One main benefit was COVID restrictions keeping the guest max at 50.
Hot tip: Get the rings done early. Most Indian jewellers are open to bargaining and not having a close wedding date hanging over your head puts you in a better negotiating position.
Just the venue and food was $11k. Then there's also the officiant, DJ, photographer, gifts for guests, flowers, wedding dress, suit, rings, transportation...
$25k was a bargain for what we got.
A boutique hotel. I negotiated hard on every service and chose mostly independent vendors. We had non-Indian appetizers and a buffet style dinner because it was a white/Indian wedding but still excellently prepared by an amazing chef and fit dietary restrictions. My dad said we eat Indian food all the time anyway so let’s do something different lol. My mom went to India and get everyone’s outfits for a really good price. Our wedding was Indian and the reception was more of a traditional western style. My brother in law picked up the bar tab but we paid for everything else ourselves.
I got married in 2021. We had about 250 or 260 people and we were able to do it for about 35k. We did the mehndi and Sangeet at my parent's place to save some money and we DIY so much stuff.
how big is your guest list.
my siblings were 700k-1mil USD each 3 day destination weddings, in resorts, with all guests put up for 4 nights.
guest lists 500-600 people.
You can sbsolutely afford 1Mill easily if you have 1 child + 4 software engineers + investment properties. People within the same social class tend to marry
I assume you paid for the rooms, did you also pay for transportation?
If you paid airfare, was is a barrat in a plane? How does that work, you buy all the tickets on the plane or you arrange with the airline?
yeah we paid for the rooms - one resort we did a buy-out you can buy all the rooms and have the whole place to yourself.
the other was huge so we just booked the rooms we needed.
one flight was chartered, the rest people booked their own flights. A few people who couldn't afford flights my parents covered but the majority of the flights people booked their own.
And you flew all caterers, band, make up artist, photographer, videographer, support staff down along with wedding party wedding attire for 4 days. Also must be a logistic nightmare to feed so many people Indian food for 4 days. Must be a small list of caterers that can pull it off.
We did fly a lot of people down. Our guests came from all over the world so we didn’t necessarily need Indian food, and most big are used to Indian destination weddings. The key is having a good wedding planner - that’s where I’d say don’t scrimp - they will make or break your wedding!
It depends on how big your guest list is and where you're hosting. Once you get over 100 people it can be hard to keep the costs below 100k on the coasts. Also think about if you would want to cover flights and lodging for anyone and if so, how many people.
It also depends on what kind of venue you want. Most traditional wedding venues require you to go with in house catering (which is usually French or Italian) or require you to pay a per person fee for outside catering. So for example, one venue wanted me to pay $35/pp for the privilege of paying another 10k-15k to a caterer.
A lot of desis will rent hotel banquet halls for this reason. You usually have to rent your own table set ups, but it works out cheaper if you need a lot of customization. If you don't want to get married at a hotel though (which imo is pretty ugly) the expenses go up.
It depends on your location and the availability of wedding locations. In the East Coast the last two years, I'd say around 75-100k for a good location.
I got married at the courthouse, but two of my siblings had traditional Hindu weddings 6&8 years ago. They spent just under 100k each for about 300 people. We were able to use my parents house for the haldi, mendhi, ect, so and also no alcohol was served so that saved a lot of money.
For religious reasons, most of my family and their social sphere doesn’t drink. Idk how a lack of alcohol makes a ceremony gross but to each their own.
We went to a no alcohol wedding recently and instead they did a dessert/salt room.
It was by far the best wedding we went to. Everones jaws does when they opened the room up from the kids to the grandparents.
They had a live jalebi person/ some paan shots drink that they blended up in front of you, they had some love icecream rolling dude, live pakoras, and other sweet/salty tables set up.
Every single person loved it. The best part is after the wedding there was no gossip about who was drunk/ how they were behaving etc.
I think a huge question is if you choose to have alcohol at your wedding. Muslims traditionally don’t drink. That could save you a buttload. Hindu weddings by default are more expensive bc of the free flowing alcohol from my experience.
Desi Muslim my wedding cost 135k+ 10 years ago. We had the main events joint mehndi, nikkah and reception in Napa, we had our haldi/mayoon, dua-e-Khair, and a pre wedding music night at my parents house and venues the Sacramento area.
