India's urban youth are partying at ‘fake weddings,’ no dulha, no drama, just dhol, reels
In a twist that only Gen Z could pull off with flair, Indian cities are witnessing the rise of a rather unorthodox trend known as the fake wedding. From Delhi to Bengaluru and even reaching university campuses in the United States, these events are becoming the next big (and bizarre) thing in urban party culture.
A fake wedding all the pomp of a traditional Indian wedding, sangeet, varmala, baraat, dhol and lehengas, minus the marriage itself. There’s no real bride or groom committing to anything except maybe some viral choreography. Instead, attendees gather to revel in a curated, commitment-free version of “shaadi season.”
Some of these events are now being ticketed, organised by professional party planners, with entry fees ranging from ₹500 to ₹3,000 depending on how lavish the setup is. One viral Instagram post even mentioned a two-day fake wedding organised at Cornell University, complete with food, rituals and costumes, just without the rishtedars, pressure or pheras.
For many young people, fake weddings are about joy, freedom and expression. There are no aunties asking personal questions, no family drama and no early morning rituals. It’s a glittering fantasy of a wedding which is tailor-made for Instagram, Snapchat and the dopamine of online validation.
Critics have called the trend frivolous and disrespectful, arguing that it reduces the sanctity of marriage to a theme party. “Have we lost the plot?” one user asked on X lamenting that a sacred union is now reduced to a content opportunity. Another remarked, “Long live capitalism,” referring to how even weddings, real or fake have become commodified.
Few others see in it a budding business model as fake weddings might just be the next frontier in event planning, which might fall somewhere between a flash mob and immersive theatre.
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Rickelton's ton in vain as SRH beat MI by 6 wickets
Mumbai (PTI): Ryan Rickelton's whirlwind unbeaten ton was overshadowed by Heinrich Klaasen's unbeaten 65 as Sunrisers Hyderabad defeated Mumbai Indians by six wickets in an IPL match here on Wednesday.
Chasing an imposing 244-run target, Travis Head (76 off 30) and Abhishek Sharma (45 off 24) shared 129 runs for the opening wicket to set the platform for SRH.
Klaasen (65 not out off 30 balls) then displayed his all-round hitting abilities to guide SRH home with the help of Nitish Kumar Reddy (21) and Salil Arora (30 not out off 10) in 18.4 overs.
Earlier, Rickelton's knock powered MI to 243 for five.
MI rode on a 93-run stand between Rickelton (123 not out off 55 balls) and Will Jacks (46 off 22) in 7.1 overs for the opening stand to power the side.
MI skipper Hardik Pandya scored a valuable 31 off 15 balls before being dismissed.
Praful Hinge (2/54), Eshan Malinga (1/29), Sakib Hasan (1/39) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (1/31) were the wicket-takers for SRH.
Brief Scores:
Mumbai Indian: 243 for 5 in 20 overs (Ryan Rickelton 123 not out; Praful Hinge 2/54).
Sunrisers Hyderabad: 249 for 4 in 18.4 overs (Travis Head 76, Heinrich Klaasen 65 not out; AM Ghazanfar 2/51).
