JP/ Dian Kuswandini
Dian Kuswandini, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
| Fri, 04/23/2010 9:21 AM | Feature
If newlyweds could wish for anything on their wedding day, then perhaps it would be to see people leaving their reception profoundly impressed and uttering: “This is the most memorable wedding!”
For some, an unforgettable wedding is one that is simply remembered as “beautiful”. For others, however, luxury has become the “it” factor, and all they wish for is to seal their everlasting love with a lavish and stunning wedding.
“And why shouldn’t they go for that [kind of wedding]?” says renowned wedding organizer Emil Eriyanto, who has put together many high-end nuptials. “Their wedding is a once in a lifetime moment. If you can afford a lavish wedding, then why not?
“Make it the most stunning one,” he adds.
Emil recently organized the sumptuous wedding reception of actress Nia Ramadhani and Ardie Bakrie, the son of Aburizal Bakrie — the Golkar party chairman and one of the country’s richest men. Rumor has it that the wedding — said to be this year’s most spectacular — cost up to Rp 100 billion. Emil, who organized the three-day celebration in Jakarta, however, refused to disclose the exact cost of the wedding, out of respect for his clients who do not wish to discuss the matter.
| Fri, 04/23/2010 9:21 AM | Feature
If newlyweds could wish for anything on their wedding day, then perhaps it would be to see people leaving their reception profoundly impressed and uttering: “This is the most memorable wedding!”
For some, an unforgettable wedding is one that is simply remembered as “beautiful”. For others, however, luxury has become the “it” factor, and all they wish for is to seal their everlasting love with a lavish and stunning wedding.
“And why shouldn’t they go for that [kind of wedding]?” says renowned wedding organizer Emil Eriyanto, who has put together many high-end nuptials. “Their wedding is a once in a lifetime moment. If you can afford a lavish wedding, then why not?
“Make it the most stunning one,” he adds.
Emil recently organized the sumptuous wedding reception of actress Nia Ramadhani and Ardie Bakrie, the son of Aburizal Bakrie — the Golkar party chairman and one of the country’s richest men. Rumor has it that the wedding — said to be this year’s most spectacular — cost up to Rp 100 billion. Emil, who organized the three-day celebration in Jakarta, however, refused to disclose the exact cost of the wedding, out of respect for his clients who do not wish to discuss the matter.
“I can only say that, sometimes, a wedding might look luxurious, but in fact, it didn’t really cost as much as people thought,” explains Emil, who has been in the wedding industry for 13 years.
Another famous wedding organizer, Rina Gunawan, agrees with Emil. According to her, a luxurious-looking wedding is just a matter of “smart face-lifting”.
“It’s our job to play ‘the magician game’ — turning the simple into the luxurious-looking,” says Rina, also an actress and presenter. “And those who said Nia and Ardie’s wedding cost Rp 100 billion are totally wrong.
Believe me, I know, it didn’t cost that much,” she adds.
Rina had her own reasons to make such a claim because she was one of the few organizers behind socialite Adinda Bakrie’s — Aburizal’s niece, wedding in 2008. The wedding, rumored to have cost Rp 20 billion, was not as expensive as people thought.
“People made the wrong assumptions [about the wedding’s cost] — they were fooled by the luxurious-looking decorations,” she smiles.
These days, Rina says, the local wedding industry has grown significantly, offering brides and grooms many options to chose from when tying the knot. This, she says further, has encouraged some people to hold extravagant weddings.
“Today, there are many [wedding] themes to chose from,” she says. “There are books about weddings, wedding exhibitions, and so on. People today are more knowledgeable about weddings and have more sources to draw inspiration from.
“That encourages them to hold unique or big weddings.”
Many of us might wonder how much people spend for their “big” dream wedding. Well, there are no exact numbers, since the cost of a wedding depends on the number of guests — how much food has to be ordered and how big the venue must be to accommodate them.
If 1,000 invitations are sent out (implying 2,000 guests have been invited), Rina says, a reception in a banquet hall can cost between Rp 400 million to Rp 500 million. This, of course only covers expenses for the venue and food.
