But, do weddings must be actually very costly? Mint spoke to 4 soon-to-be brides who disagreed with this notion. They additionally had some out-of-box concepts to curb bills.
No-frills registered marriage
Delhi-based Apoorva Shalom, 31, has selected a court-registered marriage adopted by a small ceremony at a temple. “People spend lakhs and crores of rupees on their wedding ceremony however I need to spend the naked minimal,” says Shalom, who works at a Gurugram-based outsourcing agency that caters to advertising and marketing and data know-how.
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To make sure, a court docket marriage doesn’t contain a lot bills. The registration price for the wedding is simply ₹2,000 to ₹2,500. The temple ceremony will price Shalom ₹66,000 and catering an additional ₹30,000. While bridal apparel makes up a giant chunk of the marriage bills, Shalom has determined to lease her costumes and allotted ₹6,500-10,000 for this in her wedding ceremony price range.
To make sure, renting wedding ceremony attire is about 50-85% cheaper than shopping for them. However, rental firms demand a safety deposit to cowl the price of any injury, significantly stains. In case of tears, burns or everlasting stains, they may demand as much as 150% of the price of the apparel.
Shalom additionally has plans for the quantity saved from her no-frills wedding ceremony. “I’ll put that in a set deposit and use it for any exigency later or for my kids’s schooling sooner or later.”
The DIY bride
In Udupi, a giant city in coastal Karnataka, Payal Poojary is doubling up as a marriage planner for her D-day. “There is scope to chop prices in occasion administration, so I’ve taken upon that position myself,” says the 29-year-old enterprise analyst.
Poojary has determined to host two of the occasions—bangle and henna ceremonies— at her household home somewhat than a banquet corridor. “My house is situated close to the gorgeous and serene backwaters of Udupi,” she mentioned. Organizing a single occasion at a banquet corridor can price anyplace between ₹1 lakh and ₹3 lakh, regardless of the restricted variety of company. This contains the price of meals and ornament. In distinction, internet hosting each the occasions at dwelling will price Poojary lower than ₹1.7 lakh, which incorporates the costs for adornment, catering, and the henna ceremony. The charges for the beautician and the price of the bridal put on will add as much as one other ₹25,000.
“I really like DIY (do-it-yourself) tasks. So, for the occasions taking place at dwelling, I plan to do the ornament myself. I’m additionally designing the invitation playing cards,” says Poojary.
She shouldn’t be splurging on a banquet corridor or a star lodge for the marriage both and has as a substitute opted for a temple wedding ceremony. “It was straightforward to persuade each our mother and father in regards to the venue as a result of they too bought married in the identical temple,” she mentioned.
The wedding ceremony will price Poojary ₹3.15 lakh that features lease for the marriage corridor situated on the temple premises ( ₹60,000), ornament ( ₹35,000), meals ( ₹2 lakh), and miscellaneous bills ( ₹20,000). In temple weddings in south India, the meals is usually ready by the temple cooks.She has organized for a beautician for the day of the marriage at a value of ₹15,000.
Poojary has been conscious to allocate extra money in direction of what she considers to be an funding, somewhat than a one-time expense. For occasion, she has put aside the next quantity for gold jewelry, whereas she has reduce down on garments and ornament. Instead of shopping for a closely accessorised wedding ceremony gown, Poojary will put on a Kanjivaram silk saree priced round ₹30,000, which she says can be utilized afterward throughout festivals or different particular events.
Traditional tunes
Contrary to the present pattern of vacation spot weddings which might be an elaborate affair lasting a number of days, Kalka-based Sakshi Chaudhary has determined to have a easy dwelling wedding ceremony.
Chaudhary, 28, knowledgeable occasion planner, is placing her expertise to good use by sourcing the very best companies at minimal prices. For occasion, she has tied up with native caterers and avenue distributors for meals. For the ensemble, Chaudhary has a low-cost inventive answer. “I’m styling and designing my very own outfits. I’ll supply the materials from wholesale markets in Delhi and can get every gown stitched by a clothier buddy who shouldn’t be charging me . “This will assist me save virtually 50-80% on the price of the 4 outfits that I must put on at completely different features,” she says. Yet, the wedding dresses will cost Chaudhary about ₹1 lakh. “Had I bought the wedding wear from stores, it would have easily cost me about ₹2.7 lakh,” she provides. However, designing garments and sourcing the proper material wants experience and might not be everybody’s cup of tea.
When requested in regards to the wedding ceremony decor, Chaudhary mentioned she is planning to mix the haldi and mehendi ceremonies. Also, she’s going to add some lights to the identical decor and use the setup for a cocktail get together within the night. All the three occasions will likely be held within the lawns of her home and can save her the price of spending on a marriage venue.
She can be counting on a tech-hack to avoid wasting on pictures. Typically, wedding ceremony photographers cost ₹15,000-40,000 for every occasion that they cowl. “For the mehendi and haldi ceremonies and the marriage, a buddy, who can be knowledgeable photographer, will seize the occasions. For the cocktail get together, we are going to use a cellular app referred to as POV, which permits company to register for wedding ceremony and use a QR code to take snaps with their telephones. All these photographs can then be accessed by all of the assembled company,” Chaudhary defined.
Chaudhary will host the Anand Karaj, a Sikh wedding ceremony ceremony, at her dwelling. However, the marriage lunch will likely be held at a banquet corridor as her visitor listing has round 700 folks. The lunch will price her about ₹9 lakh, which incorporates the corridor lease, ornament and catering.
Chaudhary has booked the companies of some associates for make-up and pictures. “It will enhance their enterprise and likewise assist me reduce prices,” she said. “As an event manager, I have seen people splurge several crores of rupees on a 3-day wedding. That did not go down well with me and I decided against following this trend of destination wedding. Also, I want my vidaai (farewell) to happen at my home where I’ve grown up instead of a hotel.”
Shopping hacks
Gurugram-based Palak Mehrotra has some sensible hacks up her sleeve that helped her curb bills. For one, she is sending out e-invites to her company. “Traditional wedding ceremony playing cards price round ₹90,000 to ₹1.3 lakh, whereas a digital invite prices you nothing,” says Mehrotra, who handles operations at a number one fast-moving shopper items firm.
For her D-day apparel, Mehrotra had determined that she would look forward to the festive season gross sales that begins in August. That is when most retailers in Delhi provide enormous reductions. “I made a visit to Chandni Chowk in Delhi someday again to get an thought of the varied designs and costs obtainable out there. I made a decision then itself what I needed to purchase. When the festive gross sales started, I went there once more and acquired a lehenga price ₹70,000 for simply ₹35,000,” she says. A lehenga is the skirt that Hindu brides, significantly in north India, put on for his or her wedding ceremony.
Similarly, Mehrotra did intensive groundwork earlier than zeroing down on the wedding venue. She and her fiancé had been each born and introduced up in Jim Corbett (Uttarakhand) and determined to ebook a resort that’s providing end-to-end companies for 2 days. The complete price range is ₹25 lakh, inclusive of the meals, ornament, lodging for company, and music for all of the occasions.
“This was cheaper in comparison with reserving a venue and the catering individually. If booked individually, the venue provides solely lodging and prices round ₹10 lakh and catering one other ₹17-25 lakh. Decor prices, too, will likely be separate,” she mentioned.
Palak was capable of finding an area wedding ceremony photographer and make-up specialist inside an appropriate price range of ₹1 lakh and ₹20,000, respectively, to cowl all her bridal features. Palak says she looked for cheaper offers wherever doable as she needs to put money into a home and purchase a automotive, in addition to different requirements, after the marriage.