Indian wedding industry preps for marriage ruling

Colorful lights, dance, music, food and lots of guests: Welcome to the Indian wedding.

India, a country of 1.4 billion people, has one of the world’s most ancient cultures and traditions. The country celebrates its festivals and culture in different styles and weddings are no different. In India, a wedding is not only the union of two people, but two families coming together to form a new bond. The country’s wedding industry is worth $210 billion a year.

The Indian wedding industry is continuously expanding and sees a promising opportunity if the country’s Supreme Court rules in favor of marriage rights for same-sex couples.

According to the 2012 Census, 2.5 million LGBTQ people live in the country, and awareness of it in society is also increasing. The Indian wedding fashion industry is also booming — it is worth $50 billion — and the market would skyrocket in no time if marriage equality comes to the country.

“Like any other industry, the Indian wedding planning industry quickly catches on to trends and opportunities,” said Vishaal S. Shah, a founding partner of Purple Chariot, an event management and wedding planning company in India. “Very soon, we will see two types of planners in the industry — those who have no emotional investment in this topic and are just here to cash in on the opportunity and, on the other end of the spectrum would be planners who see this as a beautiful space to create magic between a couple who have struggled to get legitimacy to their relationship by the state. In the long run, when the dust settles, planners who are either LGBTQ-owned or understand the sensibilities of the LGBTQ community will emerge as authentic service providers beyond the contract, targets and numbers.”

While talking with the Washington Blade, Shah also said that no LGBTQ couple has approached him for their wedding planning yet. His company, Purple Chariot, has a strong desire to help LGBTQ couples plan their wedding and create memories and emotions, which he does for straight wedding couples. just look at them as a business.

Dutee Chand, an Indian professional sprinter and athlete, in December 2022 posted a heartwarming picture on Twitter and announced her marriage with her girlfriend Monalisa. Although guest details are not available, the picture showed an average Indian wedding celebration.

She is the first openly gay athlete in India.

While talking with the Blade, Ankit Rao, founder of ANR Weddings and Events, an Indian wedding planning company, said LGBTQ weddings are happening, and it’s a welcome move.

“We are happy to help them out with wedding planning,” said Rao. “Not just because of commercial angle, we see it like every wedding. People would get married whether with opposite or same sex.”

Ankit also said that his company and team would help LGBTQ couples in every way possible. But Rao also mentioned that he is yet to be approached for LGBTQ weddings. ANR Weddings and Events is one of India’s top event and wedding planning companies, and the company has been gearing up for LGBTQ wedding planning as well.

“We have a vibrant circle of friends who are from the LGBTQ community,” said Shah. “While there might be surface-level differences between a straight couple’s wedding and an LGBTQ wedding, the underlying need to feel special and make everyone involved in the love that the couple experience is something common across all kinds of relationships. And this is precisely what we strive to achieve in any wedding we execute at Purple Chariot.”

Although Supreme Court’s ruling on marriage equality is pending, Shah said a positive decision would open an opportunity for the Indian wedding industry. He cautioned there would be a few big LGBTQ weddings and more intimate weddings with between 50 and 150 guests. Properties, service providers, and the entire ecosystem will have to sensitize themselves to these new opportunities and not

The Supreme Court in 2018 decriminalized homosexuality, but same-sex marriage remains illegal.

The Supreme Court on April 18 began hearing arguments on petitions for marriage equality. The Blade extensively covered the deliberations. The marriage equality ruling is still pending, and the LGBTQ community is quite hopeful for a favorable verdict.

“Depending on which way the judgement goes, because we cannot be part of something that is not legal, if the Supreme Court rules for it and says it will make the law, then we will be very happy to do these weddings,” said Vithika Agarwal, founder of Divya Vithika Wedding Planners. “We have not given it a thought yet until it actually happens, so I have no idea about the potential market for it.”

ANKUSH KUMAR