“In five-star hotels, it would cost more than Rp 500 million,” says Rina, who was also behind the much-praised weddings of celebrities like Bunga Citra Lestari and Ashraf Sinclair, as well as Titi Kamal and Christian Sugiono.
In addition to that, lucullan weddings generally entail splurging on designer wedding gowns, famous makeup artists and top decorators.
For stylish wedding decorations, for example, one should spend around Rp 150 million, Rina says.
“But if you want super-duper deluxe decorations from a top decorator then it will cost you Rp 500 million,” she says, referring to the likes of Soeryanto, Nefi and Stupa Caspea.
Meanwhile, for the makeup package, Rina goes on, “a famous wedding makeup artist will cost up to Rp 40 million.”
And what about wedding gowns, or the kebaya [Javanese traditional blouse] and suits?
“Designer-made ones range from Rp 25 million to hundreds of millions of rupiah,” Rina says, mentioning
top local designers Anne Avantie, Amy Atmanto, Sebastian Gunawan, Eddy Betty and Biyan. Some brides also ask for wedding gowns from international designers like Vera Wang, Vivienne Westwood, Dior and Carolina Herrera, with ready-to-wear designs costing more than Rp 100 million.
Of course, once guests have been dazzled by the bride and groom’s amazing looks, the beautiful wedding decorations and succulent food, couples and families planning weddings shouldn’t forget about entertainment.
Yes, although Rina says entertainment is probably at the bottom of the list of priorities when planning a wedding, it remains the defining touch of a lavish wedding.
There are three forms of entertainment for high-end weddings, she says: a top singer, an orchestra and chamber music.
The most popular singers for big weddings include Krisdayanti, Titi DJ and Rossa. Meanwhile, those looking for a very high-class reception would probably go for orchestras belonging to Erwin Gutawa, Purwacaraka or Andi Riyanto.
“However, chamber music is the favorite type of entertainment at present,” Rina said. “With musicians playing the piano, saxophone, flute and bass, most couples feel it won’t add too much noise to the already loud reception.”
So, now that we know a big wedding is more than just a celebration in a hall or ballroom, what actually happens “backstage”?
Well, organizers say a wedding reception of just a few hours can take up to six months to prepare.
“And most couples coming to us have already picked the venue for their reception,” says Emil.
“If the venue has already been chosen, the next item to discuss is the theme,” he adds.
Couples or wedding organizers come up with the wedding theme, he says.
“Once I proposed a soccer-themed reception to coincide with the World Cup season, and my client was happy with the idea.
The couple came out from a big soccer ball to surprise their guests,” recalls Emil, who has organized weddings for the families of ministers such as Hatta Rajasa, Djoko Suyanto, Jero Wacik and Purnomo Yusgiantoro.
Wedding organizers, according to Emil, are all about easing the pressure on couples getting married.
“People hire wedding organizers because they and their families want to feel more relaxed before and during the big day,” Emil says. “So, we set up the [wedding] schedule and negotiate with decorators, caterers, designers and photographers.
“We also arrange meetings between couples and vendors,” he adds.
Rina agrees with Emil: “We set up a timetable for the couples, to make sure they meet weekly or monthly targets as scheduled.
“Besides,” she goes on, “we help couples manage their budgets.”
Both Rina and Emil refuse to say how much people pay for their services. However, they explain wedding organizers use different systems of fees.
“Some wedding organizers ask for a percentage of the wedding’s total budget, but I have a fix fee,” Emil says, adding that he handles three to eight weddings per month. “My fee is, well, relatively the same [as other wedding planners],” he laughed.
Rina, on the other hand, acknowledges that some wedding organizers charge 10 to 20 percent of the total wedding budget. She, however, also applies a “management fee”.
“So, it will depend on how much staff I have to assign for the event, and for how many days, [they have to work]” Rina, who owns ten staff, says. “For example recently, I organized the wedding of [businessman-cum-politician] Oesman Sapta’s child, where 14,000 guests had been invited.”
With such a high number of guests, of course, Rina had to deploy all of her 40 something part-time staff.
“That meant more expenses [for me], so I had adjust my fee, right?” says Rina, who handles four to six weddings every month.
