Interestingly, most of these trends are here to stay.
Indian weddings have always been about week-long ceremonies and extravagant celebrations. However, the Covid-19 pandemic showed that change is inevitable. More and more young couples and wedding planners are now moving towards smaller, hybrid and intimate affairs. And interestingly, most of these trends are here to stay.
The Covid-stricken world also taught people to be more creative and resourceful. For instance, during the pandemic, customers were introduced to the concept of contactless hospitality or minimising the interaction between staff and guests. This, in turn, has now set the tone for hybrid events. “The wedding business in India has most certainly been subjected to various modifications in the past year. We are still constantly adapting to better and tenable alternatives from the conventional ‘big fat Indian wedding’ to move towards hybrid, intimate and small-scale weddings,” says Puneet Dhawan, senior VP—operations, Accor India & South Asia.
The leading multinational hospitality group rolled out ‘Vivaah at Novotel’, a hybrid concept for contemporary virtual weddings, in November 2020. The initiative has garnered interest across the company’s properties. “Although hybrid wedding concepts were a consequence of the pandemic, they are now a commercial and sustainable alternative,” adds Dhawan.
Weddings have now become inventive, intimate and digital with new add-ons like temperature scans, sanitising sprays, self-valet parking, contactless food service, and micro and outdoor ceremonies for safe and socially distanced gatherings. From organising ‘shift’ weddings—in which couples host their celebrations on their original date while having smaller batches of guests attending in shifts—to ‘minimonies’ or mini ceremonies on their original wedding with family and live streaming of functions like mehndi and cocktail night, newer trends are now emerging.
According to Lalita Raghav, vice-president of FNP Venues—a unit of flower and gift retailer Ferns N Petals—the $50-billion wedding industry in India has been deeply affected in the past two years as most events were postponed to a future date. The ordeal that started in January 2020 has continued till date. “Before the pandemic, we used to host 1,000-1,200 guests per function, which has drastically downsized. We used to organise 700-800 weddings in a financial year, but the numbers have gone down by almost 60%,” she says.
Pre-wedding functions have also reduced, says Raghav. “In the past one year, the overall wedding business has dipped by almost 60% but because the previous year’s weddings are rescheduled to happen now, most of our venues are booked in advance and we see some recovery on the cards by the end of this year,” she adds.
A la carte menu and, at times, pre-plated sit-down dinners are now being preferred with a focus on ‘vocal for local’ in décor. Use of cane furniture or props, less energy consuming lights, green plants and flowers for design aesthetics have taken over this wedding season, as per Raghav.
Going intimate
From home, garden, or backyard weddings this year, there is a demand for intimate affairs as well. “Personalised bell notes, petal cones with couples photos, customised cushion covers, dining table detailing along with name plates, customised menu cards, key holders if it’s a destination wedding, a welcome note or paintings that the bride has made, or a meaningful piece of article that she penned down, are part of customised weddings,” says Mumbai-based wedding design specialist Aashna Saran, founder and creative head of Aash Studio, who has worked with hotel brands like Trident Oberoi group, The W, Grand Hyatt and The Leela hotels.
Saran has queries from couples who planned and rescheduled their wedding this year. “So, small format weddings and intimate weddings are here to stay,” says Saran.
While the to-be-weds and vendor partners worked in tandem to deliver innovative solutions, reliance on technology has heavily increased with couples looking to plan their weddings from the comfort of their homes. Mumbai-based wedding photographer Aditya Mahagaonkar, co-founder of photography company WhatKnot, says, “We have shot gigs with a guest list ranging from 50-200, wearing more gear on site like PPE kits and masks, and using zoom lenses and 360-degree cameras for live-streaming, bringing down our team size to two-three members at most due to safety protocols. Client meetings are organised on Zoom/ Google Meet, especially when house weddings become the norm which mean improvised decor in a limited space, virtual guests via live streaming or sending customised wedding hampers to guests.”
Comfortable fashion
Fashion, too, has become lighter as brides now focus on finesse and procure an outfit which gives a sense of comfort. Designer Tarun Tahiliani finds fine quality light fabrics and outfits with luxe pieces in great demand, which can be worn in numerous ways rather than being part of one outfit.
