The Wedding Whisperer

Chapter 1 The Bride's Brother

Akshara's dark almond eyes took in the beauty of the outdoor space set up with flowers and candles, complemented by flowing silk fabric for the engagement party. It was a beautiful evening, and the breeze slightly eased her anxiety as the time for the guests to arrive drew near.

She and her small yet mighty team had handled many weddings over the past few years since she started her business, but none to this scale or with such unique themes and setups. This would be one of the first weddings with multiple pre-wedding events leading up to a major weekend wedding planned two months after the engagement party.

Akshara let out a deep breath, relieved that she had met her client Anisha's requests for the evening. But she knew the real challenges were still to come. Anisha was a young interior designer with a unique vision for her wedding, unlike any other client Akshara had worked with, which both excited and unnerved her.

"Akshara, Mr. Birla is looking for you," Aarohi, her best friend, roommate, and production manager, said into her earpiece.

"Oh," Akshara replied, scanning the crowd and finding Anisha's father deep in conversation with his mother. "I see him. He's talking to Anisha's grandmother. I'll check in with him once they're done conversing."

She heard Aarohi giggle. "The younger Mr. Birla. Anisha's brother, and he's not a happy camper."

Akshara turned to scan the small group of family members gathered at the event. "I don't see him. Where is he?"

"Akshara?" A deep male voice came from behind her. She turned around, lifting her chin to meet the deep brown eyes of the tall man standing in front of her. His eyes matched those of Anisha, and she knew he had to be her brother.

"Hello, Mr. Birla. Nice to meet you." She held out her hand, and after a moment of hesitation, he took it.

"Abhimanyu," he said curtly.

"How can I help, sir?"

"What is going on?" His question threw Akshara off, but it wouldn't be the first time a client had asked such a question.

"Sir, is everything okay?" She looked around the space, wondering if something was wrong.

"No, it's not. Your job is to make sure the events run smoothly, but not at the cost of Anisha feeling stressed about her outfit to the point she has tears in her eyes."

"Oh... I'm sorry, sir, but Anisha chose the outfit she's wearing tonight."

"And you told her she couldn't change it?" He sounded pissed.

She took a deep breath. "Sir, it was the arrangement we made according to Anisha's requirements. She wanted the silk fabric we used for the décor to complement her dress and the artwork on the tablecloth to match her outfit. She also wanted an element of her outfit to be part of her close family's outfits, including your tie. Changing her outfit would have a cascading set of changes."

He looked down at his tie for a moment and then back at Akshara. "I don't care. You will do what Anisha wants going forward. She doesn't need to go through this stress."

"Sir, I understand, but Anisha had set aside three dresses we could have managed with the décor if she had chosen any one of them. But she wanted a completely different palette of colors, and there was no way we could change everything at the last minute."

He looked at her for a long moment. "I don't care what it takes. Make sure you don't stress her out again like this. Even if it means you need to change everything and double the size of the team working, do it."

Akshara shook her head. "I'm sorry, I can't do that, Mr. Birla. Anisha's main requirement was that we be as eco-friendly as possible, so we can't rip off the decor we built and randomly hire just anyone to take care of the event. Every piece of the décor is custom and handmade, and we will reuse the fabric props for her other events."