As Dalal Street winds down from a blockbuster year of equity offerings, another kind of IPO is just beginning, one not listed on any exchange, yet commanding premium valuations. Welcome to family IPO, India’s wedding season is in full swing, projected to raise a staggering $74 billion (Rs 6.5 lakh crore) over just 45 days, nearly 2% of the nation’s GDP
From mid-November to December, the country will host 4.5 to 6 million weddings, an average of 100,000 ceremonies a day, according to Kotak Asset Management Company (KAMC). “Families often treat weddings as a family IPO, investing up to 20% of lifetime earnings to showcase wealth, networks, and social capital,” said Nilesh Shah, managing director, KAMC. Shah stated that India’s wedding industry has evolved into a powerful economic engine, so large and dynamic that a 45-day peak season alone injects more than Rs 6 lakh crore into the economy. “What looks like a celebration on the surface is actually a synchronised machinery of vendors, artisans, designers, hotels, and planners working together, creating millions of jobs,” he added.
Weddings have become India’s fourth-largest industry, bigger than aviation, and rivalling organised retail in scale. Jewellery alone accounts for Rs 60,000 crore annually, representing 50–55% of India’s jewellery market revenues and consuming half of the country’s annual gold demand. Apparel contributes another Rs 10,000 crore, while the hospitality sector sees occupancy rates surge to 70–72% during the peak season. “Behind every celebration lies a thriving ecosystem touching hospitality, jewellery, fashion, beauty services, travel, food and catering, event management, and digital content creation, making the modern wedding not just a personal milestone, but a force that drives some of India’s most vibrant consumer sectors,” said Shah.
Beyond consumption, weddings are a formidable employment engine. The ecosystem supports 5–10 million full-time jobs and an additional 10–20 million seasonal roles, spanning event planners, caterers, florists, photographers, and transport providers. According to the KAMC report, on average, each wedding engages 14 vendors and hosts 310–330 guests, far larger than Western counterparts, highlighting why weddings are India’s second-largest retail sector after food and groceries.
With 470 million Indians in the marriageable age bracket, the sector’s trajectory remains robust. “India’s weddings are not just about memories, they are about markets, and they may well be the most enduring driver of India’s growth narrative,” Shah added.