Gone are the days when weddings were those retrograde one-day deals with short ceremonies, followed by mundane, teetotaler buffets. Enter designer clothes, haute couture, international chefs and spirits flown from Italy, theme weddings, week long soirees, special performances by the big-wigs of the entertainment industry, and soaring-high budgets.
More than ever now, Indian weddings have become the epitome of exuberance, flamboyance and grandiosity that cannot be compared to any other nation. Unlike, the West, where parents put aside dough for children’s college fund, in India folks, families and even the bride and groom make sure that money or the lack of it doesn’t come in the way of the D-day.
Yes the wedding industry as of today is a multi-billion dollar industry and one can easily assert that quarter of an average Indian family’s wealth is lavishly spent on weddings. And with over 35% of the Indian population falling under the below 30 years age bracket, it will be no surprise if the list of impending weddings, before the turn of the next decade, crosses the 40 crore mark!
An average wedding budget of an Indian middle-class family ranges somewhere from five to 15 lakhs; and then there are people out there who will set aside that much money exclusively for the selection of wines from around the globe. India, a nation with several cultures, traditions and communities interwoven together, has myriad ways of celebrating weddings. Smaller communities, like the Parsis prefer more simplistic, intimate weddings with a well-edited guest list; whereas Hindus, such as Marwaris, Gujaratis, Punjabis and Sindhis opt for glitzy affairs with a lot of bling quotient.
Where does it commence and where does it end? The truth is, there is no upper-limit to the amount of time, effort and money people are willing to spend on a wedding. It can range from booking the Palais Du Versailles, to flying more than 300 guests to Florence, to having a superstar dancing till the wee hours at your wedding. And things like wearing a Swarovski encrusted outfit and having exotic flower arrangements, which run into lacks are additional frills thrown in for good measure. Even something as grave as the global recession couldn’t shake people or push them into mandatory cost-cutting as far as weddings were concerned.
So how does one go about it? Say, the budget is in place and so are the bride and groom; but how exactly to commence this Herculean process? What is done to death and which shindig will make sure your wedding is the talk of the town? Relax; take a deep breath – Marry Me the Wedding Planner to the rescue. A young, dynamic and highly creative team, Marry Me will turn your dream of the perfect wedding into a multihued reality.
Candice Pereira, the Creative Head of the company, has an education and work background in Hospitality Management in India, Australia and Canada. With a strong penchant for the wedding industry, Candice has traveled the world and organized and executed several high profile weddings and events. She and her invigorating team, who are full of zest and refreshing ideas, will make sure that all your pre-wedding bashes, ceremonies and the actual day are a fantastic mélange of fun, finesse and class.
Raise a toast to your conjugal bliss with MarryMe.
