The not-so-big-fat Indian wedding

In India, lavish weddings are a norm. They say — the louder the better. But with the recent demonetisation, many extravagant affairs had to be toned down to simple rituals and basic receptions.

However, there have always been a few who have voluntarily stayed away from this flash of affluence. For them, flamboyant weddings are an indicator that your priorities might not be on the solemnity of the occasion so much as on the externals and how to impress the guests.

Dr Gurava Reddy, MD, Sunshine Hospitals says, “It’s the personal touch that matters and not the crores that go into it. For my daughter Kaavya’s wedding, we did a whole day function from 10 am to 5 pm, where all the family members were present. We prefer hosting weddings on a holiday, so people can come spend time without the pressures of the muhuratam or traffic jams. We also believe in inviting people personally, either by me or my wife. For the wedding, it was only close friends and relatives and for reception we invited everyone we knew.”

Urologist Dr Ramesh Ramayya’s son Ashwin, too, had a “fusion” wedding this year. “I don’t believe that more money and religious ceremonies can make the marriage strong. I know it is very difficult to cut down on the wedding list, but what we decided was that between them, the bride and the groom should be able to introduce all the guests to each other without the parents having to help them out. As far as the ceremony was concerned, it was a civil union and the couple read out marriage vows written by themselves to each other before they were announced Man and Wife.  Since the wedding was in the US, that itself cut down the guest list. But we made sure that the reception was attended by people we all know,” says Dr Ramesh Ramayya.

City-based Nephrologist Dr K.S. Nayak and Dr Sadhana say, “Our daughter had a simple temple wedding. People liked it because they felt they were transferred to a different era. We did it in a very traditional way for three-and-a-half hours at a five-hundred-year old temple. So, it was done in a very grand yet simple and elegant way, with less amount of money. These days it has become like a competition — everyone wants to outbeat others when it comes to their wedding preparations.”

He adds, “You can still do a classic wedding in a minimum budget. I separated my guest lists — there are only few who enjoy the religious aspect so I kept it to family and close friends. I invited the bulk for the engagement. Basically it’s the same couple who are going to be there for all the events. So, split it.”
Another socialite Pinky Reddy says, “For our daughter’s wedding, we had invited the whole world, but for my son’s wedding it’s going to be only family and close friends.  We are trying to shrink it and make it much simpler. My husband and I will be taking care of all the preparations. The wedding invitations are simple too.”

Well-known producer and distributor C. Ashwini Dutt’s daughter Priyanka tied the knot with director Nag Ashwin in a simple but elegant ceremony. “It was my daughter’s wish to have a simple wedding with close friends and family at our home with all the rituals. Though we had all high profile guests, she insisted we have it at home. So we invited only few for the wedding but others who missed the function were invited to the reception. All the preparations were taken care by Priyanka and her sister Swapna.”