“Behind every beautiful wedding and a successful business meet goes a series of work and planning,” says Krunal Parekh in a chat with Storiyaan.
Event management is surely a stressful job but also a very beautiful one. From the décor to the venue selection to entertainment, each job has its own set of challenges. Krunal Parekh, an event manager has successfully acceded to all the challenges and has organized several events with renowned names like Muzaffar and Meera Ali.
In his interview with Storiyaan, Krunal gives us an insight into the world of event management, talks about his experience organizing a variety of events and the challenges brought about by his job. Have a look at this insightful interview to know more.
Interview
Questions and answers
You organized the event for the Gujarat and Uzbekistan Meet. Can you take us through your experience of the same?
The government approached us to curate the look and feel of the Business Meet. Intending to give them a memorable experience, we decided to represent both cultures through our overall décor. Turquoise, being the national color of Uzbekistan, we decided to choose the whole decor as per the Uzbekistan flag Colors culture, and tastefully curated everything in blue, green & white. We served Gujarati Thali on a silver platter which expressed the essence of our culture and cuisine as well. It was a beautifully perfect blend of both cultures.
Event management can be a cumbersome profession especially when people come with various demands for their event which sometimes cannot be reasonable. How do you deal with such clients?
The events are all about dealing with varied people in different shades, personalities, and demands. The key to everything in Wedding Planning is Patience. We carefully listen to their demands attentively and try to fulfill most of them as possible. When impossible, we provide them with alternatives. Some things are bound to spiral out of control. Therefore, we try and provide as much as we can because, in a profession like ours, we never say no to our clients. Event management is more suited to be called Crisis Management!
Can you tell us about Shaadi by Marriott and your experience organizing it?
It was one of the most challenging and memorable events. was one of those events that gave everyone a chance to put their best foot forward. Fashion is a language everyone understands, therefore combining it with the theme of Marriage was a no-brainer. We approached Muzaffar and Meera Ali, a renowned filmmaker and fashion designer, and we started curating this grand show. The whole process starting from the invitations to the end was challenging and took a lot of effort to make it exclusive and luxurious.
What usually undergoes the planning of an event?
Every event, in itself, brings a different set of requirements. We specialize in three segments – Fashion, Ideation, and Weddings. We implement systematic planning for each event. First comes the Creation of a comfort zone for the people. Concept, coordination, controlling the overlook, culmination, all is the part of a process. After the event, many things need to be done. The payments, termination of your contracts with everyone, feedback to the team.
What is the Mentorship’s Campaign? Can you give us a little insight into it?
The Mentorship Program was ideation for the brand of Finnati. They approached us intending to connect the brand with society. Women are very passionate about jewelry and so we selected five women from different sections. These women gave ideas to the in-house designer to create a piece. The brand would create jewelry with whatever ideas were given to them and that particular piece was given the name of the woman who suggested it.
What are some of the important things that should be kept in mind before venturing into event management?
There are many things in terms of event management. It’s all about the experience because managing an event is easy but managing a crisis at an event is difficult and that is where the expertise comes in. One has to network with as many people as possible including the decorators, florists, artists, people in charge of light and sound, and many more. You’ve to be very patient as every event comes with its own set of demands.
Event management can be a very stressful job. What according to you is the right way to get things done without getting worked up?
Event management can be very stressful. But with time as you gain more and more experience, you start to get the hang of it and understand your client’s needs better. You need to know your responsibilities and understand your job well. It gets easier with time.