New Delhi: Sitting on a boat in the middle of a lake blooming with water lilies, Anindita and Abhijeet lean into each others’ arms romantically. They were recreating the iconic Deewana Hua Badal sequence featuring Sharmila Tagore and Shammi Kapoor in Kashmir. She is draped in a glittery pink chiffon sari and he is wearing a short kurta. He pins a flower in her hair as she plays with the lilies demurely.
It looks like their honeymoon shot. Except it is not. And it is not even Kashmir.
It’s a lake barely 30 kilometres from Kolkata, a spot that has gained popularity for pre-wedding shoots among photographers and couples.
“We got beautiful photographs, spent quality time together, and the pictures became part of almost every wedding event — from invitations to the mehendi and haldi decorations, and even the reception entrance”, said Anindita Bhandary, who got married to Abhijeet Dhanuk in 2024. She lives in Kolkata, and is a corporate employee.
Pre-wedding shoots have become a mandatory ritual in the already big and bloated Indian weddings. With specialised photographers, tour operators and planners, the grand spectacle of a pre-wedding shoot is an entire industry unto itself.
Photographers said couples want to live their Bollywood fantasy, or channel their ‘main character energy’, through pre-wedding shoots. Across religions, castes, classes and gender, couples are squeezing in time for these shoots in their busy wedding schedules.
The recent case of Ketan Aggarwal and Siya Goyal has brought the spotlight back on the pre-wedding shoots in India. Their engagement reel, in which Ketan is seen twirling Siya, went viral on the Internet. They too had planned a pre-wedding shoot in picturesque Bali. But that never ended up taking off.
A concept borrowed from the West, pre-wedding shoots in India are aspirational. They are a medium for couples to play out their Bollywoodised desires. Several days are set aside to plan and execute these shoots. Costumes are designed specifically for these. Costume changes for every new backdrop are a must. The photos are used for invitations, for decor during the ceremony, and of course, Instagram.
Author Santosh Desai wrote in his book Memes for Mummyji, “Celebrations of this kind are less about personal joy as they are about public signalling.”
But most importantly they are the memories married couples want to rejoice. It started as an urban trend, and now even rural India, Tier-I and Tier-II cities are jumping in. A pre-wedding shoot can cost anywhere from Rs 10,000 to several lakhs, depending on the location, production scale and photographer’s reputation — and couples are willing to pay.
“What started off as a matter of convenience soon took shape into being a creative event. Couples started picking destinations with scenic landscapes. Some wanted to be in places that they had a connection with. Now, families look for venues first and then the photographers, because they run out faster from the market,” said wedding planner and designer Minal Bhatnagar, founder of Marigold by Minal, who has been curating weddings for more than two decades.
From Japan to Lakshman Jhula in Rishikesh, to waterfalls in Western Ghats to Qutab Minar and Lodi Gardens in Delhi — couples want to get snapped at popular and uncommon sites alike. Some have even taken to the Kishangarh marble slurry dumping yard in Ajmer, Rajasthan because of its surreal terrain.
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A touch of personalisation
Most pre-wedding shoots in India are defined by sheer spectacle— picturesque destinations, designer outfits, extravagant props and carefully choreographed, cinematic frames. Couples would hold hands, run on beaches or mountains in slow motion, imagining themselves as Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol from a quintessential Bollywood romance.
But now the trend is shifting toward personalisation.
Anindita and Abhijeet wanted to add a little personal touch to their pre-wedding photographs. During the two-day shoot, the couple posed at Kolkata’s Victoria Memorial, the water lily-covered Boroti Bil lake in Sodepur, and the school where they first met.
“The school held a special part in our journey, it brought us together. We wanted a few pictures shot outside the campus, so that it would be etched in our memories,” said Bhandary.
Outside the Kendriya Vidyalaya near Princep Ghat, Anindita and Abhijeet dressed in coordinated outfits and captured their love story.
