Matchmaking Tales: Arranged Marriages In India See A Drop WeddingWire India recently released its data report on the latest wedding trends. The data report conducted amongst engaged/recently married couples divulged that love marriage is increasingly getting clearance in India.

With Sima aunty returning to Netflix with the latest season of Indian Matchmaking, discussions on arranged marriages, finding your partner and all things wedding are back in discussion actively on social media. Not that marriage as a topic ever goes out of vogue. But at the same time, a survey on marriages in India has thrown up some interesting insights. WeddingWire India, the Indian subsidiary of The Knot Worldwide, a wedding technology platform connecting engaged couples with local wedding professionals, recently released its data report on the latest wedding trends.

The data report conducted amongst engaged/recently married couples divulged that love marriage is increasingly getting clearance in India. In the last survey that the brand conducted in 2020, 68% of couples revealed that their marriage was arranged. On the other hand, in the 2023 survey, only 44% of couples opted for the option resulting in a 24% drop.

When to begin

When it comes to planning, approximately 41% of the couples start planning their wedding 4-6 months in advance, followed by 32% who plan it only 1-3 months in advance. It is interesting to note that the engagement period in India is much shorter than in countries abroad as a majority get engaged only six months or less prior to the wedding (72%). This also leaves couples with a shorter window to plan their weddings.

How to begin

In this short window, young technology-savvy couples have been utilising online resources, resulting in greater awareness and increased reliance on the same. Smartphone/ tablet (36%) winning the race against offline resources/in-person tools (34%) to become the preferred mode of planning proves the aforementioned fact.

Approximately every second couple that participated in the survey was aware that 6 out of 11 key activities like budgeting, finding trusted vendors, finding the right ring etc. can be undertaken online by using online planning tools. Couples are utilising these tools for planning, budgeting, finding trusted vendors, reading reviews, etc. Based on the survey conducted in 2023, there was a 11% point jump in adoption of wedding technology platforms, as it was found that 58% of couples now prefer to use wedding planning websites to plan their weddings, as compared to 47% in 2020.

Global trends gaining popularity in India

Global trends like proposals are gaining popularity in India. 28% of millennials that participated in the survey revealed that there was a formal proposal prior to the wedding by their partner. The Knot Worldwide global Newlywed survey also revealed that living together before the wedding is becoming common in India. Interestingly, on a global level, countries like France and Spain rank higher than the US in terms of couples living together.

Anam Zubair, Head of Marketing - WeddingWire India, a part of The Knot Worldwide, said "It is noteworthy that India as a country has beautifully adopted some global traditions while keeping the traditional ones at its core. For instance, love marriage especially amongst urban millennials is becoming a common norm while also keeping the traditional stance such as arranged marriage intact. Similarly, we are intrigued to learn that formal proposals are becoming popular in India. This opens a new revenue stream for our vendor partners who can offer customised services to cater to this demand. We are also closely observing the consumer behaviour of Gen-Z couples who have just entered the wedding cycle to understand the next big trends in the industry."