Wedding planners: When love's not all you need

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.