India is gearing up for its largest wedding season yet, between November 23th to December 15th 2023, according to a survey conducted by the Confederation of All India Traders (Cait). 

According to this survey, during these 23 days, approximately 3.5 million weddings are expected to take place across the country, creating a significant economic surge in the wedding industry. The Cait Research & Trade Development Society survey estimates a flow of about Rs 4.25 trillion in wedding-related purchases and services.

In Delhi alone, more than 350,000 weddings are expected to take place, accounting for around 10 per cent of the total number of weddings between these dates in India. This has the potential to generate Rs 1 trillion for businesses in this sector. Last year, 3.2 million weddings occurred during the same period, with expenses totalling approximately Rs 3.75 trillion.

As the wedding industry stages a post-covid rebound, Timothy Chi, global chief executive of The Knot Worldwide, which runs the wedtech platform WeddingWire India, said one in every four weddings worldwide happens in India and with Indians raising their spends on weddings, companies like his are very bullish on this market. In an interview, Chi said budgets of Indian weddings remain strong.

Indian weddings have become cosmopolitan and global while still being culturally rooted. “Indian couples today are well traveled and research meticulously,” she said. “They’ll find the best of the destination — chefs, artists, wines, gifts — and bring it to their event. A couple visited several bars to discover local musicians to perform at their wedding. Another bride personally visited 15 destinations overseas before finalizing one.”

Couples were also seeking landmark hotels and unique venues beyond banquet halls to add further novelty. “For a destination wedding in Doha, one of the events was at the National Museum of Qatar, which is not an easy feat” . “We secure special permissions for it. We even work with government bodies and tourism boards to onboard certain venues.”

The Big Fat Indian wedding is legendary. A staggering 1 crore weddings take place in India every year and the wedding industry is growing at 25-30% annually. People across the world dream of attending one, and people in the country go to extreme ends to have one! These grand celebrations are characterized by massive spends and also massive waste. Its complexity, diversity and scale make it a very interesting case study. This paper aims to understand the workings, sociology, demography and economics of the wedding industry in India as compared to the rest of the world.

The factors contributing most significantly to this rise, include a rising urbanisation rate and GDP. Both these factors have led to an increase in the aspirational middle class with a higher spending capacity. Add to this the rising number of weddings owing to a young population, and the wedding industry has seen a spurt in the last decade.

Experiential, one-of-its-kind weddings are here to stay as couples increasingly opt for exotic destinations. Countries in the Middle East like Jordan, Oman, UAE and south East Asian countries like Thailand top the Indian wedding market. However, due to the growing demand more and more couples are seeking newer destinations. Though some prefer an intimate affair, there’s no compromise on budgets as customisation, with an emphasis on guest experience, is at the heart of planning the event.