EXCLUSIVE: Will Online marriages be the new normal in post COVID-19 India?

Weddings have been a huge part of Indian culture. Celebrated like a festival, an Indian wedding is a huge contributor to the Indian economy and provides employment to millions of people. According to a report by KPMG in 2017, the Indian wedding industry was estimated to be around $40–50 billion in size. It is the second largest wedding market after USA which is at $70 Billion.

With the entire country under a lockdown and social distancing likely to be practised even when it is over, the industry is bound to take a hit. 

“From whatever we are hearing these days, there could be large scale unemployment. There is a huge segment of people who depend on the wedding season in India. They usually complete six months of earning in this period and are heavily dependent it. Since some of them also fall in the unorganised sector, there could be a massive impact on their income or daily wages,” Adhish Zaveri, Director – Marketing, Shaadi.com told Zee Business Online in an exclusive interview. 

These would include everyone from venue owners and caterers to decorators. These people not only generate employment but also make weddings successful. They don’t have a fallback option right now. 

WATCH | Talking Tech during Lockdown with Adhish Zaveri 

In these strange times, online marriages have emerged as a viable option, with some Indians already opting for it. 

“Technology can play a disruptive role in the wedding industry in the current scenario. Pandit ji can read mantras from his home, music can be played by dholwalas from their home and your friends can do their sangeet performances virtually. And, only technology can bring all of these together,” Zaveri said. 

Is online marriage possible?

Yes, it is. In fact, some couples have already opted for it. The match-making site put out a post on its social media platform giving its subscribers an option for online wedding. Needless to say, the concept could only be executed through modern-day technology.

“Technology could be a great democratiser. A financially weak person can get married with equal fanfare as a rich guy. All the big cost structure of wedding like food, venue and accommodation are all gone. All you have to take care of are people,” Zaveri said. 

WATCH | Talking Tech during Lockdown with Adhish Zaveri 

“When we got our first couple, we started by designing a proper wedding invite. In the venue section, we added the conference id which people had to use to attend the wedding. Then, we gave video tutorials to bride and groom about the makeup,” Zaveri said. 

He added that Pandit ji was then asked if the process could be completed online. He said – Yes.

“We reached out to closest family and friends to prepare their wedding performances. Eventually, it was all about getting everyone together to celebrate,” Zaveri said.

The only thing that was missing was probably food for the attendees – which is a huge factor in any Indian wedding. Even that could be addressed once the lockdown is over and food delivery sounds like a safer idea.

“We even thought of sending food to all guests through online platforms. But, then the risk was too high due to the lockdown so we dropped the idea,” Zaveri said. 

Can this be a new normal?

While the idea seems exciting, it would be too soon to assume that online marriages could be the new normal in post COVID-19 India. Families would still hesitate, given that there is a social status attached to these weddings. 

“In India, weddings involve a lot of factors. For some parents, it is a thing of social status. We could see it in the beginning. Parents hesitated to participate in something like. However, our couples were very excited about this. It will take a long time before we could change that,” Zaveri concluded.