NEW DELHI, Dec 24: From Instagram-worthy shoots to destination celebrations and quirky jewellery, 2025 emerged as a vibrant year for weddings in India, with couples celebrating their big day with pomp and show despite rising gold and silver prices.
While high-profile marriage cancellations, such as cricketer Smriti Mandhana and music composer Palash Muchhal, grabbed headlines, the year also saw celebrity weddings, including Aadar Jain-Alekha Advani, Netra Mantena-Vamsi Gadiraju, and Armaan Malik-Aashna Shroff.
Beyond the celebrity circuit, couples from upper-middle-class and middle-class families increasingly embraced lavish celebrations. According to the wedtech platform WedMeGood, wedding spending rose 8 per cent in 2025, with the average budget on the platform reaching around Rs 39.5 lakh.
Industry experts expect spending to rise further in 2026, driven by destination events, curated experiences, and social-media-ready celebrations.
Destination weddings, too, saw an increase. “In fact, one in every four weddings in 2025 was a destination event,” WedMeGood co-founder Mehak Shahani told PTI.
“Among weddings with budgets of over Rs 1 crore, more than 60 per cent were destination celebrations. Last year, the average destination wedding cost around Rs 51.1 lakh, but in 2025 it rose to about Rs 58 lakh,” she said.
In India, Jaipur, Goa, Dehradun, Mussoorie, Rishikesh, Shimla, Jim Corbett, Udaipur, Jaisalmer, and Jodhpur were the most-preferred locations for weddings in 2025, Shahani said. Bali, Vietnam, Thailand, and Malaysia were the go-to international destinations.
According to the online concierge service for B2B travel CoTrav, spending on weddings in 2025 increased primarily because weddings have become more experience-led and professionally executed, rather than due to a rise in the number of ceremonies.
“From CoTrav’s on-ground experience with around 60 luxury destination weddings this year, a five-star destination wedding today typically carries a budget in the Rs 3 crore-plus range.
“These budgets follow a clear structure, with 20-25 per cent allocated to premium venues, 10-15 per cent to guest and family travel, and around 10 per cent to artistes, performers, and crew logistics. The remaining 50-60 per cent is directed toward decor, food, planning, and the celebrations,” Vinod Kumar Sah, co-founder and CTO at Cotrav, said.
Though the overall wedding sector saw a rise in spending, wedding photography bucked the trend. The space, in fact, saw a few changes during 2025.
Wedding photography styles saw a distinct change during the year, with couples increasingly preferring shoots shaped by an Instagram-driven need for immediacy, refined imagery, and quick, social media-ready content.
“Personalisation is at an all-time high, with custom details and bespoke decor offering more intimate storytelling moments. Candid, documentary-led narratives continue to dominate,” Harsheen Jammu, co-founder of luxury wedding photography services Ombre, said.
The average spend on wedding photography, though, saw a marginal dip, Harsheen said.
The average spend per assignment in 2025 was about 6.8 per cent lower than 2024’s average, but still about 22.1 per cent higher than the 2023 average per day, Harsheen said.
According to Ombre, the year also saw a 30-50 per cent decline in wedding shoots compared to previous years.
The wedding jewellery segment faced a rare challenge this year with gold and silver prices surging to unprecedented levels.
As of December 22, gold prices have risen by Rs 58,810, or 74.07 per cent, from Rs 79,390 per 10 grams recorded on January 1, 2025.
Silver prices, on the other hand, more than doubled during the year. From Rs 90,500 per kilogram on January 1, its rates shot up 137.02 per cent, or Rs 1,24,000, as of December 22.
This rise might impact wedding jewellery sales growth for the overall 2025-26 fiscal year, jewellers said.
Experts further pointed out that the record gold prices have also resulted in an increase in the recycling of jewellery.
All India Gem and Jewellery Domestic Council (GJC) Chairman Rajesh Rokde said, “On an average, 40-50 lakh marriages take place in India a year… There has been 30-40 per cent growth in sales in value terms in wedding jewellery in 2024-25 as compared to the previous year”.
“Recycling of gold wedding jewellery was 10-15 per cent before 2023, which increased by 15 per cent in 2023-24, and another 20-25 per cent in FY25,” he said.
Rokde projected an overall Rs 2-3 lakh crore business in the wedding jewellery segment in FY26.
Hotel chains also reported strong growth in the segment during the year, and are looking at strong business during the November-February wedding season.
Supreet Roy, Sheraton Grand Pune General Manager, said, “Industry estimates suggest that hotel-led wedding business has grown 10-12 per cent (in 2025), with a significant surge anticipated during the peak November-February period, which traditionally accounts for the bulk of Indian wedding celebrations”.
Destination weddings accounted for 55-60 per cent of premium enquiries, Roy said, adding that at Sheraton Grand Pune, there was a “notable rise in multi-day celebrations, with families increasingly opting for 2-3-day itineraries”.
A major behavioural shift came from personalisation — custom decor concepts, thematic entries, handcrafted menus and regional culinary experiences rose 15-20 per cent, contributing to higher per-guest spends, Roy added.
On the outlook for 2026, apart from a more profitable year, the industry expects a pivot towards digital adoption.
“Digital adoption will keep rising, whether it’s for payments, planning tools or guest logistics. We will also see wider use of AI and tech among wedding vendors, helping them deliver better service, faster communication, and smoother operations,” WedMeGood’s Shahani pointed out.
Sheraton Grand’s Roy forecast an 8-10 per cent growth, led by emerging destination weddings across tier-II and tier-III cities.
High jewellery prices or not, the wedding market appears to be glittering and promises a brighter 2026. (PTI)
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