Priti Raichura speaks to Pukaar Magazine about how she strives to create unforgettable events for her clients.
It was while working with her husband, an established wedding photographer that the mother of two noticed a gap in the market. Planning events was never something Priti expected to do, but her natural ability to put people at ease encouraged clients to seek advice from her.
She launched PR Events last year and describes it as “honest, creative and ambitious” and she works extremely hard to execute the vision of her clients: “That is a must. If I get it wrong, I fail. I have to get that plan out of them beforehand, you’ve got to get into their shoes and totally understand what it is that they want.”
Her problem-solving skills have seen her organise some memorable events including one that’s still very close to her heart:
“I was in India doing some charity work and there were these brides from the village slums but the families couldn’t get them married as they were very poor but I thought, let’s look at how we can do this. We got all the people in the village together and asked what skills they had. I asked the ladies to cook the food, a carpenter made the mandap (covered structure with pillars) and the village priest conducted the ceremony and we had a wedding every two hours. No one had thought of asking for these things. It’s about changing the thinking. You can make anything happen when you put your heart into it.”
Each event and each couple bring something different to the table and the planner relishes in the excitement it gives her:
“Destination weddings are becoming more popular and I am already planning two in Europe and one potentially in Rajasthan India. In terms of trends, big floral displays are dominating this year as is the colour yellow which is a refreshing change. I’m also getting a lot of requests for vegan food to appear on menus. I would love to organise an event in Hollywood like a high-profile film awards.”
Something like the Oscars? “Well…anything is possible,” she says with a smile.
It goes without saying that seeing the fruits of her labour come together is the best part of the job but no sooner is one done, Priti starts planning the next. Right now, all her attention is focused on the Leicester Curry Awards taking place at the end of April as well as the inaugural Toronto Curry Awards in June this year.
“Toronto will be a new but exciting challenge because it’s taking the concept we started here, to a totally different country. We’ll be learning, adapting and remaining flexible to meet the needs of that country and making sure we understand their culture and their way of eating curry.”
www.pritiraichura.co.uk
