Some 35 lakh couples will tie the knot in the first half of 2023, according to an estimate by the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT). The cumulative spend across these 70-lakh weddings? Rs 13 lakh crore, again, according to CAIT estimates.
To be sure, weddings come in all sizes and price ranges - from paperless invites and intimate gatherings to lavish set-ups and a guest list that runs into the hundreds, even thousands.
So where are Indians who can afford an extravagant wedding (and want one) spending?
Also read: Explainer: How to plan your OTT destination wedding right
Define big
Siddharth Malhotra and Kiara Advani’s wedding at Suryagarh Palace, Jaisalmer, is said to have cost Rs 2 crore (without taxes) per day.
Here are some more numbers to leave you wondering what the real tamasha is all about:
*A wedding planner told us that families that spent Rs 2 crore on a wedding till about five years ago, now spend Rs 8-10 crore. “There is no upper limit.”
* KPMG estimates that the Indian wedding market is worth Rs 3.68 trillion.
* Samit Garg, CEO and co-founder of E Factor Entertainment Pvt. Ltd, which hosts some of those over-the-top weddings and big-ticket events, says that over 75 lakh Indians are employed by the wedding industry. “The business has a CAGR of 17-18 percent.”
So, who spends the most?
New Delhi and Punjab are the biggest spenders, states a KPMG report on the Indian wedding bazaar.
However, cities such as Chandigarh and Lucknow, and states like Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh are rapidly dancing their way to massive weddings.
In the south, cities such as Madurai, Bengaluru, and Hyderabad have seen some large weddings by south standards, says wedding planner Rukmini Iyer. “I would say, a big wedding here can cost up to Rs 10-15 crore.”
Weddings or theatre productions?
Weddings transformed into theatre presentations in the early 2000s. “Everyone hosts a decently large wedding based on what is affordable to them as they are part of our cultural fabric. The richer you are, the bigger the weddings,” says Garg.
The celebratory mood has returned, and how, in post-pandemic India. “In the last two years, we saw a shift to intimate weddings but now, people want to outshine each other. Weddings are becoming bigger, better, and more destination-oriented,” say designers Rohit Gandhi and Rahul Khanna.
"Interactive activities such as DIY cocktail bar, wine tasting, coffee cup reading, themed photo booths, live band or DJ playing music from the couple’s favourite genre…there is no end of what a wedding will include,” says Devanshi Patel of Shreem Events.
Trends are seasonal, or annual in the case of weddings, but here is a guesstimate about what Indians spend on when they get married.
Wedding Design
If it is a theatre-esque production, it must be designed to the smallest detail. That’s where wedding ‘designers’ or planners come in.
There is no method to the wedding design madness. Patel says, “Couples are experimenting with the sequence of a traditional Indian wedding format, for instance. Many are hosting sangeet post weddings so that they can participate in the revelry. This kind of unconventional wedding makes it more important to plan everything, from the invites to the trousseau packaging and the entertainment.”
Wedding designers, or event managers, take the lion’s share—45-60 percent of the budget is dedicated to their professional services.
So, what do the wedding planner/designer and her/his huge team take care of?
For one, the theme or core idea around which the wedding will revolve. “It has to match the couple’s personalities, interests, and style. Decor plays a big role in setting the tone and bringing the theme to life. From vintage, boho, beach, to fairy-tale inspired, the possibilities are endless,” says Anvi Thaker, Founder & Chief Design Officer, The Creative Company.
Wedding planners look at details such as: “What will the colour theme be, what flowers will we use, how would the bride and groom make an appearance for that big-bang impression, what will the pre-wedding events such as mehendi and haldi look like, the after parties, the pre-parties…running the entire operation with army-like precision.
Design is at the heart of an Indian wedding, and floral design takes centre stage. At the moment, “certain types of hydrangeas, orchids, peonies are in high demand in wedding décor. And yet, many prefer to buck the trend and look at locally sourced flowers, tropical flowers or even foliage and textured dry flowers. It's never just about a singular bloom but about pairing the right colours and textures to complement the mood of the evening,” says Anuja Joshi, co-founder and CEO of Interflora.
For star couple Richa Chadha and Ali Fazal’s wedding reception at the Great Eastern Home, Interflora converted a 176-year-old mill into a semi-wild venue with floral arrangements of wildflowers and foliage. “While our clients wanted opulence and sophistication, they also wanted to experiment and be wild. This desire manifested itself through the abundance of foliage, the use of wildflowers, and everything wild,” said Joshi.
Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor, on the other hand, opted for delicate and pretty floral décor, perfect for daytime nuptials. The celebrity couple also chose to go the extra mile by repurposing their floral décor, by getting Interflora to turn them into candles.
The wedding ceremony is often live streamed on social media. To offer guests an immersive experience, smart lighting and audio systems are brought into play. “We have experimented with holographic screens for sangeet and DJ nights, 3D wall banners, immersive experiences inspired by Van Gogh, and projection as well as mapping,” says Patel.
“Their love story” told through the invite is 2023’s dominating wedding invite theme. “A lot of clients want to show their journey via hand-drawn illustrations. Photo wedding invites, theme wedding invites, and vintage wedding invites are some other unique ways of curating invitations,” says Saanya Sharma, co-founder of Three Entertainment.
There is much to choose from if your love story isn’t exciting enough to put on an invite: Minimal invites on luminescent vellum paper, hand-illustrated or invites with caricatures, costing anywhere between Rs 2,000 to Rs 10,000 per invite.
Wedding invite designer Puneet Gupta customises cards according to seasons — summer spells satin, while velvet and silk are reserved for the winter. His book Invitation Trend Book was the first guide to invitation design and can be found in the collection of the Royal Library at the Udaipur Royal Palace.
