Why Indians Spend Twice as Much on Weddings as on Education

The Indian Wedding Market is Nearly Twice the Size of the U.S. Market

Newsreel Asia Insight #268
July 1, 2024

In India, the wedding industry is a behemoth, tipping the scales at a staggering 10 trillion rupees, or $130 billion, according to a report by investment banking and capital markets firms. The average Indian family, the report suggests, spends twice as much on tying the knot as they do on educating the future knot tiers. This confirms our knowledge and experience that Indian weddings are mega-events, rivalling the GDP of some small countries. But should we be content with and continue this trend?

Every year, India celebrates 8 million to 10 million weddings, says the firm Jefferies, as reported by PTI. That’s roughly the population of Switzerland getting married every single year! And when Indians say “I do,” they really mean “I do... extravagantly.” In comparison, this industry is nearly twice the size of the U.S. wedding market, which sits at a mere $70 billion. Even the luxury-loving United States seems to be a bit of a penny pincher next to India’s matrimonial splurge.

The Indian wedding, a symphony of lavish spending, spans multiple days and involves everything from intricate henna designs to elephants decked out in finery (because, why not?). If weddings were an Olympic sport, India would be the perennial gold medallist. The Hindu calendar adds its own twist, dictating auspicious days for these events, making wedding dates as seasonally variable as a fashion designer’s whims.

However, despite being a value-conscious society (where bargaining is virtually a sport), when it comes to weddings, Indians open their wallets with a gusto that would make even the most extravagant spendthrift blush. The average wedding cost? A cool $15,000. And remember, this is a country where per capita income still makes that amount look astronomical. Some weddings are so grand that you might think the event planners were actually launching a small satellite rather than orchestrating nuptials.

Think about the last Indian wedding you attended. Was there a chocolate pani puri station next to a pineapple-flavoured paneer stall? Did you find yourself lost in a maze of floral decorations, wondering if you had accidentally stumbled into a botanical garden? And let’s not forget about the bride’s lehenga, which, weighing in at 10 kgs, requires almost as much strength to wear as it does style to carry off.

The implications of this spending trend are serious, especially when compared to education expenditure. Imagine if we redirected just a fraction of the lavish wedding budgets towards education. Instead of gold-laden lehengas and seven-course meals, we could have gold standards in schooling and courses that actually help one navigate life. Investing in education could yield more software engineers, doctors, professors  and entrepreneurs. Instead, the budget often flows into gold jewellery that would make Fort Knox envious, and wedding halls so large they might just need their own zip code.

While the economic boost from weddings is like a dazzling fireworks display—spectacular but short-lived—investment in education is more like a well-constructed dam: less glamorous, perhaps, but with far-reaching benefits.

And let’s talk about the societal pressure cooker that whips up these opulent weddings. If India’s social media is anything to go by, not having a wedding that’s visible from space seems almost a misdemeanour. This cultural magnificence, however, often leads to financial strains that could make even a Monopoly banker wince. Families sometimes spend their life savings or, even worse, dive into debt just to ensure that the wedding is Instagram-worthy.

This splurge fest also dances around some serious gender issues. The big fat Indian wedding often translates into a big fat check that the bride’s family is expected to foot. Again, if the same money was channelled into educating daughters, we might see them leading boardrooms or scientific innovations instead of just leading the conga line at their wedding.

Economically speaking, if weddings were businesses, they would indeed have an impressive quarterly report. But unlike businesses, weddings don’t yield a return on investment unless you count the leftover biryani. Redirecting some of these funds to education could yield dividends that last generations.

Culturally, if we start celebrating academic achievements with the same fervour as weddings, who knows? The next big celebration might just be for passing board exams, complete with DJs and a buffet. This shift could help foster a society where knowledge and learning are as celebrated as matrimonial unions.