Gen Z’s latest way to party is wedding-themed, minus the dulha-dulhan and rishtedaars
Water Varmala at a real wedding organised at Discover Resorts, who plan to recreate it for their fake shaadi package
Band, baaja, baaraat aur khaana. These are probably the only reasons why a wedding is worth attending. Unless you are the dulha-dulhan, of course.
The big fat Indian wedding, which Bollywood has made us aspire to and forced choreographers into our homes, is nothing but an over-the-top party with many micro parties.
If you are not the one going around in circles organising this event or taking pheras, a wedding can be quite boring.
Gen Z’s latest solution is taking away the pheras, rituals, judgmental rishtedaars, and even the dulha-dulhan — to just have the big fat Indian wedding party instead! Sounds absurd, no? Turns out, it’s the latest party trend.
A wedding-style Diwali party organised by N’vevibe in Thane
Twenty-year-old Dipti Sant’s friends planned a surprise wedding-themed birthday party for her last year and married her off to a life-size cardboard cutout of the ultimate Bollywood dulha, Shah Rukh Khan. “Everyone in my friend circle is obsessed with weddings. In college, we would watch wedding videos together, and we have recreated the Sid-Kiara wedding video so many times,” she says.
Sant’s party set off right from the elevator door, where her friends greeted her with an aarti thali, welcoming her in and revealing her cardboard dulha. “Everyone was in traditional wear, and they had properly thought out all the details. I was very happy, and I got a bit emotional,” she says.
You would expect house parties with themes centred around the person they celebrate and their interests. But what is more surprising is that a big fat Indian wedding has become a theme, and party organisers are now hosting fake shaadis like they would any DJ night.
Dipti Sant flanked by her friends at the fake wedding party they threw for her
In Thane, N’vevibe, an events company, is hosting a night of revelry in shaadi form. There’s no dulha or dulhan, just baaraatis dressed in their best lehengas and bandhgalas ready to party. “We saw such a party being hosted in Delhi, and got inspired. As an events company, we always want to offer a new experience, and we thought hosting a fake shadi would be a super crazy but fun idea. Not many people are getting married now, but they still want to attend weddings,” says Shantanu Dandekar, co-founder at N’vevibe.
The night will see a baaraat complete with ghodi, quirky photobooths, mehndi artists, shaadi wala khaana, and Bollywood wedding songs and chartbusters for people to dance to.
The mandap at Discover Resorts, which can be used for a ‘fake shaadi’ venue
Karjat’s Discover Resort is taking things up a notch. Their “Nakli Shaadi, Asli Mazza” offers a complete two-night, three-day destination wedding package. It includes stay, meals, and six parties that start from the welcome with a Punjabi dhol, a haldi foam pool party, masquerade sangeet with professional performances, neon DJ afterparty, a baaraat on wheels with Nashik dhol, a water varmaala event, and a ghazal night. There are even two pairs of a fake bride and groom, who have been selected via an Instagram contest that saw over 100 entries. As the reception is usually boring, it has been swapped for an award ceremony, where guests will receive giveaways and awards for titles like ‘best dressed’, ‘best dancer’, and so on. The only thing left out are the rituals and nosy rishtedaars.
Pulling off an event of this scale for Discover Resorts is not new, as they are a go-to venue for destination weddings and have also won awards. Their water varmaala ceremony, which takes place in their pool, is a viral, sought-after offering among many to-be-wed couples.
Shantanu Dandekar
“We are a popular choice for destination weddings. We thought, why not have a destination party?” says Naqisa Chaudhary, CEO of Discover Resorts. “I think Gen Z and younger millennials are more independent. A marriage is looked at as a restriction, but a wedding is an excuse to party. And, they have a disposable income,” says Chaudhary, explaining that wedding-themed events could likely grow to become a party or even a holiday trend.
But why does this generation love weddings as a way to party? “I’m not a fan of the big fat Indian wedding, and with rituals, weddings can be boring. But for our generation, weddings have long been romanticised. It’s aspirational. Besides, it’s also the way weddings are filmed, it’s like a movie,” says Sant.
“It’s also your night to be the main character,” says Dandekar. But as an event curator and organiser, he knows, “People love to dress up and get photographed. Our Diwali parties are always a hit for this reason,” he says, but adds, “I don’t think this shaadi-themed party should be a recurring event. It can be an annual event at best. Aakhir, shaadi ek hi baar hoti hai, baar baar nahi (Afterall, you get one wedding, not many).”
Naqisa Chaudhary, CEO of Discover Resorts
Chaudhary has noted, “People are looking for new holiday trends, for different experiences, adventure, or even food. Today, I can sit in a city like Mumbai and enjoy a meal that’s elevated and technique-driven or ingredient-driven. We are a country that offers and seeks unique experiences.”
Call it absurd, but twenty-somethings and folks in their early thirties are ready to party, shaadi style. N’vevibe’s fake shaadi in Thane is almost sold out, while Discover Resorts has pushed its dates to August to be able to host the party in better weather.
The question now remains: Will the no-shaadi shaadi turn into a trend or die down as a fad? Sant is unsure. “If it’s done amongst friends, it’s funny. A full-blown, organised event may take the fun away as it’s not personal. Amongst friends, it’s a joke and everyone’s in on it. This year, my birthday has a baby shower theme, so SRK and I have a fake baby that he doesn’t know about. But it’s a joke amongst friends, so you get it,” she says.
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