ANGUS DAVIDS– ONCE UPON A WEDDING

A long time ago, they had a wedding with a castle backdrop, a pumpkin chariot and crystal shoes in cushioned boxes. The fairy-tale never ends when in conversation with Mr. Angus Davids, CEO and director of Fonix Events,  who reveals the magic behind weddings.

During the 1960s, weddings have always been a beautiful milestone in people’s lives, and it wasn’t always an extravagant affair. Lending a hand at lighting and stage decoration, Mr. Fletcher Kelly David loved embellishing his family’s and friends’ wedding. Such an interest was influenced by his passion for theatre during his days as a make- up artist in Biblical plays. After designing a film set, he transformed his outlook towards weddings too. Lit with myriads of candles and little girls dressed up angels, ‘Heaven’ was an indelible wedding theme with love enveloped in a misty ambience. The fog evoked an ethereal feel as people walked into the hall of floating clouds mystified by the evaporation of dry ice. The Beatles crooned their famous song ‘Under the Sea’, while he designed a shell where the bride and groom sat, during the 80s.  That’s when he started FONIX decorators. Till now it’s a mystery where the name hails from and so as his spark of creativity.

Then and Now

Back to the present, while interviewing, it was a delight to have his wife, Noleen and him exchanging ideas and flipping through albums. Quick witted and personable, he defined weddings as ‘Goods sold will not be taken back.’ Their effervescent joy goes beyond a pay-check or even publicity. Then and now, the essence of wedding has never been lost in Mr. Angus’s terms. The play of the classics and modernism is always a trick in his hat. “Imagine a guest book now can be a guest box which record visual and audio clipping and converted into a video montage!”

Being in the business this long, he’s steadfast with what’s golden in a wedding tradition. Embracing changes such as non-secular weddings and technological advancements, he reformed the proposition of wedding planners and became a wedding designer and crafted Fonix Events as the mother of the nest hood of wedding planners. To him, weddings have an emotional quotient. In the end he quotes, “Every time I enter the venue, the first thing I always look at is the eyes of the bride and the groom. It gives me a signal with the sense of their gratitude.”

An Eye for Surprise

When it comes to handling his clients, he has had his shares of both hyper brides and grooms who love to cut copy, paste ideas, and have a mental scrapbook. Conceptualization works out effectively when the budget strikes like cold rain, but sometimes this awareness tends to dampen the creativity too. “Fonix Events has never failed to organize unconventional weddings. A client once requested for an unthinkable bridal entry,” he mentioned in between and shared the wedding story at Bangkok. Rather than the cliché musical entrance, Fonix Events hired the famous American Illusionist, James Conrad. He dressed up as God and introduced the groomsmen and opened a gigantic box. Everyone anticipated for the bride, but only the flower girls came out of the box. When the illusionist waved his hand, the bride appeared!

Once he was requested for a wedding sans flowers; Angus decorated the whole stage with vazhapindi and caught everybody’s attention. Bracing the adversities, Fonix Events has the greatest challenge of thinking a million steps ahead. From preventing flowers to wilt, to the latecomers, or cables being incorrect, there’s always a solution up a wedding designer’s sleeve. One of their clients requested for an outdoor wedding during the monsoons. He narrated, “The outdoor setting was done but as a back-up we booked the hall and prepared the exact theme in the hall from the lighting to the flowers and music playlist. When the clouds growled, the bride and groom had a haven to celebrate.” There are a thousand last minute emergencies, but experience and multiple backup plans always come to the rescue

Happy Tears

A dream wedding was to be spun in the memories of Mr. Angus’s client. Eight months of constant penning and planning, she got shocking news three days before the wedding. The wedding venue was on legal notice, while a dilapidated school hall stood resolute but she was crestfallen. The silver linings lay in its Dutch architecture and a huge Banyan tree. Mr Angus told the bride, “Even if you give hell, I’ll give you heaven back.” In three days, over a stirred mind and buzzing thoughts, they enhanced the building with lighting, color washes, silk drapes, floral ensembles on the pillars, in peach and white theme. Luminance warmed the ambience as the band played under a banyan tree draped with lights. Under the canopy of banyan vines was a merriment of dances across a 40 by 40 dance floor. She was living an unexpected dream. Mr Angus entered the hall after the wedding ceremony; the bride ran to him and gave the tightest hug, “The most touching part is succeeding after a challenge.” A moment still fresh in his memory, but it happened fifteen years ago.

As I looked at the photographs, I just noticed that the trends have changed, so has our interpretation of novelty. His finesse and loyalty have helped him ace a challenge of something so constant, time. Calling out for a change makes a difference.Fonix Events spearheaded the beauty of weddings and also expressed the biggest celebration of life in unthinkable intricacies.

A bouquet you can’t get your hands off:

Cara, peonies, lilies and tulips

The wedding Song:

Amazed by Lonestar

Most important part of the wedding:

A great ceremony strikes a balance between personal expression and tradition.

Iconic Wedding Dress:

Jennifer Lopez’s in the Wedding Planner

A trend you don’t enjoy:

Copy paste designs