New Delhi: Indian are increasingly marrying for love, a survey has found, and it is primarily because of the evolving attitude of their families.
The study conducted by Weddingwire India – a subsidiary of US firm The Knot Worldwide – reveals that love marriages are getting a bigger thumbs up from millennials in their late 20s and the Gen Z.
The poll found that 44% couples said their marriages were arranged in 2023, as compared to 68% in 2020.
Respondents of the survey – released 25 April – were mostly from tier 1 cities, with Delhi topping at 34%. The ratio of women to men among the interviewees was 2:1.
Love vs arranged marriages — greater liberty, evolving attitudes
The reason behind more love marriages was the independence of young individuals coupled with their involvement in planning their weddings. It was also primarily the result of the evolving attitude of Indian families as weddings in India have always been a family-inclusive life decision, the report said.
In terms of planning, brides these days project-manage their weddings which further equips them to make more decisions. According to the report, 41% of couples begin planning their weddings four to six months in advance, while 32% plan it in the last one to three months.
“It is worth noting that the engagement period in India is much shorter than in other countries, with the majority getting engaged only six months or less before the wedding (72%). This also gives couples a narrower window in which to organise their nuptials,” the research stated.
No wedding without a formal proposal, tech savvy vendors
According to the report, young couples are using online resources to arrange their nuptials.
“Approximately every second couple who participated in the survey was aware that 6 out of 11 key activities, such as budgeting, finding trusted vendors, finding the perfect ring, and so on, can be completed online by using online planning tools. Couples use these resources for planning, budgeting, finding reputable providers, reading reviews, and so on. According to a poll done in 2023, there was an 11% point increase in adoption of wedding technology platforms, as it was discovered that 58% of couples now choose to use wedding planning websites to organise their weddings, up from 47% in 2020,” the report said.
It also found that smartphones/tablets (36%) have surpassed offline/in-person resources (34%) as the preferred mode of wedding planning. Further, global trends like proposals are gaining popularity in India and 28% of those surveyed said that formal proposals were now part of their weddings.
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