And the band played!

The other day a client of mine was looking for a band for her wedding so I gave her a few options to go and look at and one of them was Alexio, a Zimbabwean artist who is doing very well in the entertainment circles. I must confess sometimes I worry about our local artists because SOME bands do not take to heart issues like presentation, punctuality, etiquette you know, certain things that are supposed to be second nature but are not, apparently. So I was a bit skeptical about taking the rounds with my client lest I expose some of our faults as artists, but hey zvido zvake kunyanya (her needs first). So here we are, walking into the club and to my surprise, the artists on stage are all dressed in white, well-coordinated dance moves and the lighting also added to the effect as it just made them “shaina”! (If you know what I mean). The musical content was amazing and got us dancing in no time. He even had an amazing sound engineer who really impressed me with some of the effects that he put in to add colour to the vocals. So me being me I looked at the budget that my client had and then the quality of entertainment that I was watching and things did not add up. It’s amazing how the budget for entertainment for a wedding is sometimes so little and yet that is what makes or breaks a wedding, let alone any event. Have you ever had a function that you attend that is so boring, but the highlight is the entertainment. I mean imagine a wedding with no steps, no music, no band, no dancers, singers or whatever other forms of entertainment you can think off. That’s no wedding for me, because those are the sorts of things we look for because they entertain us! THAT IS THE EXPERIENCE, and like I always say, people value experiences more than anything else.

So why are we allocating small budgets to entertainment? Do we even realize the costs that get into being an entertainer? Rehearsal space, instruments, transport, sound and lighting, engineers, wardrobe, you name it. So my client made her decision, and after liaising with the manager of the band of her choice I presented the bill. Now the case is the client will always complain, but you have to know your product well enough to justify that cost to them. Its not that she did not have the money, but it’s just that people just devalue the entertainment industry and we get less than what we deserve. It is the responsibility of the event planner to educate so that your event is as glamorous as you wish it to be. If you want quality you have to be ready to pay for it. So for you to get the best returns for your event suppliers know your product and justify to the client how that service will Ignite your event from being just an event to being an experience.

Mafaro Mafaro chete!

Over the weekend a few of my friends went KwaMereki to relax and unwind. While I was there I could not get over the range of the caliber of people that were there. From business people, to the lame man, everyone just wanted to have a good time. There was even a family that was there that seemed to have brought an international guest, I guess so that they could experience real authentic Zimbabwean entertainment but it was packed and the commotion from every car playing their radio just adds to the excitement. Not forgetting the dust!

I have been kwaMereki over and over and the reality is that nothing ever changes. It’s the same old place, the same old venue, nothing new. The food is not any 5 star cuisine, but simply sadza, whatever meat you buy and what has been popularly termed “Mereki salad”. You bring your own music, you buy the food and drinks and even pay to get it done by Amai Sandy or someone else if she is not there. And the toilets…lets not even go there! This is all stuff that we can do at home in a cleaner environment, so what is all the fuss about kwa Mereki?

It’s the experience! The ability to see other people having fun; the ability to play your own music and not have some dj determine a play-list for you; the gearboxes and “zvikanganwahama” soaked in dripping fat, and the middle-men who buy drinks for you at double the price, oh not forgetting the young boys and their entertainment in the form of jokes, song and dance. That is how I would spend my Saturday afternoon any day! It’s all about the experience.

Events are special because they are an experience in someone’s life and they bring together people to share that experience with them. An event is a significant occurrence. Once you have this mindset, you can create events that will leave people always wanting more. People value experiences more than material things. We can lose objects and buy new ones, but experiences are life long and are hard to forget. So lets think outside the box and always create experiences that will leave your audiences marveled by your event!

The Wedding at Cana

I always picture what it would be like to be the wedding planner at the wedding at Cana where Jesus performed His first miracle and turned water into wine. Already that was the sign that more people than were expected attended the wedding. And what a relief it would have been to have a guest like Jesus there who would turn a bar limit from “2 drinks per person” to “unlimited!”

Weddings are always fun to plan when it’s the initial stages and all you have to deal with is the bride and the groom. All the drama comes when you get closer to the day and all of a sudden you have to deal with a “tete” who seems to have the upper hand in the whole situation and changes months of work and planning simply because she is the bride’s father’s sister! I suppose weddings are a good way to get the family to bond as everyone is allocated with tasks and some will have to work together to make sure that the event becomes a success. And what amazes me about Zim weddings is that people seem to ignore the fact that the invite is addressed to 2 people at most (usually), says RSVP, and No children.

Maybe we do not understand the purposes of these things on the invite so let me enlighten you to the best of my knowledge. The names on the invite are the names of the people that are actually invited to attend the wedding, (if I could, I would have people bring their invites and I.Ds to the wedding so that I verify that its them lol). Yes, we all want a share of the celebration, but the bride and groom have spoken and those are the people they want at their wedding so deal with it after the wedding if you are not invited! RSVP is an abbreviation of French origin which stands for repondez s’il vous plait which is commonly used at the end of invitations requesting a response as to whether you are attending or not. Now why is this done? Its simple, so that we know the number of people attending so that we can cater for them accordingly. Some weddings are spoilt because the bride and groom would have catered for their invited 300 guests, but lo and behold 500 turn up! Now whose fault is that???

And most importantly “ NO CHILDREN”. Oh those blessed children! Yes we love them but sometimes we have to love them enough to leave them at home. Do you know how much admin children have at a place where people are gathered? That means we have to keep them entertained to stop them from running up and down, pulling down the draping and causing a commotion where there is one already- their drunk parents! Personally, if I were invited to a wedding with my spouse, I would use that as an opportunity to rekindle our love as we celebrate other people’s union in love, so why bring the kids along??? We don’t have guests to turn water into wine so lets spare the bride and groom an extra bill and just go where we are invited!