The Great Indian Wedding – A look at the costs and planning
The Indian wedding industry currently accounts for over Rs. 1,00,000 crores and is growing at a rapid rate of 25-30% each year. An average Indian wedding could cost between 20 lakhs to 5 crores.
A person in India is estimated to spend one-fifth of the total wealth accumulated in his lifetime on his wedding.
Here we list a few noteworthy essentials that determines the cost of your wedding ceremonies:
Venue
Décor
Food
Dress & Jewellery
Ceremonies
The scale and glamour (or lack, thereof) is mainly dependent on not only the finances available to the families involved, but also which part of India they come from.
In the north, a wedding comprises of a week long celebration involving many rituals, many of which are aimed at entertaining the guests rather than being strictly traditional. There’s colour, music, lights, dancing, designer clothes and a touch of drama.
In the south of India, weddings are just as big a deal, but they’re done quite differently. While the weddings are not a whole week long, the scale is arguably the same. It’s just that the expenses are channeled in a different direction. They prefer to make the start of the young couple’s life easier by gifting them household appliances, gold, car etc.
Lately however, there have been an increasing number of South Indian weddings that have incorporated the North Indian tradition of ‘Sangeet’ (an evening of song and dance by friends and family) and other customs to ensure that everyone has a good time and add an element of fun to the usual serious ceremonious events.
Over time, parents begin to save for a wedding soon after a female child is born to them. However, with the trend of destination weddings picking up in India, a family is almost never fully prepared for the expenses they end up incurring. In the end, many of them resort to liquidating investments or pulling out money from the education fund set aside for the other children.
THE RIGHT VENUE
One of the first things that must be finalized for a wedding is the venue. If you are really not picky about the ‘where’ of the wedding, then it can make all the difference to the costing. Any good marriage hall in a city would cost you in the range of Rs 60,000- 3, 00,000 per day.
Choose a non-traditional venue, if you can, avoid the marriage season May- Sept. Not giving up on the ‘mandap culture’, you will be surprised to learn that rentals are much lower in community halls.
If hotels bundle up the services, such as food catering, accommodation, lights, decoration etc, then it will help save on wedding expenses.
DECOR
You may want to decorate the entire venue like a paradise for this momentous occasion. Apart from flowers and traditional adornment, sculptures and replicas are also used to create an alluring decor. Elegant lighting makes for a photo-friendly wedding. Venue decorators may charge you anything between RS. 30,000 to 2 lakhs for decorating the hall to your preferences.
FOOD
One of the most important aspects of a wedding is the delicious food varieties. It is often the most memorable, enjoyable part of the wedding for most guests. A reputed caterer, providing an assortment of cuisines for each event can charge anywhere between RS. 500 – 2500 per plate, and maybe more depending on the type of food and varieties that are ordered.
DRESS
It is only fitting that you are decked up to the hilt on the most special day of your life. A bridal wedding saree or lehenga may cost up to RS. 50,000 and a designer sherwanis or suit for the groom can be picked up at around maximum of RS. 30,000. Of course, it doesn’t end with the dress alone , there is the entire ensemble of jewellery , makeup , shoes , accessories and hairdo. There is always a cost to looking your best on the best day of your life.
CEREMONIES
An Indian wedding is generally a three-day affair with different ceremonies and rituals lined up. Each ceremony requires its own set of apparel, set-up, and materials. The average cost of a single ceremony may range between 1 to 10 lakhs. Couples may sometimes look to increase the number of ceremonies to arrange more frequent get-together of families before they unite. Right from the arrival of the guests and bride and groom, to the day of departure of the bride to the new abode, there are ceremonies for every occasion.
Apart from these, there are innumerable other costs such as the band, photography, wedding cards and presents etc., which may add up heftily.
Ancillary Expenses
- Wedding invitation cards according to your preferences.
- Musicians
- Photographers /Videographers
- Henna artist
- Beautician / Hair Stylist
- Accommodation (hotel/guest house/resort/) for outstation guests accordingly
- Wedding event planner if required
- Shopping for wedding gifts.
- Book Transportation Vehicles for guests / relatives
- Booking Honeymoon / Passports / Visa if required
Marriages may be made in heaven, but they have to be paid for, right here, on Earth !!
Suits, saris, jewelry, beauty regimen, sweets, feasts. . . are the quickest way to spend a ton of money on the Great Indian Wedding …
Sneha Ram
Dilzer Consultants Pvt Ltd
Credits
http://www.unmappedmag.com/issue-24/the-true-cost-of-an-indian-wedding/