Side effects of conflict: Wedding costs up 10-25%

Higher costs, change of venues, truncated guest lists for international locations amid spiking budgets and shortage of supplies of decorative items among others—the West Asia war has caused more than one problem for Indians planning their big, fat wedding. Budgets for international weddings have risen by about 20-25% while those for domestic locales have seen a jump of 10-15%, said Mohit Verma & Tamanna Mehta, co-founders at Vows Weddings & Events.“The impact is more pronounced for international destinations. The conflict has disrupted Middle East airspace and driven up jet fuel prices with airfares rising by 15-20%. This has made overseas weddings significantly more expensive, resulting in smaller guest lists, higher budgets and more cautious planning,” said Aanchal Kochhar, director at Twinflame Events.Availability of imported floral supplies, premium food items and specialty decor has hit luxury weddings as rising shipping costs and delay in deliveries have shot up product prices besides making supplies less predictable, nudging wedding planners to look at seasonal floral products, regional decor and hand-crafted options, said Anjali Tolani, VP, celebrations at Tamarind Global. In many cases, planners are having to resort to restricted and more expensive sourcing from markets such as China, said Harikrishnan Dinesh of The Wedding Company. “Families are also being more careful about how much they spend, so wedding planners are being forced to adjust their budgets,” said Tolani. But vendors have raised prices, leading to tighter margins and higher execution pressure for wedding planners.While the affluent can afford to take the hit, the midmarket segment will have to bear the brunt. Already, consumers with moderate budgets are reducing the number of functions, trimming guest lists and selecting venues closer to home to reduce travel and logistics costs, said Kochhar. Besides, even as LPG supplies have largely stabilised on ground, high food and fuel costs are weighing on overall catering and hospitality pricing, industry executives said. “Clients are reallocating budgets rather than cutting drastically,” said Purvi Modgil, founder at F5 Weddings.Weddings planned in the Gulf shift to IndiaAmid all the chaos though, there’s some reason for local businesses to cheer—a lot of weddings earlier scheduled to be held in the broader Gulf region are now moving to India. “There has been a surge in interest for domestic luxury destinations within India, particularly in the areas of Rajasthan, Goa, Kerala, and Dehradun.“The influx of couples booking weddings at these locations has driven the cost of hotels and venues up between 35-40% from the same time last year,” said Tolani.Several Indian businesses and vendors that had established operations across Gulf markets are now gradually redirecting their focus back to India, said Varun Madaan, founder at Vivaah Makers. “We used to get a lot of enquiries from countries such as Bahrain. Those are completely on hold now,” said Rajesh Satankar, co-founder at Knotting Bells.