Most venues host the wedding and reception for Indian weddings. But did you know prior to that day, there’s already been a week long of celebrations?

Couples and their families arrange accommodation, meals, transportation for relatives who fly in from India and around the globe for the celebration. Additionally the night before the wedding there’s another big celebration which, from a venue’s perspective is a second reception in terms of setup and services. And almost every Indian wedding has these needs, that venues could be fulfilling.

{Dessert Bar}

Dessert bars are the thing at Indian weddings, Many couples are ditching traditional Indian sweets for these decadent displays of tarts, cakes, puffs, creams and more. And they’re a huge hit! Guests love them they enhance the decor and…best of all you can provide this to them.

Currently most couples source their dessert bars through an outside caterer. Have you pitched them on doing it inhouse?

{Hospitality Room}

In Indian and all South Asian cultures there’s an element of hospitality. There’s a tacit expectation for the host families to host breakfast and other non-wedding meals for all of the out-of-town guests. At venues that means:

• having a hospitality room or,
• hosting meals at the hotel’s restaurant

Every family is different. Some value the flexibility of a hospitality room while others value the convenience of vouchers for the hotel’s restaurant. Regardless families need this additional service and if they don’t bring it up, you can proactively.

Some venues that we work with even include a note about this in their outside catering package.

{The Sangeet/Garba}

The night before the wedding, most Indian weddings have a musical night called a sangeet, garba, maiyoon, mehndi and other names (depending on the region of South Asia the families are from). From a venue perspective this is another wedding reception as it requires banquet rounds, catering, hosted bars, dance floor, and a stage.

{Sleeping Rooms}

Rooms are the bread and butter for any hotel/resort venues. For Indian weddings most couples need a room block for two nights (Friday + Saturday). The number of rooms will vary but usually anywhere from 10-40.

{Offer Chai…Authentic Chai}

Starbucks and other major coffee brands have brought “chai” to the world stage. I put chai in quotations because the spicy syrup they pump into the “chai” at Starbucks is spicy coffee, it’s not chai. Indian people and well all South Asians love chai and want it at their weddings. It’s a fantastic item to serve after a ceremony and post dinner service – even more so on cold, rainy or snowy days.

Currently couples get chai from the outside caterer. But what if the venues made it? We all know there’s a nice profit margin on beverage, so why not offer chai in addition to coffee?

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This is part of our series:

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{Conclusion}

When it comes to Indian weddings the wedding events are just the starting point. The families need several additional services in F&B, catering, and rooms – all of which are opportunities to maximize revenue while increasing value for your clients. If you do embrace any of these ideas, please write to us and let us know. We’d be interested in publishing a case study about your success.

All the best!

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{ShaadiShop Testimonials}

“We just booked a full Indian wedding through ShaadiShop at the Hilton Waterfront Beach Resort. In addition to the business, we appreciate the exposure ShaadiShop creates about our venue, as the couple didn’t know about our resort until ShaadiShop told them about us. Additionally, we appreciate the pre-qualification work that ShaadiShop does to match couples and venues that are a good fit for each other. We had all the info needed to conduct the initial meeting. What a great service for venues to market to the South Asian community!” – Angie Florence, Catering Manager at The Waterfront Beach Resort, Huntington Beach, CA

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“We’re so glad we joined ShaadiShop to market this hotel to the South Asian community in the Orange County area. Every wedding we close from their leads returns more than 3x our investment. Moreover, they pre-qualify leads and educate consumers creating a much better sales cycle for our catering team. Venues looking to reach this market, join ShaadiShop!” – Ryan Hurd, Catering Sales Manager, Wyndham Anaheim Garden Grove

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“Shaadishop helped me not only find venues but also understand how they work, the fees, and tips that I wouldn’t have otherwise known. Definitely a need service in the desi community. “ Hinna S., Bride

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“Cannot say enough good things about the service from Samta and ShaadiShop who helped us research venues for our wedding this year. We wanted a non-hotel venue, and to get married within 6 months. ShaadiShop immediately found us venues, contacted them and educated us about all the things we needed to think about while selecting a venue. They put all the info together in a fabulous, super impressive, spreadsheet that helped us compare venues – seriously amazing and such a great help. Working with them made the whole stressful process MUCH easier and I can’t believe it was all free! ShaadiShop’s website is fantastic and such a great service for South Asians – so glad I found them!” Anjli S., Bride

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“We’re so glad we used ShaadiShop to book our venue. The info on the website is amazing and then they gave us such personalized attention! They were such a valuable resource for selecting venues, helping us understand policies and logistics. Their suggestions saved us a lot money too! They really understood us, what we wanted and helped us get it. AND it’s free! So glad there’s a service like this for South Asians. Awesome that there’s something like this for South Asians!” Janki K., Bride

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“I worked with ShaadiShop to find a venue for my daughter’s wedding. The website is easy to use and has so much useful information. ShaadiShop made everything easy for me – getting quotes, suggesting venues, explaining fees and policies. Most importantly, my daughter and son-in-law are happy with the venue. ShaadiShop is a great and service for our community. I’m so glad I found them!” Charu S. Bride’s Mother