The millennial generation has changed the way the world works. Their belief systems and ideologies are quite different from the Gen-Zs. The effect of this change in mindsets of the generation has affected the age-old concept of weddings drastically. The big fat Indian wedding has gone through quite a makeover in recent times to accommodate the likes and dislikes of the millennial couples. With millennials being more career oriented and focused on their education, they are getting married much later than their older generations. Couples are now getting married in their late 20s so they can focus on their careers before settling down. Due to changes in attitude, beliefs and preferences, wedding planning for such couples have gone through an overhaul and here’s how:
The New Mantra: Budget Weddings
Gone are the days when the girl’s parents spent their whole life saving up to marry off their darling daughter. Millennials enjoy their financial independence and the thrill of spending their hard earned money on their own. Couple finance their own weddings often split between both the guy and the girl and not focused on just the girl and her family. Due to this, the concept of budget weddings has started trending where the couple gets their dream self-financed weddings. The couples are also more involved in the planning process of the weddings than the family is. Wedding planners now have to work within a strict budget while also making sure they meet all the hopes that the couple has.
The New Stage: Social Media
Social media has taken the world by storm. Taking pictures has now become about the joy of posting it on your Instagram account and getting a million likes for it. Weddings, being one of the most important events in a person’s life, have obviously also become golden opportunities to garner eyeballs. Millennial couples spend lavishly on videographers and photographers to take the best pictures and videos to share on their online profiles. Exclusive hashtags like #SonamKiShaadi used by Sonam Kapoor last year has spurred a trend of quirky hashtags at every wedding, unique to the happy couple.
The New Venues: Destination Weddings & Family Homes
The millennial generation is unconventional at every decision they make about their wedding. Instead of getting married at a traditional temple or a church, they prefer setting up the event with genuine meaning to them. Destination weddings have always been popular but the choices of the destinations have changed. While the Gen-Zs found novelty in exploring new exotic locations for their ceremony, the millennials prefer going to a place that has specific purpose to them, like the first place the couple met or the ancestral homes of the families.
The New Traditions: Cross Cultural Weddings
With cultural disparity and religious differences not being a factor in the millennial alliance anymore, cross cultural weddings have become the norm. The new generation often has multiple weddings to incorporate different cultural backgrounds of the bride and the groom. Celebrity weddings like the ones of Ranveer Singh-Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra-Nick Jonas are big examples of cross cultural weddings done right. The trend of cross cultural weddings makes the event a more elaborate and longer event lasting even a whole week with multiple small events happening throughout the week. Wedding planners have to be well versed and aware of different wedding cultures to make sure that they are able to adjust to this growing trend well.
The New Identity: Personalisation in Everything
Millennial couples enjoy personalisation and want to make everything feel like it is special and bespoke. This trend has also been seen in their weddings with personalised gifts and photo booths that help create a memory for the attendees. Even something as simple as napkins at the food counters often have the name of the happy couple designed onto them. Some even have themed food counters that serve the bride and groom’s favourite delicacies. Wedding planners need to make sure that they stay true to the couple in every small detail without overdoing the usage of personalisation.
Through all the changes that have happened in the industry and the process of the big day, one thing that has definitely not changed is the value in the constitution of marriage for this generation. Weddings are one of the most sacred and special events of a person’s life no matter which generation they are a part of and the importance of the day going on beautifully and without a hitch is very high. With their need for personalization and intimate weddings, the millennial generation has definitely shaken up the industry and has forced big players in the wedding industry to rethink their formula of organising a wedding.
AlimMorani, Division Head, Dome Occasions
