The big fat Indian weddings
27 Sep 2012 11:18 PM GMT
As Autumn nears, the social scene in the city rapidly changes. Come September, and the wedding bells start to ring. The first persons who are affected by this change are the socialites. It is time for the invitations to roll out. It’s time for weddings and wedding-related fashion shows.
For a typical socialite it means fashion previews by day and sangeet or cocktail ceremonies by night. And wait, it’s not just any fashion preview! It is always a preview with a purpose.
Bridal previews generally rope in one or more socialites to model bridalwear, often ignoring the fact that she has long past her prime. This is because socialites are generally the invitees for most high-profile weddings unlike models.
Anyhow weddings are big business especially in north India, and so are bridal fashion weeks. Any popular designer will swear by it. Â
This is a time of the year when all designers dream of being the trousseau king or queen. Designers vie with each other to share a piece of this multi crore pie. Bagging the order for the trousseau of a single high profile wedding can rake in more moolah than the combined sale of his or her prêt line over the entire year.
When it comes to wedding, the well-heeled Indian will pull out all stops. Whether it is spending on clothes or on the ceremonies, money is generally the last thing on the father’s mind. So yes the Great Indian Wedding is everything and more.
In Delhi the word big fat Indian wedding is synonymous with GDPs of a small African country. Coordinated dresses for not just the bride and the groom, but also all close members of the family. This is generally a joint effort between the lucky designer, the wedding planners and the family of the bride. Event organisers are given the challenging task of getting an A or B grade Bollywood heroine. The boy’s side too put up a grand show. Starlets go a little bit more itsy bitsy.
The wedding of course is always a very sober affair. Any wedding worth its salt will be attended by at least one union minister, a minimum of two ministers of state, leader of the opposition, a handful of Parliamentarians, industrialists and socialites. The icing on the cake? A leading Bollywood star. However the great Indian wedding is never complete without the media. If there is no media circus there is no wedding.
These mega weddings are a caterers delight. The food spread is often enough to feed the whole of sub Saharan Africa. The venue is set out of paradise. I have witnessed hotel ballrooms being converted into ancient Greece, or a farmhouse that looks like it has been shipped overnight from Morocco. So for every socialite, designer, caterer, event manager, the ‘Big Fat Indian Wedding’ is a symbol of joy.
Salloli Kumar is a regular on Page 3 circuit for nearly a decade.
For a typical socialite it means fashion previews by day and sangeet or cocktail ceremonies by night. And wait, it’s not just any fashion preview! It is always a preview with a purpose.
Bridal previews generally rope in one or more socialites to model bridalwear, often ignoring the fact that she has long past her prime. This is because socialites are generally the invitees for most high-profile weddings unlike models.
Anyhow weddings are big business especially in north India, and so are bridal fashion weeks. Any popular designer will swear by it. Â
This is a time of the year when all designers dream of being the trousseau king or queen. Designers vie with each other to share a piece of this multi crore pie. Bagging the order for the trousseau of a single high profile wedding can rake in more moolah than the combined sale of his or her prêt line over the entire year.
When it comes to wedding, the well-heeled Indian will pull out all stops. Whether it is spending on clothes or on the ceremonies, money is generally the last thing on the father’s mind. So yes the Great Indian Wedding is everything and more.
In Delhi the word big fat Indian wedding is synonymous with GDPs of a small African country. Coordinated dresses for not just the bride and the groom, but also all close members of the family. This is generally a joint effort between the lucky designer, the wedding planners and the family of the bride. Event organisers are given the challenging task of getting an A or B grade Bollywood heroine. The boy’s side too put up a grand show. Starlets go a little bit more itsy bitsy.
The wedding of course is always a very sober affair. Any wedding worth its salt will be attended by at least one union minister, a minimum of two ministers of state, leader of the opposition, a handful of Parliamentarians, industrialists and socialites. The icing on the cake? A leading Bollywood star. However the great Indian wedding is never complete without the media. If there is no media circus there is no wedding.
These mega weddings are a caterers delight. The food spread is often enough to feed the whole of sub Saharan Africa. The venue is set out of paradise. I have witnessed hotel ballrooms being converted into ancient Greece, or a farmhouse that looks like it has been shipped overnight from Morocco. So for every socialite, designer, caterer, event manager, the ‘Big Fat Indian Wedding’ is a symbol of joy.
Salloli Kumar is a regular on Page 3 circuit for nearly a decade.
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