Wedding Wise

Parties that last five days, nonstop merriment and festivities8212;-Indians, affluent or not, have always spent lavishly on weddings.

The Grand Indian wedding just got smaller, post meltdown

Parties that last five days, nonstop merriment and festivities8212;-Indians, affluent or not, have always spent lavishly on weddings. But that was before the stock market crashed, real estate prices fell and the dreaded term, recession, started doing the rounds. December, the busiest month of the calendar for weddings, is low key in Delhi this year, with most people rethinking wedding budgets and coming up with innovative schemes to cut back. 8220;In India most upper and middle income groups save a certain amount for weddings. I don8217;t think that budget will be affected, but there will be a slump in additional luxury expenses,8221; says Vandana Mohan of The Wedding Design Company.

Most planners are gearing up for a 20-25 percent cut in business over the next year. 8220;So far, things are okay because India is not in recession,8221; says Ravish Kapoor, who has partnered with Los Angeles-based event planner John Connolly to set up his own company in the Capital. Everything about Kapoor spells top-notch service and a matching price tag to boot8212; for instance, some of the invites designed by him can cost upto Rs 20,000 per card. Kapoor says the change in the client8217;s approach may begin to show in the next three or four months.

While cutting back on wedding expenditure, people are likely to scrounge on elaborate flower arrangements, a lot of which are imported from Thailand, and exotic, pre-marriage theme parties. According to the hospitality industry, bars are stocking more varieties of cocktails, and less of expensive single malts and imported wines. 8220;The bookings for this season will go as planned, but the coming year will be different,8221; predicts Rubina Mittal, of Delhi8217;s Pinnacle Designs and Exhibits.

With celebrities like the Chatwals and the Mittals setting the norm for extravagance at weddings with fancy sets and themes, and Bollywood actors performing at these dos, most planners admit that a wedding is more about entertainment than just the actual ceremony. But all that might be set for a change now. 8220;Business has come down a fair amount because most people are opting to rent out a particular part of the property rather than the entire premise. People have been opting for just about two to three ceremonies instead of the customary five to six,8221; says Rohit Gupta, Chairman, Tivoli Gardens, the popular wedding venue just off MG Road. Gupta, in fact, forecasts a drop in business for the sector by over 35 by the next wedding season, in February. But the quality of these ceremonies, says Mohan, will hardly suffer. 8220;The pudding is there. It8217;s only the cream that8217;s going to be missing. The quantity will feel the pinch, not the quality,8221; she says.

Paromita Chakrabarti

Paromita Chakrabarti is Senior Associate Editor at the The Indian Express. She is a key member of the National Editorial and Opinion desk and writes on books and literature, gender discourse, workplace policies and contemporary socio-cultural trends. Professional Profile With a career spanning over 20 years, her work is characterized by a "deep culture" approach—examining how literature, gender, and social policy intersect with contemporary life. Specialization: Books and publishing, gender discourse (specifically workplace dynamics), and modern socio-cultural trends. Editorial Role: She curates the literary coverage for the paper, overseeing reviews, author profiles, and long-form features on global literary awards. Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) Her recent writing highlights a blend of literary expertise and sharp social commentary: 1. Literary Coverage & Nobel/Booker Awards "2025 Nobel Prize in Literature | Hungarian master of apocalypse" (Oct 10, 2025): An in-depth analysis of László Krasznahorkai’s win, exploring his themes of despair and grace. "Everything you need to know about the Booker Prize 2025" (Nov 10, 2025): A comprehensive guide to the history and top contenders of the year. "Katie Kitamura's Audition turns life into a stage" (Nov 8, 2025): A review of the novel’s exploration of self-recognition and performance. 2. Gender & Workplace Policy "Karnataka’s menstrual leave policy: The problem isn’t periods. It’s that workplaces are built for men" (Oct 13, 2025): A viral opinion piece arguing that modern workplace patterns are calibrated to male biology, making women's rights feel like "concessions." "Best of Both Sides: For women’s cricket, it’s 1978, not 1983" (Nov 7, 2025): A piece on how the yardstick of men's cricket cannot accurately measure the revolution in the women's game. 3. Social Trends & Childhood Crisis "The kids are not alright: An unprecedented crisis is brewing in schools and homes" (Nov 23, 2025): Writing as the Opinions Editor, she analyzed how rising competition and digital overload are overwhelming children. 4. Author Interviews & Profiles "Fame is another kind of loneliness: Kiran Desai on her Booker-shortlisted novel" (Sept 23, 2025): An interview regarding The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny. "Once you’ve had a rocky and unsafe childhood, you can’t trust safety: Arundhati Roy" (Aug 30, 2025): A profile on Roy’s recent reflections on personal and political violence. Signature Beats Gender Lens: She frequently critiques the "borrowed terms" on which women navigate pregnancy, menstruation, and caregiving in the corporate world. Book Reviews: Her reviews often draw parallels between literature and other media, such as comparing Richard Osman’s The Impossible Fortune to the series Only Murders in the Building (Oct 25, 2025). ... Read More