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Bengaluru too has seen a few of these events with big fat fake weddings hosted at JW Marriott, seeing around 2,000 people in attendance. (Photo: X/@aaraynsh)
A quirky new trend is sweeping India’s metro party scenes: “fake wedding celebrations.” These elaborate, ticketed events offer all the pomp and glamour of a traditional Indian wedding – live bands, dhol players, food counters, vibrant decorations, and selfie booths – but notably, without an actual bride and groom.
According to The New Indian Express, Bengaluru too has seen a few of these events with big fat fake weddings hosted at JW Marriott, seeing around 2,000 people in attendance, priced at Rs 4,000 for men.
“It was the hottest topic in town – everyone went out of their way to get a new fit made and go all out with dressing in traditional wear,” Tanishka Choudhary, 20, a fashion student attendee, was quoted by TINE as saying.
The appeal of such events to participants, mainly in their 20s, is being able to experience big fat Indian weddings without the pressure or judgment of relatives, the report added. Choudhary added, “Gen Z doesn’t really believe in marriage, so concepts like this are appealing because it’s a way to have fun and enjoy weddings without having to worry about marriage or judgment.”
The metropolitan nature of Bengaluru, too, has contributed to the popularity of fake weddings, according to Kaushal Chanani, the co-founder of 8club, the organisers of the JW Marriott event.
“A lot of the attendees were from other parts of India – these events are prominent in cities where a lot of people are not regularly going to family events or family functions, because people want to build their own community with this,” Chanani was quoted by TINE.
Another fake wedding event that saw a full house is Shaadi Mubarak, hosted by Vibhav Kumar Modi’s Dark Vibe Society and two others, which sought to bring the wedding experience to the queer community, giving participants an experience, the law still denies.
“The idea came from thinking of what it would feel like for queer people who are not allowed to get married in India, to be a part of a marriage free from judgment,” Modi told TINE, adding that they did away with gender norms evident in weddings. “We had wedding games like a contest between partners to find a ring in the milk and a tug of war game without a groom and bride’s side. We also had a sangeet led by drag performers,” he added.
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While fake weddings have gained popularity among youngsters, some have criticised the concept, saying that Gen Z is not giving traditions the respect they are due. Prathiban, the GM of Raahi Neo Kitchen and Bar, has a rebuttal, “We are used to theme nights like a white night, red night, one night in Paris or Jamaica, etc. This is more like a sangeet-themed DJ night than a real wedding. We don’t have rituals, just the decor, food, and music is like a sangeet,” he said. This was priced at Rs 2,000 for couples, redeemable against food and drinks.
While Delhi has been the epicentre of fake wedding events in India with at least one happening each week, Bengaluru is just beginning to catch on, notes Chanani, explaining the difference.
“People in Delhi love to hop on the trend, but Bengaluru’s behaviour is different in terms of event organisers. They don’t want to look like they are copying someone’s concept. But we are in talks with a few organisers to bring it back to Bengaluru,” he added, noting that there’s been interest from tier two, three, and four cities as well, with a search on social media showing fake shaadis hosted in Kolhapur, Jaipur, and Dehradun too.
“We are seeing a lot of traction from small cities like Bhopal, Rajkot, that want to bring this to their community. We’ve gotten around 50-60 requests to collaborate in the weeks after the Bengaluru event went viral,” Chanani was quoted by TINE.
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