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As India enters peak wedding season, brands across lifestyle, apparel and gifting categories are stepping up their marketing playbooks to tap into one of the country’s most powerful consumption cycles. The months between November and February typically see a sharp rise in discretionary spending driven by big-ticket celebrations, and marketers are scaling campaigns early this year to capture the surge in demand across metros as well as emerging Tier II and III markets.
CAIT has projected a record Rs 6.5 lakh crore in spending from an estimated 46 lakh weddings scheduled between November and mid-December, with Delhi alone accounting for Rs 1.8 lakh crore from 4.8 lakh weddings. In 2024, the body estimated around 48 lakh weddings in the same period.
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Brands across lifestyle, apparel and gifting categories typically channel close to one-third of their annual marketing budgets into the wedding season, which runs from October to January. While most marketers allocate around 20 to 30 per cent, some push spends up to 40 per cent during peak demand, placing wedding-led campaigns among their biggest annual investments. Experts further estimate that overall ad spends may rise by up to 10 per cent this year, with nearly half of all campaign budgets now moving to digital platforms.
This heightened focus is being reflected clearly in brand strategies.
“At Casio India, the wedding season is one of the most important periods in our annual marketing cycle. While we don’t disclose specific budget percentages, weddings—along with Diwali—form the two biggest buying occasions in the country. Both seasons see strong intent for self-purchase as well as gifting, making them critical moments for our watch portfolio,” said Pallavi Agarwal, Brand Manager, Casio India.
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She noted that the wedding season creates multiple purchase occasions, from the couple’s own choices to extensive gifting, making watches a natural fit as meaningful, lasting presents. Casio is ramping up investments this year with a new campaign centred on modern weddings and contemporary love. By leaning into the evolving mindset of young couples who prioritise intimacy, independence and shared decision-making, the brand aims to stay relevant through authentic, contemporary storytelling instead of traditional wedding narratives.
A similar consumer shift is visible in the beauty category. Harmeet Singh, Chief Brand Officer, The Body Shop Asia South, said the wedding season has become one of the most engaging periods for conversation and purposeful omnichannel marketing. She observed that consumers are moving beyond conventional gifting toward thoughtful, cruelty-free and purpose-led indulgences that celebrate love with meaning.
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“Our focus this season is on premium gifting, beautifully-curated vibrant boxes for brides, bridesmaids, and loved ones that carry not just the joy of the occasion, but also the values of conscious beauty and ethical sourcing. It’s a celebration of connection and care, wrapped with love in every gift,” she added.
Swiss Beauty has also stepped up its investments for the wedding season, which runs from October to January, with nearly 40 per cent of its annual marketing outlay directed toward this period. The brand’s ‘We Got You Girl’ campaign is designed to bridge online buzz with in-store demand, supported by exclusive retail touchpoints, curated wedding kits and assisted makeup trials that have helped drive higher conversions and repeat footfall.
Media experts also point to a broader premiumisation and intent-driven shift. Vinita Pachisia, EVP – Investments, Amplifi, Dentsu India said, “There is a clear uptick in wedding-season spending, fueled by higher per-wedding budgets and premiumisation. Brands adopt a hybrid metric approach – balancing engagement, sales/leads, and brand recall depending on category, with jewellery, fashion, and premium services leading growth, and gifting/travel segments also expanding.”
She noted that jewellery continues to dominate marketing spends, with apparel and wedding wear growing on the back of premiumisation. Travel, hospitality and destination weddings are gaining importance among premium consumers, while gifting, décor and services are expanding as celebrations become more experience-led. There is also a clear shift in marketing strategy, with brands moving beyond pure awareness toward a storytelling-engagement-commerce model, guided by metrics such as engagement, leads, conversions, digital commerce and brand recall.
This trend is also evident among consumer-first brands such as BIBA and FNP, both of which see sharp spikes in wedding-season demand.
Ekta Dutta, Head of Marketing at BIBA said, “The wedding segment is a relatively new but strategically important focus for us, and we’re consciously scaling our presence here. We’ve made incremental investments year-on-year to strengthen brand visibility in this category.”
