Weddings have always been about an experience. In every culture, the experience of getting married is celebrated and people plan for years to have the perfect wedding. Have you noticed how commercial and monotonous weddings in Pakistan have become?
The element of surprises and experiencing something different is amiss from most of our weddings now. To combat that, The Express Tribune talks to Alena Peerzada about how to make your wedding edgy, different and fun.
People show their individuality through their clothes, but there are many ways in which one can make their wedding more personalised and fun for the guests attending. Alena Peerzada has been an event planner and manager with Rafi Peer for almost 12 years. From organising the Rafi Peer Sufi Festival to decorating the entire city for Jashan-e-Baharan, Peerzada has been the force behind these events.
“After managing such intense events, weddings are my breathers,” says Peerzada, “I can be creative and theatrical and relax while planning a wedding.” With Rafi Peer’s workshops and a production team at her disposal, Peerzada can custom create almost anything for her clients.
“I started off with my best friend’s wedding which was Truck Art-themed. It was great fun,” says Peerzada. Sana Siddiqi and Zain Khakwani’s whimsical wedding was the talk of the town for its innovative decor and personalised treatment of the guests. Alena talks about how lighting can make or break a space. “For Sana’s wedding we did not use a single flower throughout the mehndi,” she says. “We had made plastic flowers and hand painted boards, rickshaws and frames that created the entire truck art theme,” Alena adds. A wedding without flowers might sound strange to many but who said that a mehndi must have garlands of marigold and an over-the-top stage? It is all about being edgy and breaking the tradition.
“Your wedding is supposed to be memorable, not just for you but also for your guests. There should always be some element that people will remember,” urges Peerzada.
She implores people to try something different. She goes on to tell The Express Tribune about an intimate wedding she is planning with all sorts of games such as musical chairs and kho kho. “You have to keep in mind the type of family that is coming to you,” continues Peerzada, “there are certain families that will be ready to try something new and being involved while others are different so one must always keep that in mind.”
Wedding planning has become commercialised to a great extent and since people are not willing to experiment with something new and different, most weddings have started looking alike with similar decor. “There is so much you can do with props, lighting and music,” she continues, “entertainment is a huge element of any wedding and it is important to involve everyone.”
There is no set way of planning a wedding; your wedding should reflect who you are. From customised gifts, guest books and scrapbooks to photo booths, it is all about creating a memory. Coming from a theatrical background, Alena Peerzada brings that sensibility to her weddings. “I work within people’s budgets. A wedding does not need to break your back financially you can easily create something fun and different within your budget,” she concluded.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 20th, 2014.
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