With the prices of gold, silver and other precious metals scaling new levels with every passing month, more and more parents (of brides) are actually concerned about the cost of wedding jewelry and the affordability factor. It is still possible for them to overload their daughter with all kinds of precious jewels during her wedding? Or is it acceptable to dispense with excessive expenditure on jewels?
Materialistic Aspect of Indian Weddings
To be totally honest, ornaments are really an indispensable part of a bride’s trousseau and while there is no upper limit to the amount you can spend on gold and diamonds, the extent to which you can cut down on the same depends upon the mutual understanding and consensus between the bride’s and the groom’s parents.
If nothing else, Indian weddings are at least about the give and take of materialistic things between the two sides. (And I am not being cynical at all!)
Alternative to Gold and Diamond Jewelry
If the aim is to show-off before some 400-500 family members and guests, then one can even opt for imitation jewelry which comes in awe-inspiring designs and very closely resemble the real jewels. Please do not look crest-fallen at the mention of ‘imitation jewelry’ for a bride’s trousseau, but instead think about it from a practical and financial point of view. The thought could have been unacceptable to some a decade ago, but the rising price of gold and silver coupled with the financial losses faced in last three years is causing a shift in their opinion also.
One can even use floral jewelry made of real flowers and appear innovative. Real flower jewelry is the latest rage on the Indian wedding scenario.
Investment point of view
Different people have different views on the amount and form of expenditure on the weddings, with jewelry, clothes and food being the major ones. A good number of people think that instead of splurging lavishly on decorations, clothes, invitation cards etc, the parents of the bride and the groom can instead gift jewelry to them. This will act as an investment and will help in securing their future in a more dependable manner because the value of gold and silver items is only going to rise further.
Waves of Change
If the bride and the groom and their respective parents reach a consensus regarding the amount of jewelry, keeping in view the financial problems that either of them might be facing and the overall affordability factor. They should remember that the wedding is not the ‘only’ or the ‘ultimate’ event of their respective lives and the spend-it-all mentality has to be checked, at least with respect to the Indian wedding scenario.