For every location, they chose different dresses, makeup, jewelry and shoes. Anindita wanted to look regal against the iconic British architecture and chose to wear a red lehenga, while Abhijeet adorned an ivory kurta as they posed hand in hand.
Anindita did her own makeup, prepped before each costume change, and touched up her face between locations, as the photographer set up the apparatus for the next sequence.
What was planned to be a four-hour shoot on the first day stretched into a 12-hour marathon of orchestrated poses and repeated takes. But, the second day was different. Back in the corridors of the school where they had first fallen in love, they did not have to act. They simply had to be themselves.
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A pre-wedding shoot that tells your story
The newest trend in all this is that Indian couples now want to offer a story – their personal journey — in their pre-wedding shoots. Even photographers are insisting on storyboarding an overall theme.
“If you want to do a pre-wedding shoot, add some meaning to it. Let the location become a part of your memory — did you meet there; did you grow up there, was it where you got engaged? A meaningful pre-wedding shoot is one that belongs to the couple, not to social media”, said Bhatnagar.
Couples are increasingly picking destinations far away from their homes, to find some time for each other and create memorable moments, rather than recreating a Bollywood romance, which looks fake and is cringe-worthy.
Shalini Iyer, founder of Seasons by Shalini, a brand specialising in candid and cinematic wedding and pre-wedding photos, told ThePrint that their approach to pre wedding shoots has completely changed.
It is “minimal direction” and “more moments than poses” now. In the past five years, Iyer said, Mumbai-based couples would spend roughly Rs 40-50 thousand to book picture-perfect properties in Alibag or any nearby areas.
“Pre-wedding shoots as a concept got ruined because too many photographers started imitating poses instead of capturing real moments. They recreated someone else’s idea instead of documenting the couple’s own story”, said Iyer.
However, she pointed out that while wealthier, big-city couples are adopting the changing aesthetics of the photo shoots, rural India and small towns are still in the catch-up game. “In rural areas, Tier-II and Tier-III cities cities, people still want heavy outfits and grandeur in their photos”, she said.
Meerut-based wedding photographer Atul Som admits to the variation in demands from his rural and urban clients within the city. “While a client from Meerut city would want a story-based pre-wedding shoot, rural clients usually go for conventional photos,” he said.
When a client from Muzaffarnagar, Saharanpur or Shamli — all close to Meerut — approaches Som, they emphasise on “not so romantic pictures.” Although Rishikesh and Mussoorie remain popular destinations for both sets of clients, the approach to the video shoot differs.
For instance, a couple from Meerut’s posh Civil Lines area would hold hands and walk on the famous Lakshman Jhula in Rishkesh, the couple from the city’s outskirts would get a shot looking at each other from a distance, like the old-school Bollywood romance scenes and songs.
“No forehead kisses or holding hands for rural couples”, said Som, adding, “We get requests like ‘Bhaiya, don’t take close-up romantic shots, our families would not approve of it,” he said.
Jaipur-based wedding photographer Bhuvan Gaur said that couples from nearby towns, who either come from conservative backgrounds or cannot afford elaborate destination shoots, are increasingly opting for studios that have recreated miniature versions of Paris, London and snow-clad mountains. These studios offer couples the backdrop of a destination shoot, without the expense of travelling. The couples’ demand is simple — pre wedding photographs that can be used for wedding invites or framed and hung outside the wedding hall.
“Studio shoots are inexpensive and last only a few hours. It does not require as much effort from the photographer either,” Gaur said.
Pre-wedding shoots, as a concept, emerged in India when planners saw that there wasn’t much room for candid photos of the couple on the day of the wedding. Bhatnagar remembered first arranging for a pre-wedding shoot in 2014 for a Dubai-based couple getting married in Jaipur. The bride, a lifestyle photographer, called the team of stylists and makeup artists a day ahead of the wedding. The shoot gave the couple just enough time to be extra.
“At that time, we thought we had done something nobody had ever done. Today, it has become the norm,” she said.
Since then the colours, contours and contextures in photos have changed. The bright reds have been replaced by pastels. Short videos, Instagram reels and photos are in vogue. People no longer want long, elaborate videos.
