Sri Lankan weddings are traditionally always grand affairs. Our culture and customs warrant us making it the biggest celebration of our lives. That is why the newest ‘must-have’ in tying the knot is a wedding planner. Charismatic 25-year-old Uzmaan Ghouse and his partner in planning, Iyanthie De Silva, 26, stepped in to meet this need in 2009 and have not looked back since.
Uzmaan began his journey at the Ceylon Continental right after school in 2006. “I was there for two and a half years. Then I moved to Cinnamon Grand. At both places my role was planning weddings and events. I was mostly involved in event management.
That was the starting point where I gained experience, exposure and made contacts. Both of us worked at the same hotels and met first at Cinnamon Grand. We were great working together and decided to start on our own, but we also did a bit of research about the field, the trends and the market before stepping out. By the time we left Cinnamon we already had a confirmed event to plan.”
Their company “Eventz N Trendz” was a joint effort aimed at following their passion. Coming up with a name for the company they reveal an interesting story. “I usually handled the organizing so I wanted something that included the word ‘Events’ in the title,” says a smiling Uzmaan. “Iyanthie is creative and design-focused so she wanted ‘Trends’ in it. Many suggestions later, we thought why not just call it ‘Eventz N Trendz’. After all that’s what it is.”
Apprehensive at first, the duo knew that wedding planning, still very new to this country was a risky business. They were, as young entrepreneurs, aware of the limitations but determined to make it. “We knew we would have to start small and it would not be hugely profitable at first. But we also knew we could make it work. The first high profile wedding we did was of Ajantha Mendis and Yoshini De Silva. We did so many before that, but this really put us on the map.”
Uzmaan and Iyanthie also successfully arranged other celebrity weddings including those of Santhush Weeraman, Farveez Maharoof and more recently that of Nadini Premadasa. They see every wedding as a fresh challenge, given that it is such a special, heartfelt moment for the couple.
“My first contact with Uzmaan & Iyanthie was just at the beginning of the IPL 2009. I was a bit nervous with the wedding planning arrangements as I had to leave the country for almost two months. But Uzmaan and Iyanthie planned out the important details of my wedding during my tour which was a huge weight off my shoulders,” one of the comments on their website provided by cricketer Farveez Maharoof states.
Eventz N Trendz is known for the surprises they create for the wedded couple. “We always have little surprises for the couple. Videos of their childhood, slideshows, fireworks. Once we even hired a Chrysler limo for the couple.”
Uzmaan and Iyanthie come from different cultural backgrounds and so have experienced various aspects of personal weddings. The diversity of the team works well. They also believe in making the ideas and requirements of their clients a top priority. “We don’t like to have set ideas but always get the view of the client, ask what they want and then make the best of it. Clients vary. Their needs vary, some have done some stuff off the check list, others haven’t. We have different packages and cater to different budgets. We also work with foreign clients who plan their weddings in Sri Lanka.”
“Having to plan a wedding in Sri Lanka while living abroad wasn’t easy,” says Melita, one of the duo’s clients. “I had just five weeks while I was visiting Sri Lanka to organize every little detail. Three months before my wedding when I was in Sri Lanka, I heard about ‘Eventz N Trendz’. By then, I had already found all my suppliers and communicated my ideas across to them so I wasn’t looking for a wedding planner as such.
However, when Uzmaan told me about the ‘On the Day Coordination’ package, I was immediately attracted to the idea of having to pull everything together on the day. Being one of those brides who wanted to see into every little detail of the wedding, I was concerned about how I was going to be free from all responsibilities on my wedding day and just enjoy myself. This is where Uzmaan and Iyanthie came in to make sure everything went smoothly on the day,” she writes on the ‘Events and Trendz’website.
“One thing we do is we really study the traditions and culture of each religion so that we know and understand what we do. There is nothing we don’t know about the ceremonies of each religion. We can’t afford to not know,” says Uzmaan.
The work that goes into some of these events places them under a lot of stress, mostly because of the importance of a wedding. Everyone wants that perfect day. Says Uzman, “We are constantly under a lot of stress but make sure we don’t show this to the wedding party because we don’t want them to worry. Sometimes we are there the whole day starting from six in the morning to midnight.”
The most challenging wedding was Ajantha Mendi, Uzman recollects. “There were a lot of high expectations. The President, high ranking military officers and the entire cricket team were present. Handling the security itself was quite a task. But all the efforts paid off in the end.”
“We have to always think on our feet and make quick decisions. On one occasion extra guests turned up at a wedding we planned. They weren’t on the list. We had to quickly inform the couple, get their approval and pull in more tables.”
It helps no doubt, that Iyanthie and Uzmaan have contacts in the field from florists to photographers, five star hotels, printers and even beauticians. They use this to their clients’ advantage. “The difference between us and other event management companies is that we don’t keep a commission or discounts from our suppliers or contacts,” Uzmaan explains. “Instead we get discounts from the suppliers for the clients when we recommend them.”
On April 14, BBC News interviewed ‘Eventz N Trendz’ on their show ‘Extreme World’. This was a huge milestone for the company. The broadcast discussed weddings around the world including that of a traditional Sri Lankan wedding. The ceremony of singer Nadini Premedasa, organized by Uzmaan and Iyanthie was selected to represent a Sri Lankan wedding comprising a poruwa ceremony, ashtaka and other customary traditions and Uzmaan was interviewed live by BBC presenter George Alagiah, one of their leading foreign correspondents.
“The best thing about doing this is the response you get at the end -the ‘thank you’s’ and the touching words the couples and their families say. Sometimes even we get emotional because they are so happy with the work we have done. It’s an amazing feeling, making their big day a huge success,” Uzmaan says. |
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