Inspired by celebs, young singles want destination weddings: Survey

Business Standard: Whether it was Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone's nuptials in the dreamy Lake Como or Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas' wedding in the royal Umaid Bhawan Palace -- fancy destination weddings by celebrities is leading young singles to aspire for the same.

Matchmaking service Shaadi.com conducted 'The Shaadi Study' to understand the different aspects of the big fat Indian wedding. An online study was conducted via email and received over 8,714 responses from singles and parents in India from the age group ranging 21 to 65 years, read a statement.

As many as 57 per cent of young singles said they aspire to have a destination wedding. These are men and women with annual household income less than Rs 500,000.

Also, the expenses of an Indian wedding seem to be taking a toll on the lower income groups. The study revealed that 86 per cent men and 75 per cent women earning less than Rs 500,000 annual income will spend the equivalent of their income on a wedding. However, only 17 per cent men and 23 per cent women earning between Rs 10 lakh and Rs 20 lakh will spend the equivalent of their annual household income on a wedding.

Further deep-diving into the wedding spends reveals that the financial burden is higher on the bride's family.

As many as 27 per cent of the women respondents said they will spend more than their annual household income on the wedding, whereas only 14 per cent men would do so.

Additionally, the Shaadi study reflects the stark difference in the expectations between parents and the singles. BS