Weddings have gone from being a private affair to becoming a full-fledged public phenomenon. If you believed that was only for unions of celebrities and businesspeople, it turns out that the influence to celebrate marriage with grandeur has extended to common folk as well. All of it, at a very high price. A report by Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has delved into the business of weddings in India and the changing scenario of wedding expenses in the country. They don't call it the big fat Indian wedding for nothing.
Photo Credit: Aura by Area 83
Based on data from 75 key Indian cities and their wedding-related goods and services, CAIT estimates that 48 lakh weddings will take place during the season. The spending of these wedding-related goods and services is projected to be Rs 5.9 lakh crore, which is of significant value to be injected back into the Indian economy. In comparison, 35 lakh weddings generated a total business of Rs 4.25 lakh crore during the country's previous wedding season in 2023.
The reason for this increase of wedding spends in the 2024 season is believed to be due to the year including 18 auspicious dates, while in 2023, there were a total of 11. CAIT's Veda and Spiritual Committee also added that this year's wedding season will begin from November 12, 2024 until December 16, 2024. After a hiatus of about a month, weddings will resume from mid-January 2025 until March 2025. In general, the wedding season in India begins in November and goes on until March. This coincides with winter and spring seasons across the country, which offer generally pleasant temperatures and naturally stunning vistas, making it ideal for indoor or outdoor functions.
Photo Credit: Aura by Area 83
A deeper look into spending shows that 10 lakhs of weddings will take place at a total cost of 3 lakhs per wedding. That is a generally consistent figure as 10 lakhs of weddings will also take place at the total cost of 6 lakhs, 10 lakhs and 15 lakhs per wedding respectively. As the wedding expenditure increases however, the number of functions decreases; which showcases a price ceiling willing to be paid by the general public. The elite however continue to spend lavishly on expensive weddings. 7 lakh weddings will take place with an expenditure of Rs 25 lakh per wedding. There will be HNIs willing to spend even more as 50,000 weddings will take place with an expenditure of Rs 50 lakh per wedding and 50,000 weddings with an expenditure of Rs 1 crore or more per wedding will also take place.
With a general idea of total cost of weddings in mind, CAIT also shared the division of those expenses into their spend into goods and services. Majority of spending comes from jewellery at 15 percent of total expenses and clothing and apparel at 10 percent, which speaks greatly about the focus during weddings. Following that, electronics and consumer durables take up 5 percent of total expenses, confectionery is at 5 percent, groceries and vegetables is also at 5 percent and slightly lower than that, gift items make up for 4 percent of it.
These facts and figures explain how Indians are willing to spend more of their income on weddings. how greatly the affair revolves around appearance as well as how that is influenced by auspicious events.
(Also Read: People Are Hiring Full-Time "Wedding Destroyers" To Sabotage Their Wedding For Rs 47,000)
