Brands are cashing in on fake weddings

The young are dressing up as guests at fictional weddings, complete with fake dulhas and dulhans. Brands are following them to the mandap

- Vaeshnavi Kasthuril

Visit India in late October or early November, and you will inevitably stumble upon the familiar sounds of the dhol, the glare of wedding lights and the unmistakable chaos of a baraat inching its way through a street.

This is the start of India's peak wedding season that typically lasts until May.

On the evening of 31 October, one such baraat wound its way into a Chhatarpur farmhouse in New Delhi. But this one came with a twist—the bride, groom, even the guests, weren't real. There was no priest or legal ceremony, and the wedding outfits were rented. Most of the guests were there for the brand installations, themed food counters and photo booths set up by major consumer companies.

This was quick-commerce platform Zepto's 'The Great Indian Fake Shaadi,' a staged wedding turned into a marketing stage for 14 brands, including Britannia Industries, Hershey's, Shaadi.com, Sugar Cosmetics and Manforce. Fake weddings began last year as themed parties for Gen Z but have grown rapidly into an urban phenomenon, drawing young crowds seeking the aesthetics of a wedding without the social obligations or expectations of attending an actual family function.

"For many people, getting dressed up and enjoying the food is the main draw," said Garv Malik, a standup comic-turned-marketeer who played the groom at the Zepto event just months after he quit his job as he needed a break and was looking forward to doing something fun. A friend of his shared an Instagram story of Zepto looking for a fake groom, and he decided to take part in it.

"At a fake wedding, you avoid the usual questions from relatives, no kids are running around, and people feel free to dress how they want. It's simply a safe space to party," Malik said.