Moving beyond superstitions

Are Indians moving beyond superstitions for their big day? A Wedding Wire Data report finds that 76 per cent of couples opted for non-saaya dates to get hitched. This radical change which was envisioned for two to three years down the line has been fast-tracked.

Wedding Wire India, a subsidiary of The Knot Worldwide – an online marketplace for couples and wedding professionals, has released insightful statistics on how Indians are opting for non-saaya dates. The data reveals that there is a 76 per cent surge in the demand for non-saaya dates in first half of the year compared to last year.

The data further highlights that Bengaluru has the most demand for non-saaya weddings at 16 per cent followed by Mumbai (12 per cent), Jaipur (11 per cent), and Lucknow (10 per cent). Vendor availability and accessibility on these dates are driving this trend. In terms of venue, resorts and destinations weddings have seen highest queries at 139 per cent followed by marriage gardens, and weddings lawns and farmhouses at 62 per cent and 60 per cent, respectively.

Talking about the mushrooming trend, Anam Zubair, Associate Director of Marketing at Wedding Wire India, said, “The pandemic has brought a significant change in how weddings are done across the globe. In India, the big-bang Indian weddings have been replaced by micro and live-streamed weddings. However, given how rooted Indians are in their culture and customs, the surge in demand for non-saaya weddings is a refreshing and favourable change for the wedding industry. This radical change which was envisioned 2-3 years down the lane has been fast-tracked by the pandemic. If the trend continues to strike a chord with the consumers, it will drive new revenue opportunities for professionals in a $50 billion Indian wedding industry.”

Since the second wave, there’s been a paradigm shift in how Indians are planning their wedding in the new normal. The insights point towards the fact that increasingly couples and families are moving away from traditionally considered auspicious dates for weddings and looking at newer alternatives. From intimate/micro weddings, digital weddings, e-invites and customised wedding websites (62 per cent decrease in demand for traditional wedding cards) to non-saaya dates now, the approach has become more modern and practical.