On the first night of Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant’s pre-wedding festivities in Jamnagar in March this year, 5,500 drones emblazoned the story of Vantara, Anant’s animal rescue and rehabilitation centre, across the skies. It would go on to become India’s largest drone light show. It also provided a glimpse into how technology is transforming the Indian wedding landscape.
Since technology influences the way we think, talk, travel and shop, it’s no surprise that its impact can now also be seen in the way we celebrate love. In the $130 billion Indian wedding industry (according to investment banking firm Jefferies), the use of tech has ushered in a range of innovations like holographic projections, AI-animated pre-wedding videos and custom wedding filters. When New York-based Siddhartha Sinha married his Ukrainian girlfriend Oksana Prysyazhnyuk at Jodhpur’s Umaid Bhawan Palace after a seven-year courtship, their wedding planner at Event Casa suggested they share their cross-border love story through a drone show.
“It illustrated our geographical and emotional journey—from Ukraine and India to the US—incorporating elements of our proposal in Dubai,” says Prysyazhnyuk, a sustainability officer, who serendipitously met her CFO husband during a trip to San Francisco.“Our guests were surprised and deeply touched.” Mehzabeen Lakdawala and Ammar Abbas wanted their wedding to reflect how their mutual love for art and travel helped their long-distance relations.