“Keeping it private,” says Priya Maganti, co-founder and CEO of RVR Eventz and Design and RVR PRO, without hesitation, when asked about the most challenging aspect of working on the wedding of star couple Rashmika Mandanna and Vijay Deverakonda this year.

Having worked with several high-profile clients, including badminton champion P V Sindhu, she tells indianexpress.com over email that she had not anticipated the kind of attention the wedding would receive.

Maganti shares behind-the-scenes details of the painstaking research that goes into each wedding, what it’s like to work with celebrity clients, the pressures that come with the job, and why having a Plan B is essential. Read the edited excerpts below:

Q: Which was your first high-profile wedding?

Priya Maganti: I would say Virosh (Vijay and Rashmika), considering its popularity. We have done several other high-profile weddings as well, including Venkaiah Naidu Garu’s granddaughter and Ramoji Rao’s granddaughter’s events. We also did P V Sindhu’s, which was undoubtedly high-profile. But when you look at the scale of popularity and public attention, I think Virosh stands out. Having two celebrities, both the bride and the groom, adds a lot of weight to the wedding. So, I would consider Virosh the high-profile wedding that really stands out for me.

Q: Take us down memory lane of the Rashmika-Vijay wedding. How many months of work went into it?

Priya Maganti: I joined at the end of April 2025, and the wedding and reception ran through the first week of March 2026. So, I was involved for over 10 months. From choosing the venue to building everything from scratch and executing the celebrations, Team RVR and I handled it all.

Q: What was the most challenging thing about the Virosh wedding?

Priya Maganti: The most difficult part was keeping the wedding completely private. From the start, the brief was clear: no information about the wedding or pictures from the celebrations should come out. So, protecting their privacy and, more importantly, honouring the trust they placed in us became our highest priority.

This extended from briefing my own team to communicating the same expectations to all our vendor partners. I felt everyone handled their roles with honesty and responsibility. We also had to ask guests not to share too much information or post pictures until after the wedding. We had to ensure phones were covered and that no one took pictures during the events.

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We were so particular about privacy that after their wedding, it took us one or two weddings to get back to normal. I remember seeing people using their phones at the weddings that followed and thinking, ‘Oh, right, using phones at weddings is actually very common!’ We had become so paranoid about it during Vijay and Rashmika’s wedding that we had to remind ourselves that not every wedding is a celebrity wedding where you have to cover phones or restrict their use.

When the actual day arrived, we all had tears in our eyes. Sindhu was emotional and crying, and it became a very emotional moment for all of us.

Q: We would also love a flashback of PV Sindhu’s big day. How would you describe the experience?

Priya Maganti: With P V Sindhu, the experience was very special. Throughout the wedding planning process, she kept playing and training, and working incredibly hard. We sometimes met at 12 at night because of her schedule.

Knowing Sindhu’s journey, how much she has sacrificed and how hard she has worked to represent the country made the wedding even more meaningful for us. She had a very clear vision of how she wanted to look as a bride and, more importantly, how she wanted to walk down the aisle towards Venkata Datta.

We planned every detail around that vision and even did rehearsals for the big moment. When the actual day arrived, we all had tears in our eyes. Sindhu was emotional and crying, and it became a very emotional moment for all of us.

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I think when you are part of a couple’s journey for so long, and you know their background and their story, especially when you see a love that is so pure, you start feeling like you are part of the family. You almost live that moment with them, that feeling of, ‘The day has finally arrived, and she’s getting married.’

Q: High-profile weddings are all about grandeur, expectations, and most importantly privacy. How do you navigate these?

Priya Maganti: It’s definitely not easy. When we take on a celebrity wedding, we consciously decide as a company not to take on several other weddings around the same time. For us, it is almost like choosing one celebrity wedding over three regular weddings because of the time and attention it requires, especially from me as the founder and my team.

There is a lot of research and development involved, along with multiple rounds of thorough checks, whether it is the design, the execution or the overall process, because the stakes are much higher. And it’s not just about how much is spent or the expectations of the two families. The world also expects to see how these celebrities got married and what the wedding looks like.

