Go online this wedding season

Digital space

Weddings make for big market in the country. And with the relevance of online shopping portals growing by the years, shopping for wedding, which used to be precisely a family-oriented event, now has become digitalised cultural extravaganza. 

Beyond expenses, the cracking points in an Indian wedding — arrangements and planning wedding dress, gifts, trousseau, printing invitations, suitable venue, catering services, reception and decoration are provided in the online medium. Sometimes even bandwallahs, florists, astrologers and mehendiwallahs are also arranged by these portals. They act as a marketing platform where vendors and customers can transact and at times they act as vendors too with their promise to get everything done the traditional way.

Anand Shahani from WedMeGood which assists Indian couples to plan their wedding right from the start, says, “Online does not work very differently from the traditional way of shopping. When one wants to start with any shopping, they want to see options, and know from trusted sources where and what is the best. Online portals can give you the largest number of options and it is easier to go through.”

Gurgaon-based WedMeGood is founded by a husband – wife duo. The start-up features a curated guide of wedding professionals — photographers, make-up artists, decor, jewellery brands, designer wear and catering firms-all in one place, with detailed information, pricing and reviews. Shahani says that reviews are the main selling point of the website.

“We show the couples, footage and executions of other real life weddings, when they are confused about their choices. India is a large country with all kinds of weddings happening here. Collecting reviews and content from different weddings help other customers know what they are going for,” says Shahani.

Indear.in was launched just three months ago and is already a luxurious yet budget-friendly website for many. It sources wedding content and products directly from India’s wedding experts, and organises them in an innovative manner to simplify the process of planning a wedding. Users can explore, save and share wedding ideas, as well as contact designers and vendors directly for hire.

“We have designers from Muradabad, first time fashion designers and also reputed designer labels like Ritu Kumar and Anita Dongre, and we do receive customers from Jammu and Kashmir to the backwatersof Kerala,” says Sanna Vohra, the co-founder of Indear.

She says that Indear also lets customers submit their customised demands, for example, they can send in their body measurement and the tailors and designers send in the tailored product.

Also exchange and return policy in online shopping makes it all the more easy to pursue.
Each such website, including upcoming start-ups like WeddingPlz, Planning Wale have their own strategies of how to lure more customers. And wedding shoppers just never die out in the Indian market according to these sprouting young business minds.