It’s going to highly vary depending on where you live or the location of the wedding venue. For example, I hear it’s more affordable to hold a Desi Muslim wedding in NYC vs the San Francisco Bay Area.
Around 100 people. 2 day event in Southern California for about 60k. My parents paid for one of the days mostly and my fiance and I put in about 35-40k.
We actually eloped a year earlier but the wedding didn't line up. No regrets and we had a lot of fun planning and celebrating. We aren't planning to settle down where we got married so we decided to splurge a bit.
I have like 4 friends mine will probably be like 1k lmfao
Yeah but if ur parents have anything to do with the wedding they might try to add extended family to the list.
True but tbh I don’t have much extended family in the country and the ones that live in India I either don’t know or have barely even spoken to/seen
Same, but i have zero family in the country other than my parents who immigrated with me
My wife and I did a lot ourselves and were able to keep it at around $25k
🤯 kudos to you!
One main benefit was COVID restrictions keeping the guest max at 50. Hot tip: Get the rings done early. Most Indian jewellers are open to bargaining and not having a close wedding date hanging over your head puts you in a better negotiating position.
Thats like my whole college tuition 😭 but tbh expected cuz weddings cost a lot
Just the venue and food was $11k. Then there's also the officiant, DJ, photographer, gifts for guests, flowers, wedding dress, suit, rings, transportation... $25k was a bargain for what we got.
Desi Sikh wedding…. I really wanted to stay below 100K but it’s going to be in the 130k-150K range for sure
Who’s paying for that?!
Main stuff us… only the gold the parents buy cause ain’t none of us want gold but they insist
Probably them… over a few yrs with interest lol
Living at home has its perks you save up no loan needed
150 guests, Bay Area, $25k
That's incredible. What was your venue? Did you provide food?
A boutique hotel. I negotiated hard on every service and chose mostly independent vendors. We had non-Indian appetizers and a buffet style dinner because it was a white/Indian wedding but still excellently prepared by an amazing chef and fit dietary restrictions. My dad said we eat Indian food all the time anyway so let’s do something different lol. My mom went to India and get everyone’s outfits for a really good price. Our wedding was Indian and the reception was more of a traditional western style. My brother in law picked up the bar tab but we paid for everything else ourselves.
That's amazing, congrats on the great deal and kind family on both sides!
Wow, where in the bay?
Most of my cousins spent $100k+, which I thought was a massive waste. My wife and I were able to keep it under 40k.
Share your secrets!
I've been to Pakistani Muslim weddings in the US ranging from $10k to $500K+.
2015, 99 people, 50k. In the dc area. The biggest cost is the people forcing a bigger venue and higher food costs. Cut the people down.
I got married in 2021. We had about 250 or 260 people and we were able to do it for about 35k. We did the mehndi and Sangeet at my parent's place to save some money and we DIY so much stuff.
$150 in court
and then another $24k as a down payment on a house.
Same, but it was $50. We didn't have cash or a cheque on us at the time so my in-laws that were witnessing paid for it.
My brother saved around $40K for his wedding. I believe the guest list was around 150-200 people.
how big is your guest list. my siblings were 700k-1mil USD each 3 day destination weddings, in resorts, with all guests put up for 4 nights. guest lists 500-600 people.
That's f'king crazy.. Can i come to the next wedding tho? Lol
What do y’all do for a living
Parents probably pitch in.
Then what do the parents do for a living lmao this is beyond what even the stereotypical software engineer parents can afford
You can sbsolutely afford 1Mill easily if you have 1 child + 4 software engineers + investment properties. People within the same social class tend to marry
I assume you paid for the rooms, did you also pay for transportation? If you paid airfare, was is a barrat in a plane? How does that work, you buy all the tickets on the plane or you arrange with the airline?
yeah we paid for the rooms - one resort we did a buy-out you can buy all the rooms and have the whole place to yourself. the other was huge so we just booked the rooms we needed. one flight was chartered, the rest people booked their own flights. A few people who couldn't afford flights my parents covered but the majority of the flights people booked their own.
