Marriage season: Auspicious November stars shine on wedding business

Hotels booked to capacity, makeup artistes, caterers have their hands full

Earlier this month, when a big financial institution went looking for a venue in Mumbai to host a big-ticket event on November 22, it drew a blank. Not one place was available, courtesy the Great Indian Wedding Season. With November 22, 23 and 24 being among the most auspicious dates for marriage this year, hotels across the country are all booked, as are wedding-related ancillary services. 

Banquets at the Taj Mahal Palace, Mumbai, are sold out for these dates, as are the rooms, except for those costing upwards of Rs 33,000 a night. It’s the same at the Grand Hyatt Mumbai and the JW Marriott Mumbai Sahar. 

Luxury hotels in destination wedding favourites such as Udaipur and Jaipur are also taken. 

“Raffles Udaipur is sold out on those November dates,” said its general manager, Rajesh Namby. “Room rates are typically 20-30 per cent higher for such auspicious dates.” 

The hotel operates at 100 per cent wedding occupancy. For those three days, it is booked for one wedding, which includes the pre- and post-wedding functions.

“The demand for weddings on auspicious dates in November this year is significantly higher than in 2023 and 2022,” said Gaurav Shrivastava, cluster director of revenue management, Fairmont and Raffles, Jaipur. “November 24 is the most sought-after date. Our room rates have increased by 20 per cent over last year because of this surge in demand.”

This year, Fairmont Jaipur is hosting nine weddings compared to seven last year. 

The weddings are also packed in fewer days.

“This year, we have less than 50 muhurat dates until December 14 compared to over 60 dates last year,” a priest told Business Standard. 

Like Mumbai, Delhi’s Taj Mahal hotel on Mansingh Road is also sold out for both venue and residential weddings between November 22 and 24.

And then there are destination weddings, especially in locations like Karjat, Lonavala and Alibaug in Maharashtra, Udaipur in Rajasthan, and Mamallapuram in Tamil Nadu. “Over 100 weddings are already booked [in these places] for the auspicious period in November; and until December, there will be nearly 250 events,” said Nikhil Sharma, managing director and area senior vice president-South Asia, Radisson Hotel Group. Consequently, room rates have jumped about 10 per cent.

Destinations that blend tradition, luxury and natural beauty are in big demand. “With almost 25 per cent of Indians looking to travel for a wedding in 2024, Mumbai, Udaipur, Jaipur, Goa and Delhi have emerged as the top five most searched destinations during the auspicious dates of November 22 to 24,” said Santosh Kumar, country manager for India, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Indonesia at Booking.com, a travel aggregator. 

According to a Prabhudas Lilladher report, titled “Band, Baaja, Baaraat and Markets”, this year, about Rs 4.25 trillion is expected to be spent on weddings. The Confederation of All India Traders estimated that 3.5 million weddings would be hosted between November and mid-December in India, up from 3.2 million  weddings during the same period last year.

Delhi-based makeup artiste Vanya Madan Malhotra said while December overall is a busier month, the auspicious November dates would really keep her on her toes. “I have three bookings on November 22, two on 23 and four on 24,” she said, adding that each bridal makeup session takes up to three hours.

Bespoke caterers Cream of the Crop, too, said their order book for the three dates is full, and is 30 per cent more than last year. “We are booked out on all the three dates for pre-wedding and wedding festivities of one family,” said Abhishek Ahuja, director of the Delhi-headquartered company.

Multi-designer retail chain Aza Fashions is also enjoying a bump in sales. “The wedding wear industry is abuzz with activity, and we are filling up our inventories way more this year compared to the last. We are hopeful of a 25-40 per cent increase in sales this season,” said Alka Nishar, founder and chairperson, Aza Fashions.

With every place taken, did the financial institution find a venue? Well, it did toy with the idea of shifting the date of its event or even hosting it in another city, but then lady luck smiled, and it finally managed to find a banquet hall in Mumbai. 

Knotty affair
 

* Rs 4.25 trillion is expected to be spent on weddings, says Prabhudas Lilladher report

* 3.5 million weddings to be hosted between November and mid-December -- up from 3.2 million during the same period last year, says CAIT

* Hotel room rates up 20-30% at Raffles Udaipur, 20% up at Fairmont Jaipur, 10% across Radisson group properties

* Fewer muhurat dates this year : Less than 50 versus over 60 in 2023