Fake weddings catch the fancy of many people in India

In a country where weddings power a nearly £100bn industry and the uber-rich spend millions celebrating a single union, a counter-trend is quietly gaining ground: young urban Indians are paying to attend “weddings” where no couple is tying the knot and where the only promise is a night of music, dancing and spectacle.

- Shahana Yasmin, The Independent

These fake wedding parties mimic the atmosphere of a traditional Indian one, complete with marigold garlands, shimmering sarees and lehengas, and Bollywood playlists—but without the rituals, the family drama and the financial burden. What started as a novelty in the capital Delhi earlier this year quickly spread to Bengaluru, Hyderabad and beyond, transforming into one of the year’s most talked-about social phenomena.

To understand the appeal, it helps to grasp the scale of the Indian wedding itself. The country hosts around 10 million weddings annually, according to industry estimates, and families often spend years saving for the occasion. In 2024, investment advisory firm Wright Research valued the Indian wedding services sector at over £75bn, while market research and consulting company Grand View Research forecast an annual growth of more than 14 per cent through the decade.

Indian weddings are sprawling affairs that can last anywhere between three and seven days, often involving hundreds if not thousands of guests.

Consumer spectacles