Wedding planners: When love's not all you need

Urip Hudiono and Muninggar Sri Saraswati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Who would have thought that love and marriage could turn into a multimillion-dollar business?

Well it can, at least here in Indonesia, where a flurry of wedding organizers and bridal houses, as well as florists, decorators, caterers, photo studios and fashion designers specializing in weddings, have emerged onto the scene over the past five years, as more and more couples seek professional help to make their wedding day memorable.

Data from the Indonesian Wedding Dress Designers Association (Appgindo), which has some 100 fashion designers as well as other bridal-related businesses as its members, estimates an annual turnover of at least Rp 100 billion (some US$10,000,000) in the country's wedding industry and services market last year.

Similarly reflecting the market's recent vigor is the plethora of wedding exhibitions held almost every month in the country's major cities of Jakarta, Surabaya and Bandung. Dozens of to-be- wed couples eagerly pack such venues, carefully negotiating each aspect of that special day.

"Wedding businesses are indeed facing a growing market these days, and it is important for them to always improve their professionalism and work together to be able to fully capture the market's potential," Appgindo chairwoman Diana Yusuf Komala said.

Indeed, a wedding involves many businesses, as previously mentioned, from fashion designers and beauty parlors, to florists and caterers. Hotels and restaurants, meanwhile, also get their share of the business in providing venues for receptions.

Among the emerging bridal-related businesses is La Casa Di Bella Donna, a now renowned wedding organizer located in South Jakarta's elite suburb of Kebayoran Baru. Established five years ago, Bella Donna -- which means "beautiful woman" in Italian -- provides wedding arrangement services for couples getting married.

"You can consider us as the director of a movie, or the conductor of an orchestra," owner Diany Pranata Chandra told The Jakarta Post.

Business for Bella Donna has indeed been improving according to the recent trend, with Diany mentioning how only one couple hired the company in its initial year, but then saw it managing the weddings of 25 couples the following year.

"Afterward, it continued to a peak of between 30 and 50 couples a year," she said, mentioning the company is most busy from September to December.

The situation, Diany said, was mostly due to the fact that many working, urban couples -- who previously thought they would be able to arrange their own wedding -- were now realizing that they simply did not have the time or capability to do so.

This is especially so as the big day approaches, when such details as decorations, catered food and the sound system all need attention at once, she added.

"A newly married couple should be able enjoy that happiest day of their life, without having to be preoccupied with the hassles of the wedding itself," Diany said. "That is why a wedding planner is very important, and in rising demand these days."

Bridal businesses -- wedding organizers in particular -- still face challenges however, Diany said, among them, from the country's still strong family traditions.

"In Indonesia, weddings are still considered family affairs, where the whole family helps out the couple in preparing their wedding, and regards outside help from wedding organizers as unnecessary," she said. "Whilst in the West, for example, weddings are regarded as formal events, where even the couple's parents are invited, and not specifically involved in preparing the wedding."

Nevertheless, Diany said that Bella Donna had won over the tradition-minded market, mentioning some 30 percent of its clients had asked for a traditional wedding.

Bella Donna, which charges a flat rate of Rp 25 million for its services, has however been seeing a slower growth of only some 10 percent in its business lately, as the recent trend of organized weddings has also increased the number of its competitors.

Besides other wedding organizers, which only provide wedding preparation services but let the couples choose their own florists and caterers, there are many bridal houses -- often an expansion of or a merging between beauty parlors, florists and caterers -- offering complete "wedding packages" priced between Rp 10 million to Rp 50 million.

Nevertheless, Diany was upbeat that the bridal businesses, including wedding organizers, would continue to be a prospective one in the country.

"People will always get married, and each business already has their own market segment," she said, adding that Bella Donna itself has expanded to other related businesses, such as organizing wedding anniversaries, establishing the Bella Donna Institute -- a wedding organizer vocational school -- and Bella Donna Kids -- a birthday party organizer for youngsters.

Just like in other types of business, the wedding-related business has various market segments.

Dea, an owner of a small-scale party organizer, provides cheaper options for couples.

For example, she offers a complete wedding package for only Rp 20 million. The package includes 250 wedding cards, wedding dresses, decorations, small gifts for guests, catering for 500 people and a rented room.

However, the rented room is not in a five star hotel. The wedding, as arranged in the Rp 20 million package, is usually held in a gedung kelurahan (neighborhood chief's office) or a balai rakyatn (neighborhood assembly hall). You will not find lobster on the menu, but could expect the ever-popular chicken satay or meatballs.

Dea, too, is very flexible. If a couple wants to take care of the catering and invitation cards themselves, she only charges them for Rp 8 million.

"The profit may not be big, but the volume is quite good. I get clients at least twice a month," she said.

The high season for Dea is from June to December.

"Actually, there is no low season for me. The only month that I usually have no client in is Ramadhan," she said, referring to the fasting month for Muslims.

Dea has developed good relations with a number of beauty salons, perias pengantin (people who make up brides) and caterers as she only serves as a wedding planner.

"I only function as an organizer. I look for clients and contact my colleagues to help throw the party," she said.