Planning to pay for your own wedding? Here is how you can achieve it.

Children's weddings are often considered a significant financial goal for Indian parents. In India, weddings hold immense cultural and social significance, reflecting not only the union of two individuals but also the coming together of two families. Parents in India typically start planning for their children's weddings from an early age, recognizing that these events will require substantial financial resources.

Indian weddings are known for their opulence and grandeur, often spanning multiple days and involving elaborate ceremonies and festivities. From lavish decorations to sumptuous feasts, no expense is spared to ensure that the wedding is a memorable affair. As a result, parents often set aside significant savings throughout their lives, with the sole purpose of funding their children's weddings.

Furthermore, Indian society places great emphasis on societal status and reputation. A grand wedding is seen as a reflection of a family's prosperity and social standing. Parents feel obligated to host a wedding that surpasses expectations, ensuring that their children are married off in a manner befitting their social class. This pressure to conform to societal norms and expectations intensifies the financial burden on parents, leading them to view their children's wedding as a major financial goal.

An increasing number of young individuals in India are no longer captivated by the notion of utilizing a significant portion of their parents' hard-earned savings and long-term investments for extravagant Indian weddings. Instead, there is a growing trend among this demographic to take on the responsibility of financing their own wedding expenses, even if only to a partial extent. This group is actively strategizing to shoulder the financial burden of their weddings with minimal inputs from their parents.

As per a report by The Economist in Sept 2022, Indians spend close to $130 bn annually on weddings and it is India’s fourth-largest industry, just behind energy, banking, and insurance. As a monetary objective, nuptial ceremonies are in a league of their own – strategizing and accomplishing them entail intense emotions. Although the concept and expenditure for an ideal wedding may vary, the gospel truth remains prudent financial preparation holds utmost significance.

Inflation: The Wedding Crasher

Analysing the financial aspects of wedding costs necessitates delving into the specifics of your envisioned ceremony. This may not be feasible if you currently have no intentions of tying the knot in the next 3-5 years, and the jingling of wedding bells is not on the horizon. However, if you intend to devise a financial plan for a wedding, you must contemplate a series of inquiries. How much can you allocate comfortably towards this objective without jeopardizing your other aspirations? What portion of the expenses do you desire to bear personally, and what is the extent of financial support your parents can provide?

When figuring out the responses to these questions, you will also have to factor in the impacts of inflation. Expenses related to catering, venue, decorations, and other indispensable elements of wedding festivities will surge each year which would require you to align your investment strategies with the escalating costs. Wedding expenses can range from a few lakhs to several crores. It might be challenging to envision the precise type of wedding you desire, particularly if you are still in the process of finding the right life partner. However, you can still start ideating an approximation of the expenditure that you and your family can jointly afford. And this estimation must be devised with cognizance of the inflation numbers to avoid any shortfall of funds.

Reaping the benefits of mutual fund investments

Once the picture starts to look less hazy, you can commence investing towards your wedding. The optimal approach would be to invest in mutual funds through Systematic Investment Plans (SIPs). Unlike retirement planning, determining a specific date for your wedding is not possible, making investment instruments with lock-in periods challenging. For example, depositing funds into a five-year fixed deposit (FD) would be of no use if you end up tying the knot within the next three years.

SIPs in mutual funds started at the right time can be a judicious choice than relying on personal loans. Opting for systematic investment plans (SIPs) and gradually increasing your investments when you have surplus funds is a wiser decision for your overall financial well-being compared to resorting to loans. Moreover, the beauty of SIPs is that you can initiate them with as little as ₹500, eliminating any concerns about accumulating sufficient capital for investment.

To diminish your tax burdens, consider investing in tax-saving instruments such as Equity Linked Savings Scheme (ELSS). This can substantially augment your savings and create additional space for wedding investments. It is important to note, however, that ELSS funds have a lock-in period of 3 years. If you fail to initiate savings early on, you may encounter difficulties in achieving your desired funding goals for your wedding. Even though a specific wedding date may not yet be set, there is no better time to commence the saving and investing process than now.

An Investor education and Awareness initiative of Aditya Birla Sun Life Mutual Fund

All investors have to go through a one-time KYC (Know Your Customer) process. Investors to invest only with SEBI registered Mutual Funds. For further information on KYC, list of SEBI registered Mutual Funds and redressal of complaints including details about SEBI SCORES portal, visit link : https://mutualfund.adityabirlacapital.com/Investor-Education/education/kyc-and-redressal for further details.

Mutual Fund investments are subject to market risks, read all scheme related documents carefully

म्यूचुअल फंड निवेश बाज़ार जोखिम के अधीन हैं, योजना संबंधी सभी दस्तावेज़ों को सावधानी से पढ़ें।