When the Great Indian wedding food gets a modern makeover

The Great Indian Wedding gets its docket for being extravagant, over-the-top and exhaustive. But, the moniker might soon be rendered impractical for good. As young couples increasingly opt for waste-free bungalows and minimalism over huge venues and opulence, weddings today are getting intimate and niche. And with it, the food that we know and queue up for at wedding counters are swiftly transforming too.
 By Linkup Influence Mon, 31 Mar 2025
When the Great Indian wedding food gets a modern makeover
As weddings turn into intimate affairs, couples look to design tight, yet funky menus that reflect their personality, says Bhakti Mehta, the owner of Bombay-based catering service Little Food Co. “A lot of young couple are looking to have their weddings at compact venues like a bungalow with an outdoor setting. It is not restrictive of the kind of food we do. Even if it’s familiar cuisine, the idea is to make it more authentic. People know the ingredients of every dish nowadays,” she explains.

Sample this menu that Bhakti curated for a newlywed: Sri Lankan styled mini appams topped with guacamole and chettinadu paneer, masa corn tortillas and falafel bowls. “People are looking for world cuisines and a lot of South East Asian food. A lot of people are going for Asian cuisine, keeping in mind the vegan section,” she says, adding that lifestyle choices, too, seep into menus at times. “Earlier we used to have tandoor counters because it was a staple, but it is now assumed by people that it is now a healthier option, which they want to provide at a wedding. Usually you would expect people to not worry about what they eat at a wedding party, but that is changing because people watch what they eat,” she adds.

Couples are becoming increasingly hands on with the entire process, often taking on the baton from their parents, says Mehma of Delhi-Based Artisan Meats. “For a lot of the pre-wedding bashes and youngster dos like mehndi and cocktails, I have seen the couples dictate what they want mostly because they are intimate affairs. The reception and weddings will have parents invariably weigh in about these menus,” she says, adding that couples look to introduce global cuisine to their guests.

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