So while traveling around the world locally or visiting famous sights, tourists will also have the opportunity to find deep and meaningful cultural experiences and connect with the locals in an authentic way. JoinMyWedding is a new startup platform where engaged couples can register their weddings and sell tickets to travelers looking for a unique cultural experience.
It's a simple concept, where couples just upload their photos as well as a detailed description of their wedding, how many tickets they want to sell, as well as an explanation on what the guest can expect and what is covered in the ticket — from stay, food and other events leading up to the big day.
Orsi Parkanyi, founder of JoinMyWedding said the idea came from an eureka moment between her and her business partner Marti Matecsa as they discussed the wave of weddings she would be attending this year.
"I wished I could go too, but sadly I didn't have an invite.
"We realised that there might be a market for such a service and so we started to plan and research, and that is where JoinMyWedding.com came from. Then we partnered with a lady named, Pallavi Savant, an Indian marketing expert," Orsi Parkanyi told Sputnik.
The platform is global, but the team decided to launch in India first. At the moment, the majority of weddings that are registered will take place in India over the coming wedding season between October to February.
Indian weddings are a significant cultural affair and it is not uncommon to have an event with over 500 guests attending celebrations that take place over — not one — but a number days.
Were obsessed with this traditional Indian wedding: https://t.co/OeIIPhG3Ri pic.twitter.com/iuXr6PYP1h
— The Knot (@theknot) July 18, 2016
"While everyone we talked to about this project loved the idea, the most challenging thing was to find the first couple to register their wedding. But once we had our first one the media started talking about us and now we have about four to five wedding registrations a day, Orsi Parkanyi told Sputnik.
"Although we have weddings from many countries as JoinMyWedding.com has been receiving international media attention, we are focusing on India, Mumbai specifically at the moment. Most weddings in India happpen between October and January and we are working on having a lot of weddings registered for that wedding and travel season."
Since the project started there have been various unique experiences that have taken place, which have really added to the value of the project.
"I think all our weddings are very unique, and we have a lot of large Indian weddings registered, some will see over 1,000 guests over several days that would be very interesting to western people traveling to India. But I also have a personal favorite… We have a wedding registered on our site that has a Lord of The Rings theme and it will take place next month in Siberia, Russia. There are still tickets available for that wedding. The couple also hope in the future to have at least one little hobbit."
The only way you could convince me to get married is with a Lord of the Rings themed wedding. pic.twitter.com/dLk2sIIiX6
— Alysa Caldarola (@AlysaCaldarola) June 17, 2016
The vision for the business is bringing people together to celebrate their special occasion. Two people getting married is a beautiful thing and offers a truly unique moment in life that people wish to share naturally, the JoinMyWedding founder said. The hope is that when people are involved in another person's culture in this way, they learn from one another and begin to respect each other's differences — this brings people closer together.
"The world really needs something like this right now. I know these are big words, but ultimately we hope that JoinMyWedding.com will contribute to a more peaceful and caring world filled with more joy and laughter," Orsi Parkanyi said.
Not only is the dream of unification a big one, the overall vision of the business is far from small as well. The company has been approached by several large travel agencies, and they are now working with investors to help grow the business.
