It’s the big fat wedding season in India. Celebrity and corporate scions tying the holy knot in great opulence and style has made marriage celebrations aspirational. In the age of digitisation the pressure to seek validation on social media and the idea of a perfect life has forced individuals to glamourize private events. Marriage being one such big event in an Indian family. From multiple events organized at exotic locations to bridal couture/ jewelry and scrumptious food to guests all can cost millions, enough to ensure it eats up into all your savings.
While there are no verified estimates or studies till now on the exact size of the Indian wedding market, according to inputs from various wedding planners, even by modest estimates, it might be well above Rs 50,000 crore.
In India, weddings are traditionally lavish affairs with a larger amount of the costs being borne by the bride or her side of the family. However, with families becoming more progressive and women pursuing active career opportunities equality in marriages is actively pursued by younger Indians. Young India is now seeking more reasonable and practical solutions to make their big day a grand affair. These include opting for wedding loans, personal loans, buying the expensive lehengas and bridal couture on equated monthly instalments as financial institutions through their EMI cards and third party tie ups give the bride and the groom varied options to jazz up their dream wedding.
These few financial tips can come in handy as you brace yourself for your big day.
Budgeting as equals
Couples need to keep the budget in check. It is very easy to overshoot the budget by adding those extremely beautiful fresh flowers for a mesmersing décor and making ultra fancy invitation cards but the cards will get eventually gets trashed and the flowers are going to be stale after a few hours. Another thing that one needs to be wary about is to take decisions emotionally while planning for a wedding. Some events, like the cocktail are not even a part of the culture; however, due to peer pressure it has become a must these days. Think twice before you decide to splurge your hard earned money trying to make the guests happy. Couples can instead plan a holiday abroad and take the time to understand each other better.
Financial transparency
Next in line is to be transparent about your finances. It is important that you share the all information about your income, assets and liabilities at the very beginning. For budgeting, it is important to review the joint savings of the couple and then decide on borrowing more funds, if required. Both partners should take equal ownership of the wedding expenses and keep the extravagant expenses in check. If this kind of equilibrium is not set in the beginning, it is difficult to change later.
Borrowing funds
Ideally, it would be best to discuss with your partner on the total amount that you wish to borrow for your wedding because it is purely and expense and can delay some of your important goals for the next few years. Prioritize these goals and then arrive at a decision to borrow funds externally.
Taking a wedding loan should be one of your go-to options when you don’t have enough time to arrange for the resources and save towards it. Today, wedding loans are customized to pay for anything that you need for your wedding to be a little more extra special. Major NBFCs understand that wedding loans are taken in utmost emergency and is required immediately in order to lock that perfect venue or book those well renowned caterers. Wedding loans are an easy and quickly accessible and you can even find a loan that fits your budget and make your fairy tale wedding dream come true!
Importantly, it is extremely important to know where your partner stands in terms of finances at the very beginning so that you can plan and budget your wedding accordingly. With pre-empted budgeting, long-term savings planning and wedding loans, you can ensure that your wedding is nothing less than a dream come true.
Benefits of a wedding loan
There was a time when the zeroes in your salary would determine your eligibility to get married, but now it makes you eligible for taking credit. With digitisation loan disbursements have become quicker and easier in the last two years. With more and more people looking to finance their dream wedding, a wedding loan has become a more acceptable option.
Wedding expenses as a category is expected to grow at 25 to 30 % a year with Young India aspiring only the very best for their wedding. Wedding Loans as a category is becoming a huge business opportunity for financial institutions.
A Wedding loan is a loan that you can take to pay for anything related to your special day. One might need money at quick disposal to book a lavish venue or the best caterers in town. Wedding loans can help you in a timely manner and make your fairy-tale wedding come to life. With shorter repayment tenure, usually of 6-12 months, you can save a lot of interest amount that you would generally end up paying over a lifetime. There is no pre-payment penalty for foreclosure of a wedding loan unlike that of a personal loan. If you are due to get any one time lump sum payment benefit like bonus or other gain it can be used for pre-payment.
It’s always advisable to find a wedding loan that offers a fixed rate of interest so that you don’t end up paying more than you want to because of volatile market conditions. Wedding Loans are a better option than racking up a lot of credit cards. A loan can give you a fixed amount of money to work with, whereas a credit card can easily tempt you to overspend money you don’t have. Loans also come with a fixed interest rate and monthly payments, making them easier to budget for.
By Mr. Kusal Roy, Managing Director, Tata Capital Financial Services Limited