India doesn't need another big fat wedding. It needs better ones.
For as long as I can remember, Indian weddings have carried this unspoken pressure to be grand. The bigger the guest list, the louder the music, the taller the stage, the more successful the celebration seems. I should know; I’ve spent most of my life planning large-scale weddings across the country. I’ve seen the fireworks, the extravagant décor, the celebrity performances… and yes, there is a certain magic in the scale of it all.
But here’s what I’ve also learned: a wedding can be big without being beautiful. It can be opulent without being memorable. And that’s where the conversation needs to shift.
When we talk about “better” weddings, we’re not talking about smaller or less ambitious ones. We’re talking about weddings that have heart. Where the décor doesn’t just look good on Instagram, but actually says something about who the couple is. Where the sangeet isn’t just about perfect choreography, but about the stories the family wants to tell. Where the rituals aren’t rushed through, but given the space and meaning they deserve.
I’ll never forget one wedding I planned where the bride and groom chose to skip the elaborate stage entry.
Instead, they walked in holding hands while their closest friends narrated funny, heartfelt anecdotes from their journey together. No pyros, no confetti just stories and laughter. And years later, the couple still tells me that’s what people remember most. Not the décor, not the scale, but that moment.
At The Wedding School, I’ve had the privilege of working with countless aspiring professionals and couples who dream of creating weddings like this where it’s not just about logistics, but about empathy, storytelling, and transforming emotions into memories that last forever. In doing so, I’ve also had to unlearn my own obsession with scale and relearn what truly matters. It’s shaped the way I work, and honestly, the way I live today.