Chenai Bukutu

Spear's Review

‘My style of weddings is generally opulent but not ostentatious,’ says Chenai Bukutu of ByChenai. ‘It’s about a quiet elegance.’ 

Bukutu entered the luxury wedding sector in 2017 following a career that was firmly embedded in the corporate world. She tells Spear’s that she had long been inspired by the work of fellow acclaimed wedding planners, Colin Cowie and Sarah Haywood, and sought to make the jump into an industry that ‘spoke to [her] passions.’

‘I’ve always had the hostess with the most personality and my focus from the beginning was to work with very interesting people.’ Those ‘interesting people’ now include celebrities, HNWs and tech entrepreneurs. She believes that her corporate background has proven useful in building relationships with her UHNW clients. ‘You’re in the relationship business at the end of the day,’ she says. ‘I can speak their language.’ 

How much do these UHNW clients spend on their weddings? Bukutu’s unable to give a clear figure, simply by virtue of its enormity. ‘The sky’s the limit.’