Specialist wedding event organiser Monsoon Venue Group has delivered the first ever Asian wedding at Birmingham’s Symphony Hall in the United Kingdom.
The Gatsby-themed wedding took place on 19 August, and marked the wedding of celebrity bride Afshan Azad, who played Padma Patil in Harry Potter. It involved 550 guests, including co-stars Bonnie Wright (Ginny Weasley) and Katie Leung (Cho Chang), who came to support their friend on her big day.
Managing director of MVG Pav Shergill said: “We always knew that the Symphony Hall would be a fantastic venue for an Asian wedding and dinners alike, however due to the capacity limitations we were restricted by what we can do.
“In 2014 The SH Board appointed The Venue Experience Team, an independent venue and sales consultancy, to review and support the sales strategy and look at how to develop the conference and events market. It was during this time that the idea to build staging over the fixed chairs in the main auditorium to maximise the flat floor capacity was formulated, making the iconic venue a lot more versatile for events.
“Weddings are a very personal and emotive event, and therefore convincing a client to take the plunge and be the first couple to host their big day at a venue where it has never been done before is not an easy task. Fortunately for everyone working the event, Afshan and her husband Nabil had great vison and were extremely flexible during the planning stages, working closely with the team to make sure every element of the event was carefully thought out.”
“Delivering the first Asian wedding at such a landmark venue as SH is a massive achievement for MVG, allowing us to fulfil our mission of making alternative venues more accessible for South Asian Events.”
Since its inception in June 2013, MVG has secured an exclusive contract with the NEC Group’s catering arm Amadeus to manage Asian events at the International Convention Centre (ICC) Birmingham and the VOX Conference Centre, Resorts World Birmingham, as well as working with the Symphony Hall, The East of England Arena, and Stoneleigh Abbey in Warwickshire.