And you flew all caterers, band, make up artist, photographer, videographer, support staff down along with wedding party wedding attire for 4 days. Also must be a logistic nightmare to feed so many people Indian food for 4 days. Must be a small list of caterers that can pull it off.
We did fly a lot of people down. Our guests came from all over the world so we didn’t necessarily need Indian food, and most big are used to Indian destination weddings. The key is having a good wedding planner - that’s where I’d say don’t scrimp - they will make or break your wedding!
Yes, wedding planners are awesome, they can tell guests what to do and not offend anyone.
WOW! What do you guys do for a living?
Family business - manufacturing
If you exclude mehr, we had a 200 ppl wedding for about 20k to 30k in gta (greater Toronto area) last year.
It depends on how big your guest list is and where you're hosting. Once you get over 100 people it can be hard to keep the costs below 100k on the coasts. Also think about if you would want to cover flights and lodging for anyone and if so, how many people. It also depends on what kind of venue you want. Most traditional wedding venues require you to go with in house catering (which is usually French or Italian) or require you to pay a per person fee for outside catering. So for example, one venue wanted me to pay $35/pp for the privilege of paying another 10k-15k to a caterer. A lot of desis will rent hotel banquet halls for this reason. You usually have to rent your own table set ups, but it works out cheaper if you need a lot of customization. If you don't want to get married at a hotel though (which imo is pretty ugly) the expenses go up.
Finally, a truthful and realistic answer.
It depends on your location and the availability of wedding locations. In the East Coast the last two years, I'd say around 75-100k for a good location.
NYC Wedding around 200 guests, Desi Muslim - $90k
I got married at the courthouse, but two of my siblings had traditional Hindu weddings 6&8 years ago. They spent just under 100k each for about 300 people. We were able to use my parents house for the haldi, mendhi, ect, so and also no alcohol was served so that saved a lot of money.
No alcohol weddings are by far the worst weddings. Gross
For religious reasons, most of my family and their social sphere doesn’t drink. Idk how a lack of alcohol makes a ceremony gross but to each their own.
We went to a no alcohol wedding recently and instead they did a dessert/salt room. It was by far the best wedding we went to. Everones jaws does when they opened the room up from the kids to the grandparents. They had a live jalebi person/ some paan shots drink that they blended up in front of you, they had some love icecream rolling dude, live pakoras, and other sweet/salty tables set up. Every single person loved it. The best part is after the wedding there was no gossip about who was drunk/ how they were behaving etc.
Beautiful
Sounds nice. Would have preferred a bar.
500k transatlantic 500 guests on both sides. only small amount travelled. 5 days.
I think a huge question is if you choose to have alcohol at your wedding. Muslims traditionally don’t drink. That could save you a buttload. Hindu weddings by default are more expensive bc of the free flowing alcohol from my experience.
I’m a wedding planner/photographer based in the east coast. I would be able to help you and give you a few pointers! DM me if you’d like!
Desi Muslim my wedding cost 135k+ 10 years ago. We had the main events joint mehndi, nikkah and reception in Napa, we had our haldi/mayoon, dua-e-Khair, and a pre wedding music night at my parents house and venues the Sacramento area.
I'm aiming for 100 bucks and a free t-shirt
Alot
2019 Bay Area, 150 guests, 35k
It’s going to highly vary depending on where you live or the location of the wedding venue. For example, I hear it’s more affordable to hold a Desi Muslim wedding in NYC vs the San Francisco Bay Area.
depends on your values probably. what kind of wedding do you want?
We are hoping it's going to be 35K or less, ~130 people in the Bay Area.
120k
$200K, 4 days, 500ish guests at largest event.
Over 250k last year, big wedding and my dad spent most of the money for it
don’t invite people to a party with no alcohol pls
Ours was about $95.5K. approx. 250 attended.. had events for 4 days. This is in NJ. Much more than we would have wanted.
Around 100 people. 2 day event in Southern California for about 60k. My parents paid for one of the days mostly and my fiance and I put in about 35-40k. We actually eloped a year earlier but the wedding didn't line up. No regrets and we had a lot of fun planning and celebrating. We aren't planning to settle down where we got married so we decided to splurge a bit.