So, navigating that pressure is difficult. A lot of it comes down to motivating each other and taking it one day at a time. There are ups and downs through the process, but I’ve been very fortunate to work with some of the best celebrity couples. They have been empathetic and loving, and they’ve come on board with complete trust in us. So, the stress really comes from the overall process and the profile of the wedding rather than the couple themselves.

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Ultimately, it’s about taking it one day at a time and getting to that final big day.

Q: Anything can go wrong on a wedding day. Do you always have a backup plan?

Priya Maganti: Yes, absolutely. Anything and everything can go wrong on a wedding day, and literally everything should have a backup plan. Whether it is guest communication, the overall event flow or any other aspect of the celebration, there are so many moving parts. You are trying to stitch together 500 different pieces, and any one of them can go wrong.

As a planner, it is also important for me to have a pep talk with the couple and their families and tell them, ‘Things will go wrong, and you will have to trust the process. We have Plan Bs, and we will make certain things work, but sometimes things may not go exactly as you had imagined.’

That conversation is very important because what makes our job easier when we have to implement a Plan B or fix something that has gone wrong is the trust and support we receive from the couple and their families. Because we have these conversations upfront and set those expectations, we’ve been fortunate to receive incredible support from the families we have worked with.

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Having two celebrities, both the bride and the groom, adds a lot of weight to the wedding. So, I would consider Virosh the high-profile wedding that really stands out for me, says Priya Maganti. (PR handout)

Q: Couples and families have their list of demands and expectations. Do you?

Priya Maganti: Yes. Couples and families come with their own wish lists and dos and don’ts. As planners, we also have a baseline of things we follow based on our experience. Over the years, we have seen what can potentially go wrong if something is done in a certain way, and we can also foresee what could be a huge hit when executed correctly. So, as experts, our job is to guide the couple and their families through that process.

We explain the scenario, discuss what is possible and what the implications could be, and then arrive at a solution together. Ultimately, planning a wedding is a journey, and it has to be a two-way communication.

Q: Everything about the Virosh wedding started trending—from the mehendi to the bride’s look and Rashmika’s mangalsutra. Tell us about the behind-the-scenes.

Priya Maganti: I can proudly say that the entire curation, whether it was the outfits, jewellery or even Rashmika’s mangalsutra, was designed in the couple’s presence. It was a beautiful collaboration between the couple, the planner, and the designers and stylists.

Despite being extremely busy, both of them took the time to be involved in every decision that went into the wedding. Everything was very personal to them, and there was a beautiful reason behind why they wanted a particular design or detail.

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Nothing was created simply because it was trending or because of any social pressure to follow a trend. Everything was very organic and true to them. I think that is ultimately why the wedding went viral and, even today, still looks so fresh.

Q: Is there too much pressure when details of high-profile weddings get leaked?

Priya Maganti: It’s almost a do-or-die situation when details of a high-profile wedding get leaked because the first person who gets blamed is usually the wedding planner…even when the information may have come from the family or extended family members.

It also gets much more complicated when information starts getting out. In fact, keeping things completely under wraps helps me as a planner because it takes away some of that pressure. When nothing is out in the public domain, the vendor partners who are on board also understand the importance of confidentiality, and everyone works to maintain it.

It’s a big responsibility. Even today, I feel that pressure with every wedding I take on.

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It’s almost a do-or-die situation when details of a high-profile wedding get leaked because the first person who gets blamed is usually the wedding planner…, says Priya Maganti.

Q: Do you get to enjoy the celebrations on the final day—enjoy the fruits of your hard work?

Priya Maganti: Do I get to enjoy the celebrations? I’m not sure I would call it that because I’m still working a lot on the day. But I definitely experience an adrenaline rush. After spending 10 months planning everything and wanting every detail to be perfect on the big day, there is a huge sense of relief when you see it all coming together.

Slowly, the anxiety and stress start coming down, and then you suddenly feel this high of, ‘I’ve done this, and everything went well.’ I loosen up a little and allow myself to take in the moment. So, it may not look like enjoyment from the outside, but there is a lot of happiness and enjoyment on the inside.

Q: How have Indian weddings evolved over the years?

