Decor-theme integration, detailed customisation and a fusion of modern and traditional designs are some of the main preferences of the millennials today, says Priti-S Sidhwaani, CEO & Founder of DreamzKrraft.

Sidhwaani, who recently did the decor and design of Armaan Jain and Annisa's wedding functions, got in a conversation with IANSlife and takes us through the top trends in the market.

Read excerpts :

Q: How are the millennials choices when it comes to decor and designing?

Sidhwaani: Millennial brides and grooms know exactly what they want and have done their bit of research, which actually makes it easier for us to design and plan their wedding. Being well-read and well-travelled, they have a global approach to weddings; be it in the décor, planning, food & beverage or even style of partying. They have invariably attended a lot of weddings and have ideas and themes in mind when they approach us. We then take their ideas and build on it, adding our own expertise to the designing process. Décor-theme integration, detailed customisation and a fusion of modern and traditional designs are some of the main preferences we see.

Q: You recently did the decor and designing for Armaan Jain and Anissa's wedding? Did you receive any particular instructions to be followed? What was the whole concept of the theme?

Sidhwaani: We met Armaan and his family and showed them our work and presented a few themes for his wedding which they loved! They were very particular about the flowers and finishing for the functions. The concept for Armaan-Anissa's wedding and reception decor had pastel florals, greens, cut glass candelabra centrepieces and a mirrored mandap under a starlit sky of fairy lights made this wedding venue look distinctive and gloriously beautiful.

A floral installation of thousand flowers put together to look like one giant flower at the "Varmalastage" was the centre of attention while the pre function area (PFA) walls were lined with greens and venetian mirrors framing floral arrangements. A mirrored bar had the wedding hashtag lit up against the wall of greens along with big urns and candelabras peppered throughout the PFA that held pastel floral arrangements. In the reception area, a massive mirrored bar occupied one side of the ballroom as the central lounge area looked beautiful under many aerial floral chandeliers.

The furniture was customized with linens in whites and pastels, including white chair covers that were specially made with Chantilly lace. Huge French windows lined with florals were installed throughout the ballroom and the main couple stage as well.

The Celebration Dinner (Sangeet) theme was 'Metallic Bling'! Extravagant hand painted gold floral arrangements throughout the ballroom along with gold acrylic cut out hangings gave out a shimmer ambiance.

Another main feature of the decor was custom gold foliage, made especially for our darling couple that brought out a gilded forest look. Here the mirrored look from the wedding was blended in the form of metallic gold mirrors. Modern patterns, gold shimmer cushions and champagne net fabrics hand-worked with gold sequins put up in screen panels all added to the look. The multiple customised bars stood out with bulbs, deep colours and floral & acrylic gold hangings to complete the fabulous look.

Q: What are the top trends of 2020?

Sidhwaani: Exclusive customised furniture to resemble upscale drawing room seating is trending this year. With every function of the wedding being theme based, décor-theme integration is popular for all events along with customised food and beverage menus and presentation.

The trend shift is also toward having more of smaller artists/crowd entertainers spread throughout the venue and periphery artists, rather spending the entire budget on one big artist.

Another major trend for this year is imbibing our Indian heritage elements like fabrics into the décor, promoting our culture and artisans. Fabrics like Patola, Banarasi, Lucknowi, etc can be integrated within the décor.

Q: One decor trend which you wish to go away this year?

Sidhwaani: The one thing that comes to my mind is that loud and multicoloured Mehendi celebrations are passé!

Q: Please share few tips and tricks how to choose decor and design for an occasion without burning a hole in their pocket?

Sidhwaani: For destination weddings, I would recommend opting for locally sourced artefacts and reducing big structures to reduce costs. Instead one can go for a softer look with more open spaces. Minimalistic signature pieces go better with cost effectiveness and design aesthetics as well; rather than filling up the venue with too many things. Using artificial flowers as against real flowers also helps to reduce costs and works as a green initiative too.

Q: How has the journey of your brand being till now?

Sidhwaani: It has been a great journey since the past two decades and we are looking forward to an even more successful next decade! I was always very passionate about designing and my mantra has always been to do my best always and learn something new from every event I execute to improvise for my next. I am my own critic and don't compare myself to anyone else; instead, just focus on my work and this has helped me greatly in succeeding.

Q: How have you seen the market growing?

Sidhwaani: The market has grown in many ways since I started 20 years back. Everything from my clients, their choices, budgets and current trends, all have come a long way. Mindsets of families have changed today, a decade ago relatives would come together to help plan a wedding. But now clients want to hand over the responsibilities to us so they can relax, be free and enjoy the wedding with their loved ones.

Everyone is wanting to celebrate their wedding in a grand manner, and are also much more open to accepting modern influences in traditional weddings to create an ambiance and experience for their guests to enjoy. Pre-wedding celebrations for select guests and close family are gaining precedence as the world is opening up with a host of exotic location options.

Q: What are your next projects?

Sidhwaani: Our upcoming projects include Palace weddings like the Umaid Bhawan Palace at Jodhpur and I just love working at these majestic properties. It is challenging to design the décor in such a way that the beauty of the gorgeous Palaces enhanced with our décor rather trying to overshadow it. We are also working on a few international projects and I'm looking forward to designing and planning incredible celebrations for my couples!

Source - IANS