“Brides are more confident in their skin and in tune with themselves. They do not wish to follow the trend of the season but focus on comfort and quality of the pieces that they choose. Other than the traditional reds and oranges, pale English colours such as variants of jade, old rose, pastels in the form of ivories, oysters or pale pinks are in. In terms of design sensibility and methodology, timeless pieces like chikankari are preferred that can be passed down generations,” says Tahiliani.
Alternatively, weddings are being ruled by the new-age bride who will go into full-blown maximalism this season—complete with multiple-coloured dupattas embellished in heavy jewels and gold. “With less budget allotted towards guests and large venues, more importance is given to the bride’s outfit. The three trends to go big are: blended colour schemes, bridal capes and light gold lehengas. New silhouettes in dresses are emerging,” says Delhi-based fashion designer Abhinav Mishra.
Graphic and geometric patterned lehengas and gowns in quirky prints work well as brides do away with traditional lehenga patterns, besides floral prints that are already popular. “We expect to see more brides making fun outfits a part of their trousseau and can be worn on many occasions,” says Delhi-based designer Siddhartha Bansal, who uses pastel and eye-soothing candy colour combinations infused with kaleidoscopic patterns.
Women are also digging into their mother or grandmothers’ wardrobes to pick heirloom pieces. A customised wedding with a trend of buying less but buying well is picking up, says Aditi Chand, co-founder and CEO of Tilfi, a homegrown brand of Banarasi handloom saris, dupattas and lehengas, weaves in pure silk, cotton and koras. Chand also recreates the sari as close to its original version depending on the fabric.
“People choose versatile pieces which can be styled differently and worn repeatedly. The idea is not to be saddled with something you won’t enjoy or be able to wear later. Experimentation and exploration as a theme run across fabrics, designs and silhouettes. The changing format of weddings has allowed many to pick unconventional pieces which express their individuality and don’t necessarily conform to the standard definitions of ‘wedding wear’. Pieces woven in the kadhua weave are popular for wedding wear as they tend to last longer, look and drape better; also considered as an investment piece. For summer weddings, vibrant reds and yellows are making a comeback, even though they are very traditional choices,” she says.
A green affair
Sustainable elements and decor items like cane baskets, cane lanterns, plants and flowers are trending wedding themes. There is also attention to detail. “Customised menu, dinner table setups, personalised decor options and earthen pots help create cute corners at the venue. An effort to reuse whatever we have thereby reducing the wastage and purchases of plastics at the same time repurpose things we already have. For instance, we use a few empty alcohol bottles as the base of a lamp shade for a cocktail party and create an entry pathway using leave hangings that we made with chart papers. It turned out to be unique and grabbed a lot of eyes,” says Saran of Aash Studio.
On the other hand, eco-friendly weddings have always been a concern for years but not the mantra in 2022. One of the reasons could be budget restrictions but expectations in terms of design are still the same. “A wedding is a once-in-a-lifetime affair and a lot of emotions and wishful thinking are attached to it, so the challenge is to fulfill a couple’s dreams at a reasonable price. From a service provider perspective, it is challenging to meet the expenses within the budget restriction,” says Raghav of FNP Venues.
On a positive note
While the past two years saw a major dip in queries and sales due to the pandemic-induced lockdown, this year, the wedding industry expects business to pick up.
For instance, in a year as significant as 2019, JW Marriott New Delhi had around 160 weddings across the year hosted in the expansive 30,000 sq ft of banqueting and convention facility. The year 2021 showed a juxtaposition of wedding and social segment queries coming to a halt or getting postponed, says Karthik Ramdas, former director of sales and marketing, JW Marriott New Delhi.
“Despite a tough year for the hospitality sector, Q4 of 2021 ended on a very positive note. Starting September, weddings and events were near 2019 revenue numbers which by far were the best. This year looks promising with pent-up demand as there are close to 70 auspicious dates of which 40 are in summer,” says Ramdas, who is now the founder of WICE Events, a Delhi-NCR-based event planning and management company.