Priya Maganti: I feel Indian weddings were more like templates earlier. The makeup had to be a certain way, you had to wear a certain lehenga and jewellery, the rituals had to be done in a particular way, and even the mandap or the venue came with a certain set of expectations. There was also this idea that you had to invite your entire extended family, 100, 1,000 or even more people, because that was how weddings had always been done.

I think now weddings are becoming much more about what the couple actually wants. If they want to have a restricted guest list of 200, they are comfortable doing that, even if weddings in their family have traditionally had 1,000 or 2,000 guests. The same applies to what they wear, how they celebrate and even which traditions they choose to follow.

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I also feel parents are giving their 100 per cent support to that. Of course, some families have strong expectations about how things should be done, but ultimately everyone comes to a middle ground and creates a wedding that works for the couple and the family.

Q: You have worked with couples across cultures. What is the experience of working on weddings from different states?

Priya Maganti: I love working across cultures and with couples from different states. What bonds everything together is love, and it is so clear in every wedding we do. I think that is what keeps us going, even when the process can be complex and stressful.

What really gives us happiness is seeing the love and bond between two families, even when they come from completely different regions and cultures. At the same time, we get excited to learn new cultures and understand how we can curate the celebrations and event flow in a way that brings both cultures together.

Working with different states and cultures is actually very exciting. It gives us an opportunity to create something meaningful to both families.

Q: In the upcoming wedding season, what are the big trends you expect?

Priya Maganti: I think the biggest trend we are going to see is weddings becoming much more experiential and personalised, from both the couple’s and the family’s perspective.

I have said this on multiple occasions. Even when you look at Vijay and Rashmika’s wedding, the takeaway shouldn’t simply be that he wore a lot of gold and therefore that becomes the next trend. The takeaway is that he chose something that resonated with him personally. That is what couples should be looking at, finding what feels authentic to them rather than simply following what somebody else has done.

Going back to one’s roots is another trend I’m seeing grow stronger. Whether it is culture or rituals, it is about finding ways to bring those elements into a wedding in a more contemporary manner while still staying connected to where you come from.

Rather than making a wedding extravagant for its own sake, I think couples increasingly want meaning behind everything they do. For me, that is where the future of weddings is headed.

Q: Destination weddings are becoming extremely popular. What goes on behind the scenes?

Priya Maganti: Destination weddings are very different because you are not just planning a wedding; you are planning an entire experience for the couple and their guests. Expectations usually focus on creating something personal, immersive, and memorable, rather than simply making it grand.

We see couples becoming much more conscious of how they want guests to experience the wedding, from the welcome and hospitality to the food, entertainment, design, and overall flow of the celebrations. There is also a greater emphasis on personalisation, with couples wanting the destination and the celebrations to reflect their personalities and their story.

Couples are increasingly looking for experiences with a sense of place that are thoughtfully curated and give guests something they will remember long after the wedding.

Q: Which international wedding destinations are more popular among Indians, and which Indian destinations are popular among NRIs?

Priya Maganti: Destination preferences keep evolving, but I see couples increasingly looking beyond a destination’s popularity and asking whether it fits the kind of wedding they want to create.

Internationally, destinations that offer good hospitality, beautiful settings, ease of access and the ability to create a complete wedding experience continue to be popular among Indian couples. Within India, we are also seeing strong interest in destinations that offer a distinctive sense of place, whether it is a palace, a beach, the mountains or a beautiful heritage setting.

For NRIs especially, there is also an emotional connection to getting married in India. They want to bring their families and friends back to the country and experience Indian traditions, hospitality and celebrations in a way that feels authentic but also contemporary.

PV Sindhu on her wedding day. (PR handout)

Q: The most expensive or lavish wedding you have worked on?

Priya Maganti: I would prefer not to discuss specific weddings or numbers, because every wedding has its own requirements and priorities. But generally, for a large-scale wedding, the spend is spread across multiple areas: the venue and hospitality, production and décor, food and beverage, entertainment, logistics, and guest experience.

Over the years, couples have become much more thoughtful about where they want to invest. It is not necessarily about spending the most on one particular element; it is about identifying what matters most to them and investing there.

For me, the focus has always been on creating a cohesive experience where every element has a purpose, rather than simply making a wedding expensive or extravagant.