The Indian wedding industry made almost 3.75lakh crores in November and December 2022 across 32 lakhs weddings and that’s more than the auto market in India. The industry is the fourth biggest industry but is still so underdeveloped and unorganized.
Since a few years ago, it has been observed how a wedding has evolved from a simple ceremony for tying the knot, the twinning of hearts, sharing of food, and family into a planned sequence of occasions that supports numerous sectors. The transformation of the big fat, big budget, big crowds, and show of strength statement weddings into small, big budget, and intimate weddings similar to the Virushka wedding is now becoming the new normal and is also a preference of many couples who want to cherish the special moments in a cozy setting. This has caused a number of tiny specialist enterprises to emerging, supporting this industry's 25–30% annual growth rate.
There are various components that make this industry Rs 3.75 lakh crore economy. These are catering and venue services which take about 30%, gifts take 19%, decoration 14%, event planning 12%, logistics 9%, honeymoon 8%, photography 3%, make-up 3%, and invites 2%.
The wedding industry isn’t one industry per se but many big and small industries that make it what it is. Let us have a look at the businesses that gain from India’s wedding bonanza
1. Matrimony Portals
2. Jewellery
3. Clothing
4. Hotels
5. Luggage and some others
About 60,000 crore worth of jewellery is bought annually for weddings, 5000 crore worth of hotel rooms are booked yearly, and about 10,000 crore worth of apparel is bought yearly.
According to a survey conducted by WeddingWire India last month, 31% of wedding industry vendors have decided to raise their prices due to high product and labour costs across categories, and nearly half of the company's wedding vendors' monthly earnings (42.5%) have increased in 2022 compared to 2019.
Despite any standards or regulations, the wedding business is prospering. Business in this sector is primarily driven by recommendations, reviews, and word of mouth. Vendors and clients would benefit from a (self)-the regulatory agency that provides a one-stop shop for wedding-related services. Customers would choose the best service provider based on their preferences and budget after all registered vendors had to disclose pricing and service data openly, and transparently. The industry should be allowed to adopt this coordinated framework, which is already used by five-star hotels and clubs and provides a win-win situation for all parties involved.
To know different perspectives on Indian Weddings I will be coming up with a very special video on my YouTube Channel so stay tuned!
