Inside India's $130 billion wedding obsession

Shikhar Mehta and Khushi Parmar dance at their wedding. (Foreign Correspondent: Marty Smiley) Link copiedShareShare articleThey're a no-expenses-spared extravaganza for some. For others, Indian weddings are a debt trap. A brass band cuts through the afternoon air in south Mumbai — trumpets blaring, drums snapping into rhythm — as a wedding procession gathers at the edge of the Arabian Sea. Men in embroidered sherwanis, and women in sequined lehngas and saris, suddenly whip their phones out. The groom is here. Shikhar Mehta arrives in a vintage car, wearing a traditional pink turban and sunglasses. The baraat swells around him, stopping traffic as they head for the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, one of India's most iconic landmarks. It's hosted presidents, royalty and film stars. Today it's hosting a wedding. Upstairs, in a quiet hotel room above the streets, the bride, Khushi Parmar, is getting ready. Makeup artists are working with precision as assistants adjust her fabric and jewellery, while photographers circle her to capture the perfect moment. She is dressed piece by piece: a spherical maang tikka rests against her forehead, a nose ring arcs across her cheek, and red and white bangles stack along her arms. Now it's up to a cast of thousands: the wedding planner, caterers, decorators, lighting, florists, DJs and many others to pull off the wedding Khushi and Shikhar have dreamed of. It's an extravagant affair but nothing out of the ordinary in India where the wedding industry is now worth an estimated $130 billion annually. India hosts 10 million weddings a year, more than anywhere else in the world. According to a 2024 Jefferies report, consumer spending on weddings was second only to food and groceries, with the average wedding costing nearly $55,000. At the very top end they are vast displays of wealth and influence. Few illustrated that more starkly than the 2024 marriage celebrations of Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant, a months-long spectacle attended by Tony Blair, Boris Johnson, Kim Kardashian, Mike Tyson, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg and a long list of Bollywood stars. At the other end of the wealth spectrum, weddings can become a financial burden, with social expectation driving families into debilitating debt. Foreign Correspondent travelled across the country to understand how this multi-billion-dollar industry operates, and what it reveals about the culture of matrimony in India. It's the morning of the wedding and Khushi Parmar is standing in room 214 of the Taj Mahal Hotel where a temporary photo studio has been set up with lights, flashes and cameras. A pre-wedding photo shoot has become a non-negotiable part of the modern Indian wedding checklist. "I'm just excited for the full look, to see, like, what I envisioned," says Khushi. Her union with Shikhar is a love marriage — still not the norm in India where most alliances are arranged through families. They met as teenagers in their apartment block and stayed together through their twenties. "We've both been waiting for this moment for a very long time," says Shikhar. "We dated for six long years. So I'm very excited, a little bit nervous. I just want to get married to her as quick as I can." This photo shoot is a way to present their relationship to family, friends, and increasingly a wider audience on social media. In India, photography and videography now account for roughly 2 per cent of total wedding budgets, with billions spent each year on films, drone footage, edits and albums. For Khushi and Shikhar, a day's shoot alone will cost around $14,000. "It was never our plan to have a grand wedding," says Khushi. "It was our families'." Shikhar's parents were very emotional when it came to his wedding and didn't want to compromise on anything, he says. "They treat marriage like a festival," he says. Indian weddings are not just cultural events, they're a vast, organised economy. During the 43-day wedding season between November and December 2025, spending reached an estimated $100 billion, according to the Confederation of All India Traders. Around half goes towards goods — clothing, jewellery, gifts — while the other half flows into services, from venues and catering to logistics and production. But one category stands apart: jewellery, which accounts for around 15 per cent of total wedding spending, the single biggest expense. Jewellery's significance extends far beyond aesthetics. For many families, saving for wedding gold begins at birth. "We have been saving bit by bit since she was little," says Sangeeta Parmar, Khushi's mother. "In our community, jewellery is a must. There is no marriage without jewellery." Khushi's mother-in-law, Shalini Mehta, agrees. "I want my daughter-in-law to wear jewels on her head, a heavy and intricate necklace, lots of traditional red bangles," she says. "She should be dolled up and adorned with henna. I want to welcome my beautiful daughter-in-law wearing a lot of je

Inside India's $130 billion wedding obsession

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