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Top-class pre-wedding shoots vs jugaads
The paradox of choice has not escaped wedding photographers, and the probability of them being picked by couples depends on their social media reach, their featured work and the equipment they use.
Wedding photographer Gautam Khullar’s work is a testament to the changing landscape of pre-wedding shoots in India. His work on a wedding shoot was featured in the latest edition of Vogue magazine.
Khullar has shot more than 600 weddings in a span of 10 years. He has more than 50,000 followers on Instagram. His clientele, mostly affluent families, have one demand –“it shouldn’t be ordinary.”
For one of his shoots, the wedding of Hunar and Prabnoor Bawa, Khullar proposed a scene inspired by American filmmaker Wes Aderson, famous for his meticulously symmetrical frames, pastel color palettes and precise camera movements. The couple was thrilled. It was a five-day shoot in Japan, where Khullar snapped the couple against Mount Fuji’s backdrop in Tokyo. Hunar Bawa, a fashion consultant and influencer from Delhi, styled her own wardrobe.
“The clothes were chosen to match the locations and the mood we wanted to create. We were not trying to follow any rule; we just wanted each shot to have its own personality,” said Hunar.
The couple spent lavishly on their pre-wedding shoot. “I feel like the time before you are married will never come back. It should be captured professionally. I wanted to keep these memories close to me forever,” said Hunar.
At the same time, Indian weddings are as much about jugaad as they are about extravagance. So how can pre-weddings not be. Sometimes location is a hindrance and in some cases affordability.
Anindita and Abhijeet had set aside Rs 5,000 for their pre-wedding shoot. Their photographer friend volunteered to shoot it, making the low-budget project possible.
Hunar and Prabnoor, however, chose Khullar’s lavish package for wedding photography. Khullar charges an average Rs 5 lakh per day for the shoot. In the case of Iyer, Som and Gaur, the package might vary from Rs 2.5 to 3 lakh per day.
“A lot of the brides who come to us have more budget for the photography team than the wedding planner,” said Bhatnagar.
Iyer, who shot a wedding near Nagpur, said that in many parts of Maharashtra, wealthy families hire photographers from Mumbai. “It’s a class statement,” she said.
Shoot locations, of course, add to the budget set aside for pre-wedding photography. Dubai, Bali and Thailand are emerging as favourites for the well-off, whereas middle class couples prefer Ladakh or Kashmir.
And for those who can afford either of these, heritage sites come to the rescue. Corners of Lodhi Gardens, Humayun’s Tomb, Purana Qila, Mehrauli Archaeological Park and India Gate are dotted with couples – often in traditional Indian attire – hoping for a historic shot.
Shooting videos at protected monuments requires special permission from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), which costs Rs 10,000 to 15,000. Another obstacle is getting the desired dates for the shoots. But many couples subvert these rules, hide their clothes in bags or pay the guards to shoot inside the monument.
“Most couples are ready to pay, hence these sites are crowded from August onwards. They wait in queue for shoots,” said Gaur.
GenZ v/s Milennials – who does it better?
With GenZ adults and millennials both in the wedding market, photographers are catering to two very different kinds of expectations. “I have a good connect with my millennial clients, but their younger siblings do not want to hire us,” said 33-year-old Iyer.
GenZ couples want to avoid a copy-paste of their millennial siblings’ weddings. The performative generation wants it to be a statement but not grand.
When 25-year-old Hunar and 27-year-old Prabnoor got married, the pre-wedding shoot was not a necessity. But they decided to do it because it had a personal resonance. It wasn’t about just following a trend blindly. Although Hunar and Prabnoor’s pre-wedding photos were no less than a magazine cover, for the GenZ couple it was less about glamorous images and more about preserving the fleeting, emotionally charged period between engagement and marriage.
GenZ is very conscious about their looks and constantly wants to review every photograph, said Iyer. “The focus is less on the moment and more on whether they’ll look their best when they post it,” she added. For Iyer, it is easier to photograph millennials, who listen to the photographers and do not want to take control like GenZ.