She said the brand is focused on building long-term equity in bridal and occasion wear, marked by the launch of BIBA’s first dedicated bridal store at Omaxe Chowk. The format allows the brand to test consumer behaviour before expanding to other high wedding-density markets. The priority now is to drive awareness, enhance in-store experiences and position BIBA as a complete wedding-wardrobe destination for brides and their extended circles.
For Avi Kumar, CMO at FNP, the wedding season remains a high-impact period as gifting sits at the heart of celebrations. He said the brand allocates around 20 to 30 per cent of its annual marketing budget to this period, investing in digital, influencer and in-store visibility across core categories such as personalised gifts, flowers, hampers, cakes and luxe gifting collections.
However, experts also noted an increase in influx of newer categories in the weeding space. Aakash Goplani, Account Director, SoCheers said, “What’s new is the expanding range of categories entering the wedding space. In addition to fashion, jewellery, and gifts, I’m now seeing electronics, fitness, and even insurance brands creating tailored offerings for newlyweds.”
For him, a notable area of growth has been quick commerce, with these platforms now fulfilling everything from last-minute outfits to gifting needs and driving a significant rise in impulse wedding purchases.
Media mix
Digital is clearly leading the media mix, though print is holding strong this year. “Print retains value for trust, credibility and regional reach. Wedding-special supplements like Wedding Times are seeing renewed interest, and regional media spends have risen by 4-6 percentage points year-on-year, especially in Tier II and III markets,” explained Pachisia.
Brands echoed this trend, noting that while most spends are flowing into digital, retail stores are also seeing renewed focus.
“Swiss Beauty is a digital-first brand, and that reflects clearly in our marketing mix; nearly 30% of our spending is allocated to digital and influencer collaborations. This helps us stay present where our consumers discover beauty: on social platforms, in creator content, and at e-commerce touchpoints,” said Vidushi Goyal, Chief Marketing Officer, Swiss Beauty, adding that the brand is activating across CTV, social media and influencer channels to keep its narrative visible, engaging and culturally relevant, aiming to deliver a consistent, immersive experience for consumers in both metro and emerging markets.
Casio’s media strategy is centred on reaching digitally native young consumers, with most spends directed toward social platforms, content-led formats and performance-driven campaigns. Influencer partnerships continue to play a role in shaping discovery and purchase decisions, especially among niche audiences. At the same time, retail visibility remains crucial for the brand, as in-store touchpoints drive final conversion. For the wedding season, Casio has strengthened both its digital presence and its retail environments to capture the rise in gifting and self-purchase demand.
Kumar of FNP further highlighted their mix, “As an omni-channel brand, our strategy ensures a strong presence across both online and offline touchpoints. Around 85-90% of our budget is dedicated to digital media, including performance, social, and influencer-driven content. The remaining 10-15% is allocated across retail visibility, experiential marketing, print, and selective television integrations, primarily to strengthen brand presence and storytelling during the festive and wedding seasons.”
Influencers and social media now play a much bigger role in the media mix, with brands partnering with both mainstream and regional creators to maximise visibility and engagement.
For BIBA, collaborations with creators such as Anupama Parameswaran in the South, Janki Bodiwala in the West and Niki Mehra, supported by a wide network of regional influencers, have helped anchor the BIBA Wedding Edit in real wedding moments and authentic styling contexts. These creators keep the conversation active across platforms and regions, which is crucial for a high-involvement, long-consideration category.
“Alongside this, performance marketing plays a pivotal role in ensuring that this content reaches the right audiences, brides-to-be, families, and wedding shoppers actively exploring options,” said Dutta, adding that by pairing influencer storytelling with sharper audience targeting, the brand is able to move consumers more effectively through the funnel, from inspiration to store visits and eventual conversion.
As the wedding economy expands, brands are no longer treating the season as a brief marketing spike but as a high-stakes, insight-driven battleground. With digital discovery rising, premiumisation accelerating and new categories joining the fray, the wedding market is becoming more competitive and experience-led. In the months ahead, the brands that balance storytelling with conversion, and digital scale with strong on-ground presence, will be the ones that win the wedding season.