In this episode of the Bains and Beers podcast, we're joined by sisters Monica and Alyesha from Events by B Planning, trailblazers in Vancouver's wedding industry specializing in behind-the-scenes (BTS) coverage.
We delve into their career journey, starting from homemade videos to creating content for businesses and then making a successful entry into the lucrative Indian wedding industry.
The sisters share their initial criticism and skepticism their business faced from the community and within the industry and how they overcame those initial hurdles. They highlight their specific market and demographic, noting the growing trend of couples hosting extravagant weddings, often orchestrated for going viral on social media, and their role in capturing these moments.
They also recount some of the challenges they encountered from their early gigs while taking BTS, from skeptical family members and overstepping uncles to unexpected requests for childcare and being mistakenly identified as the “cleaning crew”.
They also share some amusing incidents capturing live footage of aunties beefing over who gets the last “boli”, handling the fallout of disorganized 'milni' ceremonies, and of course the encounters with the pretentious cousins and reluctant brown guys at these wedding events.
The sisters proceed to discuss their upbringing and their paths to embracing their culture, leading Moni to share her experience of connecting more deeply with her roots, particularly through a bhangra class at University. She also recounts the criticism she faced from international students for being a “white-washed” brown girl and not being able to understand the language.
Alyesha, a recent bride herself, also shares her insights on crucial pre-wedding conversations. We also discuss generational trauma, internal politics within desi families, expectations and the overall societal pressures imposed on daughters-in-laws that are engraved in our culture.
We wrap this episode up with conversations relating to brown guys, red flags, haters, cultural nuances, and double standards.
We hope you enjoy this episode and stay tuned for @nolanprasad next week!