Last Updated on August 14, 2025 at 9:28 am
About a year ago, I was asked in a panel discussion, “How much should a couple spend on their wedding?” This caught me by surprise as I had never thought about this before (even when I often looked down upon wedding extravagance).
I had a couple of seconds to decide between saying a bland, “It depends, it is hard to say, etc” or giving a specific answer. I chose the latter.
First, some context: The person who asked the question assumed that the married couple would fund the wedding without any support from parents or family. So this is a young girl and boy just starting their careers with no net worth to speak of wanting to fund their marriage alone.
Initially, members of that panel discussion were puzzled by my response, and at least one said it was reasonable. I do not claim that it is a one-size-fits-all thumb rule. I do not claim that it is practical. I feel it is doable. I expect a lot of readers to disagree with me on this.
Join 32,000+ readers and get free money management solutions delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to get posts via email! (Link takes you to our email sign-up form)
🔥Want to create a complete financial plan? Learn goal-based investing? Exclusive access to our DIY tools? Increase your income with your skills? Enjoy massive discounts on our robo-advisory tool & courses! 🔥
I blurted out my answer: “The wedding should not cost more than one to two years’ annual income for the couple.”
I meant that if only one partner was working, say with an annual income of Rs. 12 lakhs, the wedding cost should not exceed Rs 12-24 Lakhs. If both work and the total annual income is Rs. 24 Lakhs, the wedding cost should not exceed Rs. 24-48 Lakhs. There is a reasonably large bandwidth, but a simple, basic, traditional wedding without opulence is ideal.
I later realised that it is not a scalable thumb rule. A person earning Rs. 50 lakh a month should not strive to spend Rs 1 Crore for a wedding. A Rs. 40-50 Lakh budget is much better.
Many other factors include how much they have saved up for the marriage, how much they can save (if there is still some time to do so), how much the parents or grandparents will help, etc. It is only a rough thumbrule I coughed up in a hurry, but in hindsight, it seems reasonable (to me).
Many of you will probably dismiss this as impractical, and the marriage would cost much more. Yes, but at whose expense? The couple. Even with this silly thumb rule, many people may have to take out loans if their families cannot make up for the shortfall.
The ideal thing to do is not borrow and fund your marriage (which includes the honeymoon, which is not mandatory!). You can start saving for your marriage from the day you start working (if possible, retirement planning can wait), and hopefully, when you start planning for the big day, you and your partner will each have an amount close to a year’s pay. That should be enough for a reasonable wedding without pomp and EMIs! If your runway is longer, you can save more.
Remember, if someone is forcing you to spend more for your wedding than you wish to, they are neither your true friends nor true relatives. Your happiness after the wedding is the number one priority.
Use our Robo-advisory Tool to create a complete financial plan! ⇐More than 3,000 investors and advisors use this! Use the discount code: robo25 for a 20% discount.Plan your retirement (early, normal, before, and after), as well as non-recurring financial goals (such as child education) and recurring financial goals (like holidays and appliance purchases). The tool would help anyone aged 18 to 80 plan for their retirement, six other non-recurring financial goals, and four other recurring financial goals with a detailed cash flow summary.
🔥You can also avail massive discounts on our courses and the freefincal investor circle! 🔥& join our community of 8000+ users!
Track your mutual funds and stock investments with this Google Sheet!
We also publish monthly equity mutual funds, debt and hybrid mutual funds, index funds and ETF screeners and momentum, low-volatility stock screeners.
You can follow our articles on Google News
We have more than 1000 videos on YouTube!
Join our WhatsApp Channel
- Do you have a comment about the above article? Reach out to us on Twitter: @freefincal or @pattufreefincal
- Have a question? Subscribe to our newsletter using the form below.
- Hit 'reply' to any email from us! We do not offer personalized investment advice. We can write a detailed article without mentioning your name if you have a generic question.
Join 32,000+ readers and get free money management solutions delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to get posts via email! (Link takes you to our email sign-up form)
About The Author
Dr M. Pattabiraman(PhD) is the founder, managing editor and primary author of freefincal. He is an associate professor at the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. He has over 13 years of experience publishing news analysis, research and financial product development. Connect with him via Twitter(X), Linkedin, or YouTube. Pattabiraman has co-authored three print books: (1) You can be rich too with goal-based investing (CNBC TV18) for DIY investors. (2) Gamechanger for young earners. (3) Chinchu Gets a Superpower! for kids. He has also written seven other free e-books on various money management topics. He is a patron and co-founder of “Fee-only India,” an organisation promoting unbiased, commission-free aum independent investment advice.Our flagship course! Learn to manage your portfolio like a pro to achieve your goals regardless of market conditions! ⇐ More than 3,500 investors and advisors are part of our exclusive community! Get clarity on how to plan for your goals and achieve the necessary corpus no matter the market condition is!! Watch the first lecture for free! One-time payment! No recurring fees! Life-long access to videos! Reduce fear, uncertainty and doubt while investing! Learn how to plan for your goals before and after retirement with confidence.
Increase your income by getting people to pay for your skills! ⇐ More than 800 salaried employees, entrepreneurs and financial advisors are part of our exclusive community! Learn how to get people to pay for your skills! Whether you are a professional or small business owner who wants more clients via online visibility or a salaried person wanting a side income or passive income, we will show you how to achieve this by showcasing your skills and building a community that trusts and pays you! (watch 1st lecture for free). One-time payment! No recurring fees! Life-long access to videos!
Our book for kids: “Chinchu Gets a Superpower!” is now available!
Must-read book even for adults! This is something that every parent should teach their kids right from their young age. The importance of money management and decision making based on their wants and needs. Very nicely written in simple terms. - Arun.Buy the book: Chinchu gets a superpower for your child!
How to profit from content writing: Our new ebook is for those interested in getting side income via content writing. It is available at a 50% discount for Rs. 500 only!
Do you want to check if the market is overvalued or undervalued? Use our market valuation tool (it will work with any index!), or get the Tactical Buy/Sell timing tool!
We publish monthly mutual fund screeners and momentum, low-volatility stock screeners.
About freefincal & its content policy. Freefincal is a News Media Organization dedicated to providing original analysis, reports, reviews and insights on mutual funds, stocks, investing, retirement and personal finance developments. We do so without conflict of interest and bias. Follow us on Google News. Freefincal serves more than three million readers a year (5 million page views) with articles based only on factual information and detailed analysis by its authors. All statements made will be verified with credible and knowledgeable sources before publication. Freefincal does not publish paid articles, promotions, PR, satire or opinions without data. All opinions will be inferences backed by verifiable, reproducible evidence/data. Contact information: To get in touch, use this contact form. (Sponsored posts or paid collaborations will not be entertained.)
Connect with us on social media
- Twitter @freefincal
- Subscribe to our YouTube Videos
- Posts feed via Feedburner.
Our publications
You Can Be Rich Too with Goal-Based Investing
Published by CNBC TV18, this book is meant to help you ask the right questions and seek the correct answers, and since it comes with nine online calculators, you can also create custom solutions for your lifestyle! Get it now.Gamechanger: Forget Startups, Join Corporate & Still Live the Rich Life You Want
This book is meant for young earners to get their basics right from day one! It will also help you travel to exotic places at a low cost! Get it or gift it to a young earner.Your Ultimate Guide to Travel
This is an in-depth dive into vacation planning, finding cheap flights, budget accommodation, what to do when travelling, and how travelling slowly is better financially and psychologically, with links to the web pages and hand-holding at every step. Get the pdf for Rs 300 (instant download)