The Global Wedding Excellence (GWE) Forum and Retreat was Dubai Tourism’s new initiative to foster excellence in every aspect of wedding planning and showcasing Dubai as a truly Experiential Destination for Global Destination Weddings. The event witnessed over 50 global leaders converge in Dubai for an opportunity to experience Dubai’s newest and most diverse wedding venues and services. The global leaders were joined by leaders of the Dubai Wedding Industry to forge long-lasting business relations.
Decor at the Welcome Reception at Palace Downtown done by Fete Events, Dubai.
(L-R) – Mohomed Morani (Cineyug Entertainment), Sushil Wadhwa (Platinum World Grroup), Nitin Mirani (emcee/comedian) at the Making of a Great Youngsters Party at Armani Pavillion
This first of its kind initiative organised by Dubai Business Events – the official convention bureau for Dubai and a division of Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing was spread across 13 venues of Dubai with a Leadership Forum scheduled for the second day of the retreat.
GWE Leadership Forum at The W Ballroom. (L-R) – Karishma Hundalani (EVENTFAQS), Sai Rattan (SNTTA Emir Tours), Sushil Wadhwa (Platinum World Grroup), Rahul Kumar (Vivaah Weddings), Steen Jakobsen (Dubai Business Events)
The W Ballroom at Al Habtoor City
Speaking at the Welcome Reception, the event that kickstarted the Dubai GWE Retreat, Steen Jakobsen, Director, Dubai Business Events (a division of DTCM), said, “We are organising an event of this size and scope to showcase Dubai as a wedding destination. We know Dubai is already a hugely popular destination, but we want to grow the weddings segment even further. Each of the delegation has been carefully selected because they are key leaders in the industry and because we believe they’re expertise and experience can help us move forward.”
(L-R) – Chandan Ratra (Katalyst Entertainment), Chetan Vohra (WeddingLine), Neelabh Kapoor (Studio Neelabh), and Vijay Arora (Touchwood Group).
The Retreat which followed the itinerary of a Big Fat Indian wedding celebration, featured every festivity of an Indian wedding, including a welcome cocktail reception, a high-tea mehendi, a beach-side sangeet concert, a formal reception and a see-off brunch. 13 venues were showcased across Dubai that were carefully selected for the specific function they hosted. Prominent partners included Emaar Hospitality with Palace Downtown, Dubai Opera, Armani Hotel, Address Motgomerie, and Dubai Polo and Equestrian Club. Al Habtoor Group also partners as the host hotel, with the delegation residing across the Al Habtoor City hotels, including W, Westin and St. Regis, and each of the ballrooms were showcased through a variety of events best suited for each venue. The St. Regis Polo Club played host to the high-tea Mehendi. JA Jebel Ali Resorts hosted the Beach Sangeet. Park Hyatt hosted the delegation for a round pre-dinner snacks and drinks while Palazzo Versace, hosted the formal reception in their poolside venue.
Beach Sangeet at JA Beach Club.
An essential element of the Dubai GWE Forum and Retreat, was the Leadership sessions that were integrated into the itinerary, where delegates benefited from ideas and insights-exchanged. The Leadership Sessions included 2 panels discussions, one on ‘Putting together the perfect Indian Wedding itinerary in Dubai’ and the other on ‘Learnings from those planners with recent experience planning Weddings in Dubai’. Another Leadership session was a one-on-one with Dubai Opera, CEO, Jasper Hope. In this one-of-it’s-kind experience the delegation got not only to have an insider’s view into the Dubai Opera and its potential to host social events, but the session was house on the opera stage, a space very few get access to.
(L-R) – Ajay Seth (Cox and Kings), Ajay Chhabria (InTime Travels By Design), Malti Wadhwa, Sushil Shamlal Wadhwa (Platinum World Grroup), Tina Tharwani (Shaadi Squad), Satish Ramnani (Veydaa Events), and Divya Chadha(A Klass Apart)
#DubaiGWE the official hashtag for the initiative registered over 3 million impressions over the 4 days of the retreat. The digital marketing efforts of the platform included a contest each day, to encourage the delegation to stay active across social media platforms, with instant gratifications each day sponsored by the host and partner hotels/venues.
Dinner reception at Palazzo Versace
Commenting on the Dubai GWE, Mohomed Morani, Director, Cineyug Group said, “When I was first invited to be part of the forum, I figured with all my experience in planning events in Dubai, there’s little I could benefit from. But the reality is that when venues are showcased creatively through inspiring concepts of how they can be curated for an event / a social celebration, there’s always potential to learn something new. That for me was the most unique aspect of this programme, the network I’ve built with the most relevant individuals across venues and the supplier network in Dubai, and of course the constant inspirations through creative set-up and leadership exchange.”
At Dubai Parks and Resorts
Each event during the forum, while following thematics Indian wedding festivities also showcased actual décor and set-up concepts complimenting the theme. For this top décor, wedding planning and technical suppliers from across Dubai were engaged. The stakeholders included, Fete Events, Red Velvet, Encore Events, BAQAA, FnP Floral Touch, Events by Saniya, Showtech and Showcraft. While showcasing the local capabilities of Dubai through elaborated set-ups to inspire the delegation was the main objective of this exercise, it also served as a great opportunity for the guests to make a direct connect with the potential partners.
Interaction with Team Montgomerie Golf Club, Emirates Hills
Other partners to the programme including SNTTA Emir Tours, the host DMC for the entire four days, that showcased the logistical handling capabilities required for a multi-function Indian wedding, while also treating the delegation to some Uber-luxurious transport options in Dubai. Further, entertainment as is integral to every Indian wedding, was an integral element of the retreat as well, with Raaga Factory a Dubai-based Bollywood band entertaining delegates at the Beach Sangeet. Stereo Sound a Dubai-based swing band, belted popular tunes at the Dubai Polo and Equestrian Club Brunch. Roopali Suri and Dubai-comedian Nitin Mirani, were the official hosts during the retreat ensuring there wasn’t a dull moment through the event.
WOW Dubai at Dubai Polo and Equestrian Club
