Vow-ing couples under Rs 3,33,333
CHENNAI : Be it a local or a destination wedding, one with only family members or one where everyone is invited, the list of wedding expenses is always long —sometimes too much for families from poor economic backgrounds. As marriage also is a sign of social status, hundreds of families, many of whom do not have functioning banks accounts, turn to moneylenders for large sums of money and remain in debt for the rest of their lives.
In a bid to provide a solution to this issue, city-based social activist Hari Krishnan has introduced ‘Wedding in Rs 3,33,333’ for families from low-income groups, and has already conducted six weddings in the city. Although many in the city already offer plans to get married within Rs 4 lakh, this package promises a grand ceremony.
While families with a monthly income of below Rs 20,000 are eligible for this package, he also offers another package called ‘Wedding in 1 lakh’ for low income group families. This package includes a wedding held in a temple and a reception for 150 - 200 people. He has already done two weddings under this scheme.
“Though I am an entrepreneur, I primarily like to call myself a social activist. When I set up my marketing consultancy firm called Hasu in 2017, I realised that the wedding photographers, decorators and others in marriage events offer their services to us at a far lower rates than to the clients. This price includes our commission as we are giving them business.
That is when I thought we could do this scheme and discussed the idea with a few companies. Though everybody agreed, they said it’s impossible to do it under Rs 3,33,333,” said Hari, who adds that he was ready to shell out money from his own pocket to achieve this goal. “In March 2018, I organised the first wedding at Rs 3,39,000 in Washermenpet. While Rs 3,33,333 was from the client, I put in the rest,” he said.
One family, on condition of anonymity, said, “Initially when we were asking the event organisers, the cost of food alone came around Rs 2 lakh. Hari was my friend’s friend and he had finished organising one marriage for Rs 3,33,333 by then. When we turned to him, the process went smoothly and the wedding was actually very grand.” Hari said that this was a way to help new entrants in the field of photography, videography and decor as they quote less. For more details, call 9791126662.