Wild, wild weddings

From jade thalis to cocktail fountains, RUMAN BAIG uncovers the new expression of luxury in Indian weddings, where every whim is within reach.

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I GREW UP with Mira Nair’s Monsoon Wedding; a beautiful chaos of marigold garlands, jewel-toned saris and relatives flying in from Houston, Australia and Dubai, all converging on one Delhi home—it felt grand but not exorbitant.

A family celebrating love against monsoon rains and familial drama. How naive was I?

The first crack in that romanticised vision came when my friends started getting married. Luxury was no longer exceptional; it had become the baseline. Every ballroom was dripping in orchids, every sangeet had a celebrity singer, every buffet spread looked like Pinterest on steroids. Which begged the question: if luxury is the norm, how do you stand out?

The answer, it turns out, is turning weddings into full-scale productions that would make a Tamil blockbuster pale in comparison.

Nothing prepared me for the moment I joined a three-way call with my friend’s wedding planner, furiously scribbling notes from a 10-page outfit specification document. Ten pages. For one wedding. We dissected every shade of embroidery, every pearl on a dupatta border, even footwear directives (sneakers, it was decreed, were only permitted at the after-after-party).

As I stared at that document, then bid three months' salary goodbye in credit card payments, I realised I had crossed some invisible threshold into the stratosphere of Indian luxury weddings, where no detail is too small and no expense too great in the pursuit of perfection.