Wedding cinematographers
How big can a wedding shoot be?
Ask Vishal Punjabi of The Wedding Filmer, who has previously worked at Shah Rukh Khan’s Red Chillies Entertainment. “We have shot at the most beautiful and bizarre locations under the sun. Some people have backyards that spell warmth; some have had weddings in palaces they own. We have shot in a giraffe farm, in a forest clearing, in a Turkish palace and on a remote island off Thailand,” says Chowdhary.
Of course, there are the videographer and photographer on the ground. But high-end weddings sometimes have drone videography, too.
“Couples use drones to create a spectacular visual display and make a memorable entrance,” says Sharma. “Drones have been used to form a heart or other special shapes in the sky as the two people to be married walk in.”
Drone videographer Anil Srikumar, who charges Rs 2-4 lakh per wedding, says, “Shooting candid pictures is also easier via drones.”
Entertainment
Bollywood (or Tollywood, depending on the couple's interests) stars, DJs, choreographed dances, even theatre skits on how and where the couple met or recreating wedding scenes from popular cinema, stand-up comedians, makeshift casinos, Karaoke nights…the list of ideas is never-ending. Sometimes, pre-wedding events can also be set on themes: a circus, a carnival, or maybe even a Can Can performance, as one couple opted for.
Mumbai wedding planner Ritwika Dutta says that about 15-18 percent of the wedding budget is kept aside for entertainment.
Catering
The Big Fat Indian Wedding food story is dominated by bespoke catering. Sit-down dinners, counters that serve exotic canapes, churros stations, complex desserts such as Mille Feuille… Shreem Events’ past weddings had brand-led counters such as Ladurée carts for hot chocolate, Coco Cart, Angelina for deserts, and Shake Shack Burgers.
Players like Aditi Dugal’s Sage and Saffron in Mumbai, and Manu Chandra’s Single Thread Catering ensure the food is as much a talking point as the extravagance. Chef Amninder Sandhu’s Bliss Food Experiences employs visuals and sound to enrich an immersive dining experience at weddings.
The gourmet catering companies can charge Rs 10,000-50,000 per guest, the latter more specifically for chef-led sit-down dinners. A chef Vineet Bhatia-led sit-down pre-wedding dinner may set you back by up to Rs 10 lakh for a 10-people table.
Wedding dress and trousseau
In 2021, the Sabyasachi Mukherjee brand, famous for its bridal couture, reported a revenue of Rs 274 crore, at a time when Aditya Birla Fashion picked up 51 percent stake in the luxury designer brand.
“Sabyasachi has been built on the back of bridal fashion,” says Devesh Verma, who lives between New York and Delhi, and designs weddings for Indians living abroad. “Trousseau takes up almost 25 percent of the budget.”
A Sabya or Tarun Tahiliani coordinated look, with jewellery, shoes, et al, can cost Rs 7-20 lakh, and we are talking about that one big night look. There are, of course, other events to factor in such as mehendi, haldi, reception…
Most opt for a big name for the wedding look, and a host of mid-level designers, such as Masaba or Shivan and Naresh for other events, or wardrobes for the entire family.
Some brides favour handmade wedding garments, like those from the brand Shanti Banaras. Founder Khushi Shah says, “The ones who love handmade like intricate threadwork, but patchwork is becoming trendy in 2023. Punchy fuchsia and vibrant shades of pink will pop up everywhere.
“Many brides are moving further from trend and instead, looking for luxury heirloom pieces that work as an investment. They are buying into nostalgia.”
Since weddings are theme-driven functions, “from a circus/carnival theme for a mehendi function to a Gatsby look for a reception/cocktail evening, different events require different kinds of custom-designed couture,” says designer Rohit Gandhi. “Grooms also come with a vision. “We've noticed that they are taking inspiration from the retro era of the '80s and '90s and are opting for relaxed tailored looks,”
Luxury weddings may depend on designers to get those va va vroom clothes, but stylists are equally important. As Patel says, “They are being brought on board to provide the best advice on what colours, fabrics, and silhouettes are most flattering and reflect the couple's style. They help coordinate the families’ looks with the couple for that picture-perfect Instagram feed and video.”
Jewellery
A bridal look custom-designed by Sabyasachi includes his label’s jewels and accessories. “On average, families spend 15-20 percent of their budget on jewels,” says Dutta.
"Framed with fine gemstones such as rubies, emeralds and tanzanite”, jewels are bigger and bolder, says jeweller Sunita Shekhawat. She points to an interesting trend: finely crafted detachable and reversible ornaments, with different design aesthetics and techniques on either side. “This way, the bride gets a single ornament that can be worn with both traditional attire and an entirely modern outfit.”
Jewellers mine age-old Rajasthan jewellery of necklaces, rings, buttons, and turban ornaments or the Sarpech for grooms. “We design these rooted-in-traditions jewels with uncut diamonds and emeralds,” says Shekhawat.
International design brands have achieved a small breakthrough in Indian weddings: a Christian Dior dress for a reception or a party, a Chanel clutch or even a Tiffany engagement ring has made their way into an affluent couple’s elaborate trousseau, along with a Tarun Tahiliani lehenga or sherwani and a Manish Malhotra cocktail sari.
Designer Anju Modi says 70 percent of her now 23-year-old business comes from bridalwear. “Except for weddings, Indians do not have many opportunities to dress up for high-profile events. In the West, they go for an evening out at the ballet, and host black-tie dinners and cocktail evenings which follow a dress code more often than we do.”
Besides, the sheer number of events that leads up to, an Indian wedding calls for “a wider range of ensembles and pieces”.
The next article in this three-part Big Indian Wedding series will look at destination weddings.
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