There is no question that weddings are a big deal in the United States. Women spend significant resources of time, energy, and money to make sure their special day is truly special. Knowing that weddings are a big deal in the US I decided to research Indian weddings. After minutes of research I was blown away by the extent to which Indian weddings surpass American weddings in terms of their weight/ importance and the amount of resources they consume. According to Indian wedding planners, a minimum budget wedding in India costs approximately $34,000 (not including the dowry) and it is not unusual for mid-upper class Indians to spend upwards of $2million, while the average American wedding consumes only $27,000. Indian weddings, unlike American weddings, are typically week long processes which include several different ceremonies, festivities, and celebrations with the average number of guests ranging between 500-1,000 people. Besides the grandeur of Indian weddings, other differences between American and Indian weddings include the color of the wedding dress, symbolism within the ceremony, and the practice of giving dowries.
Traditionally, the brides family pays for the entire wedding and also provides the groom's family with a substantial dowry. The practice of dowry giving has several grave consequences. According to one source, 107,000 brides are killed every year in dowry violence and due to the huge financial strain on the bride's family dowries and weddings impose, having male children is preferred to having female children. In its extreme form, this preference has resulted in gendercide, selectively choosing to abort/kill their children if they are female. The infant mortality rate for girls in India is 75% higher than those of their male counterparts. While Indian weddings are grand and spectacular, as a whole, they come at a high price.
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