great crisis, and miraculously turned out the same cake within just 2 hours! It was exactly the same and the client (not knowing anything of it) loved it as the design was her idea from the start. Had we panicked and informed the client, it sure would have been utter chaos. But it all turned out well, and they had the cake of their dreams.
How do you deal under pressure during a crisis?
Well, it does get quite stressful at times, but working as decision making Banquet Staff in the past at two of the most prestigious 5 star city hotels has groomed us to handle such situations with utmost calmness and focused thinking. Panicking only makes the situation worse. We always look at the quickest solution we could find at that crucial moment and leave the “what caused it / whom to blame” out of the way at that time.
What are some of the last minute slip-ups that happen that you deal with but wouldn’t tell the couple?
Well, there were a few! Once a laptop brought in by a couple didn’t work for the presentation, but since we check it beforehand we were able to quickly hire one from outside and play it as planned. Another instance, the cake supplier had sent less pieces of cake to the hotel and the rest had been forgotten and was at her residence, we noticed it while placing it on the tables, and immediately organised a cab for it to be brought to the hotel. Once a florist had brought in the wrong sofa for the settee back and with couple of calls being fired up and down the selected sofa was brought in on time… these are just a few, and the couples were happy posing for their pictures as all this took place, knowing nothing of it.
What are the last minute crises that a couple should be aware of and how do they tackle it or prevent it?
Weather is unpredictable and is always a problem, especially if the ceremony is held outdoors. We always advise our clients to be prepared for the worst, put up a solid marquee with floorboards and we always have a backup plan indoors and cut-off times for decorations and other things in situations like this. Sometimes, the first dance they’ve been practicing for months may not work at the time, they forget the steps with all the excitement.We always advise them to be calm, don’t think too much about it and just be yourself. We’ve seen couples with sour faces on the floor and it sure doesn’t look good, especially on their video.
On a whole, a wedding is a day to enjoy and be happy, everyone working to make this day a success are human and errors can and will be made at every single wedding. As a planner, our duty is to make the couple and families understand these situations beforehand and advise them how to react to such situations and on our part try to minimise these shortcomings and make it a pleasant memory for them all.
Interviewed by Panchali Illankoon
Photograph courtesy Rasanga Dissanayake
.jpg)
0 Comments