Fat marriages in small towns run on Kovid crash diet
Wedding ceremonies in India have always been big, fat and more or less recession proof. The unorganized Indian marriage industry employs many people and is estimated to run into billions.
The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly disrupted this segment and fundamentally changed the way weddings are planned and celebrated in Indian metros and small towns. COVID restrictions imposed by government officials have forced people to have limited and smaller weddings, with slimmer guest lists and more intimate celebrations. Undoubtedly, the pandemic has forced people to reduce their wedding budget. Before the pandemic people spent on various aspects and engaged many service providers for the right big, fat wedding. However, now most people are choosing to avoid spending on non-essential wedding services like wedding planning.
The wedding ceremony and wedding industry has witnessed a paradigm shift like never before. Despite the restrictions, large gatherings have been abandoned in favor of intimate and smaller gatherings. Overall, people are opting for a smaller guest list even after restrictions have been eased.
Moreover, most weddings are now being planned at shorter notice than in pre-Covid times, with a greater emphasis on decoration, gifts and personalization of the menu. While some have opted to postpone weddings during the lockdown and Covid-waves, others have gone ahead with smaller intimate gatherings following the prescribed government rules.
In metro cities, Tier-II and Tier III cities, the wedding supply chain has been affected differently due to the pandemic. While in big cities, most people prefer to have weddings in open spaces, in small towns hotels and banquets have generated more or less good business. Wedding vendors such as makeup artists and photographers have made good business recovery, while other vendors in the industry such as decorators and venues have suffered significant loss of business and revenue.
(The author is Divitya Shergill, Co-Founder of Shaadiwish)
(Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author. They do not represent the views of India TV)
,