Bengaluru-based millennial couple Madhurima Samanta and Diwakar wanted some of their memories framed for their bedroom and some for their YouTube page Eastmeetswest (Samanta is from Kolkata and Diwakar from Andhra Pradesh). They listened to their photographer and shot at a Japanese-style garden near the city.
GenZ couples, unlike millennials, are also steadfast in their ideas about costumes and styling and don’t necessarily pay heed to the photographer’s recommendations.
A GenZ groom would turn up for a pre-wedding shoot wearing blue denim jeans and white shirt while the bride would be in a flowery dress. “GenZ wants the shoot to feel natural, casual and authentic”, said Gaur, who has shot multiple GenZ weddings.
Madhurima and Diwakar, however, didn’t have a problem with clichéd shots. While Madhurima wore a red, western gown with embellishments, Diwakar wore jeans, a red Tshirt and a black blazer. And the couple got clicked against the background of a big heart.
Madhurima did not have many demands either. Just to look good and have fun. “I am a natural poser, but my husband is not,” she said, adding, “the photographers made sure we are comfortable.”
For GenZ, shooting at heritage sites is as old as they perceive millennials to be. A hot-air-balloon ride, however, checks their vibe. “GenZ couples often ask us for hidden locations– forests and waterfalls”, said Gaur, who travels frequently to recce such destinations.
Families like to ‘spy’ during pre-wedding shoots
Couples may be investing lakhs of rupees to encapsulate the excitement and anticipation before their wedding. But in India, weddings as they say are between two families. The couples may be leading the wedding preparations and planning in big cities but in small towns, they just can’t wish the families’ interference away.
Pankaj Kumar, a photographer from Attari in Amritsar, Punjab has been shooting wedding photos along the India-Pakistan border since 2011. His brand R.K. Film Photography, established by his father in 1981, has shot the most weddings in the area.
Having witnessed the growth of pre-wedding shoots in Attari for over a decade, Kumar said brides are more enthusiastic about these shoots than the groom. In the past five years, it is the brides who have actively pushed for pre-wedding photography.
“For families here, a pre-wedding shoot is a relatively new concept,” said Kumar. And families here choose to get these photos taken not for preserving memories but only if they can attach purpose to it, say hanging them over the entrance of the wedding venue.
Couples in Attari have a favourite location – Pul Kanjari. Filmmakers often use the historical village to shoot Punjabi movies and songs. Imtiyaz Ali’s latest film Main Wapaas Aunga is the perfect example to showcase what the couples of Attari want — old-school, romantic photos in a sepia-tinted backdrop.
But there’s a problem, Kumar said. There are at least five family members hovering over the couple at the shoot location, making them awkward.
There’s another tiny problem. While the pre-wedding photography scene in India is evolving, families don’t necessarily approve of young couples staying away from home (read: stay in the same room) before they are married. They must look for spots closer home.
Even Hunar and Prabnoor had to really convince their family for the Japan trip.
Ketan Aggarwal and Siya Goyal had planned travelling to Bali for a pre-wedding shoot, reportedly with their family members.
“It is a common problem – families spying,” said Som.
If not family, couples take their friends and turn the trip into a prolonged bachelorette party – a new addition to the pre-wedding ritual.
Pre-wedding photography has caught up with changing trends and evolving technology to stay in business for over a decade. “It might see some ups and downs but couples will keep on getting their photos taken”, Khullar said.
After all, they are the only tangible memories from the wedding celebrations.
Two years after their wedding, Abhijeet and Anandita are now in a long-distance marriage. On some days, she misses him too much. She opens her phone, hunts for the “pre-wedding” folder and takes a quiet stroll down the memory lane.
“For a few moments, I am pulled back to those beautiful days—reliving every smile, every laugh, and every moment we created together. These photographs are my own little time machine,” said Anindita.
(Edited by Aakriti Handa)