Why Are Big Fat Weddings Now Becoming A Foregone Trend?

Indian weddings are known for their elaborate madness. No doubt these big fat weddings are fun but there are a million reasons why we don't want them. Big fat weddings are just financially draining and a super trending way of showing off your wealth to strangers. Indians throw cash on big fat weddings like there are money trees planted in their backyards. The growing trend of big fat weddings has taken a new toll in terms of competition. Everyone now wants to have a big fat wedding so that they don't lag behind in the competition.

Do we really want big fat weddings or have we just been made to believe we do? Karan Johar's idea of big fat weddings has led us to develop unhealthy ideas about weddings and the extravagance is unreal. Weddings have become a status symbol and have thus lost the sanctity of being a private intimate affair.

Changing Times: Minimalistic Celebrity Weddings

But In the past few months, Indian marriages have witnessed a sea change. Due to COVID-19, we witnessed a lot of minimalist private weddings as only a handful of people were allowed to attend. Even in Karan Johar's world is in Bollywood, we are witnessing a change now. Lately, we have witnessed a lot of Bollywood weddings which were more of an intimate private affair than a big grand celebration.

In June, Yami Gautam tied a knot with Aditya Dhar in a very intimate wedding in Mandi, Himachal Pradesh which is Gautam's hometown in the presence of 20 guests. Recently, Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt got married in a private celebration among their loved ones only. They chose to marry in the company of just their close friends and family. The wedding was simple yet elegant. But the larger point here is how celebrities' intimate wedding is most people's extravagant.

The Unnecessary Obligation

A wedding is a ceremony where two people are united in marriage, it is the commemoration of commitment, of a union between two people and thus their families. But weddings are also a social obligation, making families feel obligated to include people who are not close to the family in the celebration.

They have to entertain a large number of people; acquaintances, distant relatives, neighbours, casual friends, etc, just out of obligation. The wedding which is supposed to be a private intimate affair no longer remains the celebration of commitment or intimacy. It becomes more about appeasing people or sometimes even strangers whom we don't know. It all just comes down to the show-off game of showing off your wealth to strangers and society.

Suggested Reading: Why Indians Need To End Their Obsession With Big Fat Weddings

Are The Bride And Groom Enjoying It?

The nosy relatives, unknown strangers, and overhyped children running around everyone seem to enjoy big fat weddings except for the bride and groom. In most big fat weddings, the bride and groom are just dummies sitting on the stage while everyone else is enjoying the food, the music, the decor, and everything else.

Despite being the centre of the event, all they have to do is smile and repeat this for an entire day. Their cheeks ache from smiling for the cameras and long-lost relatives who they probably haven't seen in all their lives. This becomes tiring rather than fun. The bride and groom are the ones who enjoy the least on their special day.

Wastage At Its Peak

Big fat weddings are home to wastage. From money to food everything is wasted in the end. The glowing lights eventually dim off and a day worth a thousand diamonds finishes. Not only tangible but intangible things like the most important 'time' are wasted.

Hosting a big fat wedding is not an easy task it requires a lot of time that goes into planning and finally hosting one. Hours are spent finalising things, running small and big errands, making arrangements, and then ensuring everything falls in place. The efforts that go into putting up the entire event are exhaustive and time-consuming.

Burden And Panic

Spending a fortune on a big fat wedding is financially draining for parents and even individuals. The burden of spending millions on a one-day wedding is a burden that starts haunting parents way before the wedding. The more the number of people at a wedding, the harder it becomes to meet their demands shifting the whole focus from celebrations. No matter how great of a wedding you host, someone will always be unhappy and unsatisfied.

The host families start panicking due to this and are always engrossed in keeping everything intact. This burden is even more on parents with daughters because we are still far away from a scenario where two families split the expenditure. With the pressure of hosting a good event, families do not get the time to enjoy or savour the moment.

The views expressed are the author's own