The wedding juggernaut

Weddings seems to be the industry that can single-handedly turn, however briefly, the fortunes of the country around

They’ve set the bar really high,” complained an acquaintance following the pictures of the Ambani wedding that quickly went viral. Social media had kept up steady pace with the event ever since the clan arrived in Udaipur for the pre-wedding festivities. We quickly became familiar with the guest list, what the bandobast looked like, the food, the music, who wore what — the highest notch of the high life that ranged from feeding the poor and those with special abilities to carousing through the night to the ire of environmentalists. If Beyonce was the darling of the glitterati in Udaipur, in Mumbai, Hillary Clinton stepped out of her bland suits to don a glittery tunic that blended with the razzle and dazzle that the powerati wore to the nuptials. 

This year’s weddings have boasted the mostest by far, bombarding us with Priyanka Chopra’s revelries in Jodhpur and Deepika and Ranveer’s costume drama in Lake Como that even Sanjay Leela Bhansali would have trouble recreating. If earlier the Indian wedding was in equal measures about tamasha and chaos, now it’s curated to perfection. In this enchanted world, everyone constantly smiles, everyone is resplendently jewelled and coiffed. If matched raiments, described as twinning, were last year’s trend, this year they’re coordinated to the theme, so architecture, décor, lights, flowers and food all blend with the bride’s lehenga, the groom’s sherwani.

New Delhi weddings are quick to learn from celebrity outings. If the Mittal wedding at Versailles was difficult to top, given the venue, the Ambanis pulled out all stops to ensure that Antilla was the centre of the world this week. The entire street was lit up and draped in flowers. Never before in its life had Mumbai glittered as much, not even when it was Bombay. Bollywood rubbed shoulders with the powercracy of Delhi on the occasion. The vegetarian spread was a culinary adventure — and lip-smacking surprise — for many. 

If these lavish weddings have entertained (and astonished) us — let us resist for a moment the vulgar comparisons of money spent — it has also made it difficult, as my acquaintance informed me, for ordinary rich folk to have a worthwhile celebration. How do you better such guest lists — surely not every celebrity invited was a friend? — or improve on the events? Who can top the entertainment, the private jets, the unfolding pageants? Which wedding planner can improve the stakes? 

Chances are, if you’re reading this, you weren’t invited to any of these high-hoopla weddings. Which is just as well, for what would you have worn? Each uninvited socialite I’ve met has been toothcombing what outfits guests wore to the functions. The grapevine has it that outfits were ordered several months in advance, and designers ensured that none of their clients wore anything even remotely similar to others for fear of losing their business — and reputation. 

The former two-day wedding that has grown to three and five-day spectacles now seems destined to cover an entire week, if friends in the wedding business are to be believed. Nor can anything slow this wedding juggernaut — not elections, nor even a sluggish economy. We already knew the wedding business was recession proof. Now, it seems to be the industry that can single-handedly turn, however briefly, the fortunes of the country around. Just make sure you’re invited.