Tina Tharwani Saurabh Malhotra Indellible Affairs

Tina Tharwani, Manoj Mittra and Saurabh Malhotra founded Shaadi Squad three years ago. Their clientele ranges from Bollywood celebrities, renowned industrialists to inter racial couples. They have planned about 20 weddings, including the clandestine Virat Kohli and Anushka Sharma wedding under the Tuscan sun. The couple recently celebrated their first wedding anniversary and could not stop gushing about their planners. We spoke to Tina Tharwani and Saurabh Malhotra about what makes a wedding unforgettable.

What do weddings mean to you? How do you usually go about a wedding project?

As planners, weddings are our bread and butter. But as individuals, we see weddings as one of the most special days for a bride, groom and their families. Before we sign on a client, we try and understand their vibe and personality. We truly believe that weddings are a family occasion, and as planners we consider ourselves as part of their families and not outsiders. This we believe also shows in our work and in the bond that we share with our clients even after the wedding is over.

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Tell us about the Virat-Anushka wedding. What were your points of reference for the wedding?

Virat and Anushka’s wedding was among the dreamiest ones that we have organised! They did not have a lot of expectations, just a simple vision—an intimate affair with a close-knit guest list, a cosy atmosphere with open grounds and greenery around and most importantly, complete privacy! We set about on a roller-coaster ride that began with extensive research to choose the location and then zeroing in upon Tuscany. Sourcing vendors from across the globe who would work with the caveat of secrecy also proved to be a challenging task. In fact, the secrecy aspect around such a high-profile project always created interesting scenarios for us! But, going by everyone’s opinion, we believe that we managed to pull it off well!

Share some anecdotes. Did you at any time think that your cover might get blown up?

We were very careful with our execution to let it remain a hush-hush affair. We sourced vendors from all over the world so as to not raise suspicion and made each vendor sign an NDA before association. We successfully reached Italy and were flying the guests down when a media house found out about the wedding at the airport and followed one of the guests all the way to the venue. And suddenly, news about the venue was all over the media. We were adamant to not let anyone except for the invitees get a glimpse of the venue from inside. We got in touch with the Indian Embassy there who barricaded the only road leading up to the venue in no time. We associated with a local wedding planner there who also owned the venue and the land surrounding it. So we actively sought his aid to ensure no one got inside. And that’s what it takes to keep things hush-hush!

It has been a year since the wedding. How have things changed for Shaadi Squad?

We still cannot believe we were able to bring to reality one of the most wonderful weddings ever! Those four months of extensive planning and efforts paid off in the loveliest way possible. We were in a surreal state and it is not going to settle in now or anytime soon. Needless to say, Shaadi Squad has definitely grown a lot since. We went from working out of cafes and offices of our friends to finally getting a fairly large office. We went from being a team of seven performing the tasks of planners, technicians, accountants, and delivery boys simultaneously to establishing a large, diverse and talented team of driven professionals today who are willing to take up any role with no qualms. Our growth journey gives us a lot of satisfaction and gives us the belief that greater things await.

More and more couples are opting for small and intimate ceremonies. But the preference for a ‘Big Fat Indian Wedding’ isn’t fading away anytime soon. How do you reflect on the two trends?

Rightly, the Big Fat Indian Wedding trend isn’t fading away. A lot of people are planning small destination weddings with just their close friends and family. This is preceded or followed by a cocktail or reception in their hometown/s with other guests. So while the destination weddings are getting ‘smaller’, the functions preceding or following are getting larger. The expenditure more or less remains the same, but the demand for intimacy is getting larger.

What is your take on spaced out wedding events that span over a month?

In most cases, wedding events that are spaced out usually have different guests attending each function. This is usually done because the hosts want as many of their close relatives, friends and associates to be a part of their celebration and want each function to be an intimate affair where everyone knows each other or at least knows more people and are not just one in a 1000. Having said that, this gets most stressful for the bride and groom and their families, because no matter how small or big the function is, it does require considerable amount of time in planning and giving attention to each detail.

How has your experience in film production helped you in planning weddings?

In all honesty, our experience in film production is what led to the inception of Shaadi Squad. Throughout our careers spanning over a decade, all three of us have been accustomed to developing ideas into full-fledged sets, sourcing the best hair and makeup artists and designers, organising transport and accommodation for large groups and catering to the most unpredictable last-minute demands and hiatuses. We realised that planning a wedding requires all of these things, too. So, our combined experience essentially helps us carry out all our wedding operations.

How do you ensure that every wedding stands apart from the other?

It is not that tough a task to make every wedding stand apart from the rest. Our clients themselves are to be accredited for this. Each couple brings to the table a unique vision of their dream wedding. And then, we do our best to substantiate their vision, making their dream wedding to reality. So, our clients’ vision is what helps us the most in order to ensure that every wedding is beautiful in its unique way!

What would you say has been the biggest challenge for Shaadi Squad?

Each wedding, big or small, brings with itself different pressure and challenges. Things get a little tricky when it comes to maintaining secrecy in high-profile weddings, like Virat and Anushka’s. In today’s world of social media and the constant threat of paparazzi, it was difficult to execute diverse operations in a water-tight way. Keeping the media at bay while organising it all was, by far, one of our biggest challenges.

Describe the best wedding that you have attended. What was your take away from it?

Well, we have attended a lot of great weddings, to pinpoint one ‘best’ would be difficult! But at any wedding we attend, we notice the attention to detail in everything and the effort taken by the hosts in making the guests comfortable. It could be the décor, the food, the personalisation, the events, the location, or anything actually.