The true cost of big fat Indian weddings | DW Documentary
Glamor, glitz and grandiosity: Indian weddings are often on a huge scale. But the cost of the opulent weddings plunges many families into debt.
For many Indian couples, their wedding is the most important event of their lives. Celebrations go on for days and even weeks, often with hundreds of guests. The party is also an expression of status and wealth. It’s estimated that the Indian wedding business will generate the equivalent of some 130 billion US dollars in 2025. But the glamorous façade often conceals a bleak reality. The pressure to live up to societal expectations is immense. Many families take on debt to cover the cost of a wedding. A tradition obliging the bride’s family to provide a generous dowry plunges poorer families into financial ruin and is often the cause of violent conflicts that have in some cases resulted in the bride’s death.
But why is the “Big Fat Indian wedding” tradition still so deeply rooted to this day? And can couples push back against the pressure and do things their way?
00:00 Intro
00:45 A Typical Indian Wedding
03:03 Anant Ambani’s Wedding of the Century
03:25 The Wedding Business
04:00 Why the Big Event is so Important
05:25 Mass Weddings as an Alternative
07:45 Dangerous Tradition: Dowry
10:25 Against All Conventions: A Small-Scale Wedding
#documentary #dwdocumentary #dwdocs #wedding #indianwedding
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Video “The true cost of big fat Indian weddings | DW Documentary” was uploaded on 04/07/2025 by DW Documentary Youtube channel.
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What a waste of money… they should save it and use it for their children or help the poor living in the streets. Shameful
REVIVAL IS NECESSARY!
WHEN WE LOVE GOD, THEN WE CAN LOVE EACH OTHER!
ST JOHN 3:16! ❤✝️❤️
The part about the average wedding costing double the amount of what parents pay in their children's education is depressing
Nigerian weddings should be put in this same category…
It is so sad to be a slave of public opinion. But some people have no choice right? 🤷♂️Right?
What a fantastic documentary/ies you people make. They make us aware too. Thankyou for making such films.
After having big fat wedding with whole lots of people, it's extremely difficult for divorce
Bro, who cares? Waste of time.
Please bring to Germany!
Priorities…
In India 40%of the couples are 1-st cousins,95%haven't had physical contact before the wedding.80%have met in person for 10 minutes only,and in the presence of relatives.
Gypsies(Rajasthani origin) in Europe act the same, despite having lived in European countries for 7+centuries.
The narrator should try better to pronounce WE-dding ,(wedding). instead of Ve-dding.
How can we help pay that debt for that grieving mother
It's simple: for the rich, weddings are just one occasion for releasing previously hoarded "black" money, i.e., money that has evaded tax. For the middle class that feels socially compelled to compete with the rich, it is one way of getting into debt and eventual financial ruin.
When it comes to weddings, the first line of the Book of Ecclesiastes has something useful to offer: "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity."
When I was working in UAE 2018, I had this indian friend who always had financial management issues, and his position in the firm was just decent enough to survive him from paycheck to paycheck.
When he went to India for marriage and after 1 week he came back, he came back with a car and he left his small apartment and bought a good place near the office range(under 15km).
I was surprised how one week can make a person so different, I do believe he took dowry but I don't have any evidence.
You don't need to make documentary for this. People often brags about wedding costs but most do exaggerate a lot as it's social symbol. Yes some do spend >50Lac (>60k USD) for weddings, but considering India's 1.4bn population it's negligible – fraction of people spending greater amount for the grand weddings.
Knowledge supports growth.
Isn’t dowry illegal in India? STOP paying it, start valuing your daughters!
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