The concept of Indian wedding has seen drastic changes, over the last few years. In the yesteryears, the ceremony was a brief affair, confined to an economical budget, even though the guest list was long. On the contrary, in the present time, the occasion is generally celebrated in an elaborated way, with number of rituals that are conducted before, during and after it. A long guest list, colorful and extravagant venue, lavish feast and a series of rituals are the key ingredients of the 'big fat Indian wedding' that we see today. In the following lines, we have discussed about the changing trends in Indian marriages.
Wedding Trends In India
The Concept Of Arranged And Love Marriage
The custom of arranged marriages has been a part of Indian culture since the fourth century. The practice was begun primarily to maintain and pass on the family traditions from one generation to the other. It is still prevalent in both rural and urban parts of India, former being more inclined towards the system. In fact, arranged marriages are in majority, because not all people have accepted the concept of love marriage. However, with the changing time, people in India have accepted the concept of love marriage, which is otherwise considered against the Indian culture. People in the rural India are now more liberal, when it comes to love marriages. Therefore, both arranged and love marriage find equal importance in the wedding scenario of India.
Inter-Caste And Inter-Religion Marriage
Until some time back, marrying a person belonging to some other caste or religions was strictly not permitted by the families. With the modernization of the Indian society and social awareness of the people, inter-caste and inter-religion marriages have become a common sight. This is primarily due to the acceptance of the concept of love marriage. Nonetheless, people with an orthodox or conservative outlook of life are still firm about marrying within the same caste, community and religion. Contrary to this thought, people in the present time do believe in solemnizing weddings of two different individuals belonging to different family background and culture. The recent trend in Indian marriages is the acceptance of the concept of homosexual marriage.
Wedding Attire
The wedding attire has also seen a drastic change, over the passing years. Initially, the bride and the groom used to wear traditional dress, of their respective religions, regions or community. Today, although they still wear their traditional dress during the important wedding ceremonies, they resort to the outfit that is different from the traditional ones for other rituals. With the changing fashion trend, the way of getting dressed for a wedding has also been changing. People, especially in the elite class, are now hiring fashion designers to choose the wedding attire for the bride and the groom. Inspired by the high-profile weddings of business tycoons and Bollywood stars, people now want to look like a celebrity, on their 'important day'. Hence, the attire chosen for the wedding ceremony is often a reflection of the hot trend.
Planning
People's perception of planning the wedding has also changed over the passing years. Few years back, wedding and engagement were the sole responsibility of the bride's family. People within the family took efforts in decorating the venues chosen for conducting different ceremonies. Moreover, the wedding expenses were also borne by the bride's parents. Today, although the bride's parents still finance for the wedding ceremony, (except the reception party, which is thrown by the groom's family), people are now resorting to professionals to make arrangements for their weddings, right from the menu to the decorations. They hire wedding planners for the purpose. This is especially prevalent in the urban upper-middle class of India, where they want their wedding to be a trendsetter and the talk of the town for a long time.