SweetRing Survey Reveals Indians' Opinion on Proposed Lok Sabha Wedding Restrictions Bill

Wedding Photographers, Venue Owners or Decorators - Who would suffer the Most?

NEW DELHI, Dec. 13, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The wedding season is around the corner and vibrant wedding functions are a usual sight throughout the country during this time. Be it a lavish reception or a destination wedding, Indians like to spend a lot on this special occasion. However, a private member's bill was proposed in the Lok Sabha checking "show of wealth" at Indian weddings. The bill seeks "if any family intends to spend more than Rs 5 lakh towards expenditure on marriage, such family shall contribute 10 percent of such amount in a welfare fund to assist the poor families for the marriage of their daughters".

Serious dating app, SweetRing carried out a survey asking all of its users between 22 and 35 years old about their opinion on how they would deal with it if the bill has passed. The results definitely raise many eyebrows as around 64% of the users said they would definitely cut down their wedding expenses if the bill has passed. But, 25% of them said they would still go ahead and spend as usual and pay the required 10% as a tax, among which are mostly users from richer cities like Mumbai (39%) and Delhi (32%).

As mentioned in the bill statement, assistance would be given to the bride's family and the same was reflected in the opinion from the surveyed users, as 79% of female users would think of expense reduction, whereas only 57% of male users agreed the same. This could be attributed to a cultural norm that is still common, i.e. to have the bride's family bear most of all wedding expenses.

The survey delved deeper into knowing which expenses would be cut-down most. If the bill has passed, most users would reduce venue expenses (viz. banquet hall, farmhouse or lawn), followed by expenses on decoration. However, only 27% of users admitted that they would reduce the money spent on wedding photographers. This shows that the wedding photography industry is not likely to suffer much, but the venues and decorators might have to take a beating. Other areas such as clothing, jewellery and invitation cards received a mixed response from the users.

Historically, it is very unlikely for a private member's bill to be passed in the Lok Sabha. But if it does, venue and decoration business might encounter some turbulence.