Sudarsan Odampully : the multi-million Euros wedding organiser

You must have surely heard about or even seen big fat weddings in movies. The enormous big weddings are fully loaded with dance, decorations and delight. But have you ever thought who might be behind such marvellous and breathtaking events? If not, then let’s meet Sudarsan Odampully. Ranked as the best wedding planner in the region, Sudarsan Odampully is tagged as the wedding planner of top celebrities.

A specialist when it comes to international weddings and events, Sudarsan Odampully is the man behind some of the most magical weddings created for the world’s top celebrities and high profile individuals in Mauritius coming from around the World. Of South Indian origin, Sudarsan Odampully settled in Mauritius 25 years back. Today, he is recognised as the organiser of big fat weddings in Mauritius, Turkey and Sri Lanka. His company In Tune Travel started back in 2010 with one wedding. In 2011, it increased to two and so on every year.

Last year, he organised six big weddings in the country and this year, till now, the number is five. He believes that Mauritius is a jewel in the Indian Ocean and has great potentials in the wedding sector. 

He has become the support systems for weddings and events starting from venue sourcing, negotiations, manpower, event infra suppliers, technical support, event inventory, decorations to smooth operations of the wedding and event. “I started my first wedding with 800 invitees. It was a real success and from there started a never looking back venture. With the help of my team, we modernised the wedding concept and started to give customised services.”

Up till now, Sudarsan Odampully has organised around 18 big fat weddings. Most of his clients are from India. Two big weddings he did recently include the wedding of Sony TV Chairman’s daughter and famous Indian choreographer Vaibhavi Merchant’s sister. 

Minimum five million Euros

A three-day wedding in a five-star hotel in Mauritius can cost around five million Euros, says the businessman. There are around 10 hotels that are available for these weddings.  Usually, for the weddings, a complete hotel is booked. Weddings are held during the period May to October. He avoids organising weddings in February and March because of cyclonic season.  The organiser has to take care of every small detail from guests’ arrival till the end of the events. “Normally, everything is done and executed as per the demand and choice of the clients. It takes around three to four months for the preparations. Every minute detail is important from stage decor to food selection.”   

It is a unique challenge to make sure that the wedding is different from any other, highlights Sudarsan Odampully. The biggest wedding he organised till now cost approximately seven million Euros and it was held in a luxurious hotel in Trou Aux Biches. The cake was made in Mauritius for a price of Rs 350,000. “Everything is based on the client’s demand. Some clients ask for models to act as hosteses while some prefer international chefs. For one wedding, I had to bring 80 chefs from different corners of the world. For some clients, we have to look for international florists,” he adds.

For entertainment, along with famous singers like Atif Aslam, Vishal Shekhar or Salim Suleiman, he also incorporates local artists to perform. He confides that in a wedding, he had brought various international artists but the guests were mesmerized by the performance of local artists. 

Challenges

Success in this field was not easy, states the CEO. He had to struggle to achieve and reach this pinnacle of glory. Despite tasting success and the business growing, he feels there are obstacles that need to be tackled. First, he avers that Mauritius needs to address its shortages and weaknesses. “We have tough competitors like Bali and Sri Lanka. We need to focus and work on our weaknesses. Mauritius is a paradise island with picturesque views, however, we lack luxurious venues. If more luxuries venues are available, it will be easier to get more clients. Venues are very crucial in this field.”

Another challenge is lack of expertise and branded cars. “Clients demand luxurious cars like Limousines which are not readily available as it is a high investment. Moreover, we lack expertise in various fields. If we get more expertise, it will be easier to market Mauritius as the number one destination. Clients look for energetic entertainment and we need to improve in this sense.” Nevertheless, he is optimist for the future. He has been receiving tremendous support from the Tourism Authority and the airport management team.  

A bright future

The CEO reveals that destination wedding has a very big potential for Mauritius. “Mauritius should position itself as the best destination wedding. We have the potential but we need to exploit it more. At the end, it will be Mauritius which will benefit most from it in terms of job creation and the economy as a whole.”

He explains that for a wedding, sometimes he has to look for approximately 100 professional people but at the same time, recruit local people here. “In all the weddings I have organised, I try to incorporate as many local people as I can. I have set up a small Iron salon with young ladies whom I have trained. Besides, I also promote Mauritian street food like Dholl Puri and others. It is always a blend of cultures,” he says. 

For him, promoting Mauritius as a wedding destination is always a winning situation. He wishes to organise at least 10 big weddings yearly in Mauritius. “Recently, I have worked on a new strategy. We are promoting Mauritius for other big events, for example for the celebration of birthdays and wedding anniversaries. It is a new concept we launched. We got a client for his 25th wedding anniversary with a budget of Rs 10 million. If we get more clients like this, it will bring good money to Mauritius. We will target European countries as well.”