8 Things That Will Convince You That A Big Fat Wedding Is Totally Unnecessary
niharika nayakBA (Media & Communication) Experience: 4 yearsNiharika has a passion for all things art, music, and travel and has over 4 years of experience in writing for social media. During her spare time, she likes experimenting in the kitchen, playing vide... more
Image: Shutterstock
Indians are known for having large and grand wedding celebrations all around the world. Indian weddings are grand, glamorous and all about making it a festival-like affair. We totally get the excitement of all family members coming together once in a long time. But the budget usually turns out to be deadly unless you can afford it easily. Wedding planning is a massive business in India for a reason, and grand weddings can even take months to plan in advance. But there’s a bitter pill that we all need to swallow eventually. Grand and fancy weddings burn a hole in one’s pocket, and no matter how hard you try, it can be challenging to keep all of your guests happy while trying to enjoy one of the biggest days of your life. So here are nine problems with grand weddings that not enough people speak about because it seems like an inevitable event to happen:
1. You Will Have To Entertain Nosy Relatives
Let’s be honest; you probably aren’t a huge fan of nosy relatives. If you grew up around judgmental aunties and uncles, then you know exactly what we are talking about. Your wedding venue will be a hotbed of gossip, and your older relatives will feel the need to comment on each and everyone’s life. If you don’t want your relatives to annoy all the young folk present on your wedding day, just have a court wedding and a small gathering or party with your close friends.
2. You Will End Up Spending an Exorbitant Amount Of Money
The most significant truth of a grand wedding is that there’s always an excessive amount of money spent on them. From wedding photographers to florists and outfits, you will be spending your hard earned savings to make this day tick all your boxes. Even after budget planning, it is normal to spend on grand decorations and other facilities to get married in style. Plus, as unique as you think your wedding pictures may be, we guarantee that there are plenty of the same kind on other friends’ profiles. A better option would be to invest in sophisticated interiors, decor and vibe of your new house.
3. You’ll Be Too Busy To Have Fun
The guests shall show up, give their blessings, stuff their faces, and leave. You’ll be too busy attending to them and trying to ensure that everything runs smoothly to have fun. Plus, your annoying young cousins will probably scatter around the place and be general nuisances. And if your parents are involved in the planning, they’d probably be too busy holding up the fort and ensuring that hospitality is at its best. In all of this, two of the most critical people are forgotten about. So instead of worrying about “log kya kahenge”, why not just relax and have a small function?
4. Weddings Are All About Flaunting Wealth
Another insane thing about big fat Indian weddings is that they are all about flaunting generational wealth. Even though you should be respectable about people’s beliefs, it sometimes gives the opportunity to catering and wedding planners to con the families and extort more money. People will be asking whether the bride and groom are rich enough to hold a destination wedding, or if the bride’s gown is a designer piece or not. We need to stop seeing grand weddings as status symbols and start having weddings that are more special to us. Having said that, there is nothing wrong in having a grand wedding as long as it involves true intentions.
5. You Can Use That Money To Have A Fancier Honeymoon
Instead of spending all your life savings on a grand wedding, why not save the money for a fancy honeymoon? Maybe you and your partner can list a bucket list of places where the two of you want to go on a honeymoon. Skip the grand wedding and use the money to go on that adventurous honeymoon with your partner in homely hill stations in India or celebrate a romantic evening in any European country. Either way, skipping the grand wedding will save you a lot of money.
6. The Preparations Will Take Forever
Another annoying thing about weddings is that the preparations take months and you’d have to book the venue, caterers, florists and more months in advance. Plus, if your parents are helping with the wedding expenditure, you will have to wait for their approval before making any grand changes or plans.
7. It Will Add Undue Pressure Onto Your Parents
Weddings add undue stress and pressure on the parents of the bride and groom. The truth is that society will always judge the parents for how grand or not grand the wedding is. Especially in our desi weddings. Matching up to society’s expectations is a heavy burden for our parents to carry.
8. Most Guests Are There Simply For The Food
Let’s be honest; we too have attended weddings simply because we wanted free food. This is because weddings are one place where delicious food is always guaranteed. So whether we want to accept it or not, the truth is that even our guests are here simply to enjoy the food we’re serving and not just out of their good graces.
Of course, we’re not trying to say that grand weddings are bad. We understand it is a matter of choice but how much of it is out of society’s compulsions and how much is out of sheer happiness. Is it the grandiose movies that influence or we are just feeding into status symbols? In many cases, we are sure you would have come across brides collapsing due to the heavy ensemble and exhaustion and family members taking a stress pill to make sure all the arrangements are in place. However, it’s good to know that you have an alternative if a grand wedding is not the route that you want to take. Do let us know all of your thoughts on this article in the comment section below!
