Looks like weddings are not simple affairs anymore in the city. Quirky invites and pre-wedding shoots are passed, as couples want more out of their big fat wedding ceremonies.
Keeping the rituals intact, couples are opting for stylized events for their big day. Be it pre-wedding or wedding videos or going cinematic with jimmy jibs €” weddings these days are high on techno and style. TOI takes a look at some of the popular wedding trends…
Pre-wedding and wedding videos While pre-wedding shoots at impressive locations in Chennai have caught the fancy of couples these days, a few are taking the practice to the next level by doing a pre-wedding video as well. Photographer and wedding cinematographer Pradesh Padmanabhan says, “In pre-wedding videos, the script is pre-planned. We decide the locations, costumes and dialogs, among other things. It’s not just about capturing emotions and intimate moments anymore, as couples also share their love stories with them. They want to make their stories filmy. In fact, we are working on a pre-wedding video in which the couple wanted to do a shoot similar to Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa, which includes shooting in the same locales, wearing similar costumes and makeup, among others.”
Interestingly, couples limit their wedding videos to just five or 10 minutes. Wedding photographer and cinematographer Amar Ramesh says, “No one has the time to see wedding videos that run for an hour or two. In a normal wedding video, we capture the entire ceremony. But in a stylized wedding video, we use high-end cameras and focus on candid moments of the couple, family, and friends. There are wedding videos specific to only sangeet, muhurat and cocktail parties. We also include a bit of everything in a wedding video and customize it according to people’s preferences.”
Conceptualized sangeet and mehendi functions Sangeet and mehendi functions are part of wedding ceremonies in the north. Now, Tamilians also want to have one as part of their Tamil weddings. Families spend money on rehearsals and choreograph the entire event. Start-up professional and south Indian Sunanda Narayan Varun, who had a sangeet for her wedding, says, “I’ve always wanted a sangeet and mehendi function for my wedding. But my sister, parents, my husband and in-laws planned more as a surprise for me. Eventually, it became a five-day ceremony for us. Weddings are all about having fun, and events like these just add to the celebration.”
Concept shots Concept shoots are also getting popular with couples these days. Unlike a normal pre-wedding shoot, couple shots are theme-based, which they relate to. Amar says, “I did a concept shoot recently, which was inspired by movie posters. The boy comes from a filmi background and they were also enamored by the idea of movie posters. We did a similar shoot using a team of stylists, who recreated the entire setup. This is not an invite or a romantic shoot, but they bring out the varied interests of the couple through a theme they relate to.”
Wedding websites and storyboard invitations Couples also aren’t confining themselves to giving out just wedding invitations. They are now opting for wedding websites as well. What’s more, often, they seek professional help to personalize these websites. Says Kathy Raman, who tied the knot a couple of months ago with Kishore, “One of the reasons we wanted a website for our wedding was to tell our dear ones about our relationship. Also, we have friends across the globe, and wanted them to know what a south Indian wedding is all about. So, we created a website, with details about us, our family, our likes and dislikes, the different ceremonies that were performed at our wedding, venue details, and local attractions, among others. Also, it’s difficult to ensure that the wedding invitation reaches everyone on time, but sending them the link to a website is easy. In a way, a website is a more personalized way of creating an event on a social networking site.”
Invitations themselves have undergone a world of the srsihnan’ea change. One of the newer additions is the telling-my-love-story invitation. Content writer Jessica Daniel anKrishnanKs wedding card is a 10-fold one, which has their photos and an elaborate account of how they fell in love and got their families to agree to their match. She says, “Since we belonged to different communities, it was a difficult task to get our parents’ permission for the wedding. Finally, when we got their blessings, we thought it would make sense to tell all our guests about our journey to the wedding. We sat together and designed our invitation, giving our personal details, and also the details on the two different ceremonies that we plan to have. We also printed our family photos and included some shots from our pre-wedding shoot.”
That’s not all. Apart from albums, families also invest in wedding magazines. “We did a 100-page magazine recently that featured information about the couple’s ceremony, their interviews and what friends and relatives felt about the wedding. Families circulate these magazines to their close friends as a return gift,” says Amar.
Going tech-savvy on the big day While cinematic capturing of weddings and personal videos are gaining popularity, photographers and videographers have also taken the whole scenario ahead by going tech-savvy on the day of the wedding. Senthil Kumaran, who has been covering weddings for the past 10 years, says, “In the last couple of years, we’ve started using high-end equipments like jimmy jib, which are usually used in cinema shooting, to cover weddings. We also do on-spot mixing to give the special effects on the TVs and screens. For example, we use footage of temples or beach or other destinations in the backdrop and project the mix such that it looks like the wedding is actually happening at one of these locations.”
He adds, “Couples today want to have happy memories of their big day and don’t cringe to spend a lot on photo and video coverage. It costs a minimum of Rs two lakhs to use such technologies for a particular ceremony.”
