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September, 2010 |
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Market Update |
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Surveys & Special Issues |
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Best Brands |
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2009
December |
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The best in Oman across 15 categories |
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Best Brands |
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2008
December |
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A more comprehensive outlook on offer this year with six new categories added |
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Also From the Apex Stable |
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Dream Weddings |
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Emma Williams, Feb 2010 |
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Everyone knows that weddings can be stressful for the bride, groom and their families.
But when the added stress of whether the photographer will actually show up or if the bakery really understood that no marzipan really did mean just that, on top of the realisation that life is going to change irrevocably for all the parties involved, it can be a sure recipe for last-minute jitters.
Maybe this is one of the reasons why many are choosing to hand over the organisational side of their big day to a wedding consultant. In Oman, traditionally families use a hall for the reception or white wedding as it is widely known due to the bride’s choice of dress.
Some choose to only hire rooms in a hotel or other halls and enlist the help of family members and friends for decorations and catering. But many others are coming round to the idea of hiring a wedding planner in the more traditional sense of the word where this individual can, if required, act as the link between hotels, suppliers, caterers and family, saving people the stress of organising meetings with chefs and chasing up the printers.
Despite whispers of relief from banks across the world that the global financial crisis has reached its peak and things are looking rosier for businesses and companies, across the world the wedding market value was never really affected.
Between 2006 and 2009, the estimated market value in the US increased from US$62.97bn to US$71.80bn according to the Bridal Association of America, showing a 14 per cent increase. The scene seems no different in Oman.
Mariam al Mandhari started Kamelia Designs four years ago when she graduated from university. At the time she worked alongside her mother, Kamelia al Busaidy, whom the business is named after. However, now she is flying solo. Mariam says, “I worked as an interior designer after graduating, but when it came to my brother’s wedding I was fascinated with how things worked, the rush of getting the stage and table settings done excited me. So I took over the design side of his entire wedding, including flower arrangements and gifts for the guests.
People kept asking where we got the set up done, and that’s when I decided to start Kamelia Designs. There is nothing more satisfying than seeing the glow on your clients’ face when they enter the hall.” A recent survey by SuperWeddings.com found that 72 per cent of recently married brides who chose not to use a wedding planner said that on reflection they would have liked to have one in either the planning stage or on the day itself, while 49 per cent said that was the only thing they would change about the experience. While the survey was a US-based one, the results may well reflect the sentiments across the world.
Mariam says people use planners because many don’t want to go through the hassle of organising the wedding on their own. “They prefer to have someone experienced to guide them and help get the right theme or style for the wedding.”
Given the traditional values behind a wedding, it is no surprise that some families are opting to organise much of the event themselves.
But Mariam says the family can still remain involved with a wedding planner, “A wedding planner can mean two things: a person who takes care of the entire wedding package, which is not that common here, or a person who you go to, in order to take care of some arrangements of the wedding.” In Oman that seems to be the more prevalent pattern as of now. However, an increased number of families in the sultanate are choosing to hold the event in a hotel, utilising the events teams in the planning process. This has resulted in many hotels now employing dedicated wedding planners.
The Al Bustan Palace Intercontinental is among the hotels in Muscat offering wedding packages to their clients. “The wedding market has been the least affected during the global financial crisis as it will always be part of every family tradition. I would not say that clients have been more budget-conscious as opposed to previous years.
However with numerous choices in the market, we as hoteliers have had to become more creative with value-added items to secure wedding business. We have our usual events team plus Fahima al Adwai who acts as wedding planner. Clients are willing to pay as long as they see the value of what they are paying for and have become more conscious of the choices they make. It varies with each couple and but most brides-to-be already have an idea about how their own dream wedding should be,” says Erika Anggrini, marketing communications manager, Al Bustan Palace.
Laura Deakin, director of events management at Shangri-La’s Barr al Jissah Resort & Spa, says, “We do packages because we find that fits very much with the Omani weddings. Many are very budget conscious and the market here is very competitive with the Al Bustan Palace, Hyatt, Intercontinental and us being the main wedding hotels. The Crowne Plaza also does a few weddings. People will come to us and say ‘we have been to the so-and-so hotel and they can do ‘X’ for ‘Y’ amount, what do you offer?’
So we have added new extras to our packages including a silver photo frame, a guestbook and three-tier, five-tier-or seven-tier wedding cakes depending on the number of guests. So if you have 100 people attending you get certain items, if you have between 200 and 300 guests you receive other extras and so on.”
Wedding packages are an excellent way of getting value for money with hotels trying to outdo each other with complimentary items and nights in high-end suites thrown in.
Laura says, “With us a local couple would probably spend around RO15 per head on an average of 250-300 people with the total wedding cost ranging between RO4,000 to RO5,000. Expatriate receptions tend to cost more because they prefer set-menus to buffets and don’t often use package deals. So those can be around RO30 per head but that includes drinks.”
Another obvious perk of holding the wedding at a hotel is that with the booking comes a dedicated wedding planner or events co-ordinator.
Jenan Alasfoor, catering sales executive at Grand Hyatt Muscat oversees many weddings at the hotel. “We have a fixed wedding package that has between three to five menu options. But we can always change those to suit people’s preferences. Our package is charged per head and in return the bride and groom receive the hall free of charge, a night’s stay in a suite and a complimentary 5kg three-tier wedding cake where they can choose the flavour and colour.”
The Grand Hyatt also offers a ‘female service’ where for an extra charge, the couple can choose for all staff present to be female, a service commonly used in traditional Omani weddings. The Al Bustan Palace also offers wedding packages that allow clients to mix and match the menu, while offering the bride the use of the bridal suite prior to the reception to get ready.
Looking to the future Shangri-La’s Barr al Jissah Resort & Spa is introducing three new packages for 2010 where clients are offered more incentives to book with them. Laura says, “In 2008 we found weddings were large and we were doing 450-people size weddings on an average, whereas in 2009 the average dropped to around 200-250 guests. Towards the end of the year it started picking up again. I think maybe with the recession there was a reduction in the number of people being invited.”
They are also dealing with an enquiry for a 700-guest summer wedding after organising a wedding for 600 at the end of 2009. There has been an increase in the number of people coming forward to enquire about booking for 2010 and Laura hopes the new packages will encourage more people to use the hotel. “The aim of the packages is to encourage prospective clients to invite more people to the reception by showing them that if you invite more people you get more complimentary add-ons.”
Erica says Al Bustan has hosted about 90 weddings a year, around two weddings a weekend, since 2006, excluding 2007 and part of 2008 when they were closed for a total renovation. Mariam says the steady flow of weddings she is helping to organise has remained around the same since she started. When asked to name her favourite wedding she has helped organise, the answer is, “My own… of course!”
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