Wedding economy soars in 2024, with average budget rising to ₹36.5 lakh

Weddings in 2024 come with a heftier price tag as average budgets reached ₹36.5 lakh and destination weddings soared to ₹51.1 lakh this shaadi season, as per the latest WedMeGood annual wedding report. The report reveals that tying the knot became 7% more expensive, driven by a 10% rise in hospitality costs, including venue and catering. In 2023, the average price of hosting wedding celebrations in India was ₹28 lakh, up from ₹25 lakh in 2022, as per WeddingWire India estimates. Getting married has thus become more and more expensive with each passing year.

Among the 3,500 couples surveyed by the wedding planning platform, over 60% had wedding budgets under ₹25 lakh, with 40% planning to spend less than ₹15 lakh. Meanwhile, 18% of respondents set budgets exceeding ₹50 lakh, and 9% of this group planned to spend over ₹1 crore. Notably, more than two-thirds of ₹1 crore weddings were destination weddings.

The survey reveals that high-end wedding budgets were primarily allocated to expensive categories such as jewellery, venues, decor, and catering, with 12% of couples relying on loans from banks or friends to finance these expenses. An emerging trend of increased spending on social media services for weddings also stood out.

A separate study by the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) earlier this month also estimated a similar expense breakdown. Among goods-related expenses, the highest spending was expected to be on lehengas, apparel, and jewellery. On the services side, the bulk of expenses were expected to go toward venues, tent decoration, and catering.

The WedMeGood survey revealed that more millennials, over 86% of the lot, discussed finances before marriage, than the 78.26% of Gen Z. However, Gen Z outpaced millennials in hiring social media managers for their weddings.

The report also highlighted the rising popularity of lab-grown diamonds, with 45.5% of surveyed brides choosing them, primarily as a substitute for natural diamond engagement rings.

The survey gathered responses from over 3,500 couples with weddings scheduled between April 2024 and March 2025, along with input from 500 wedding vendors across metro cities.

The CAIT data reveals that over 48 lakh weddings are expected to take place between November and December this year, generating a business worth nearly ₹6 lakh crore.