New trend in India: Pre-Wedding checks

In India, the first step to planning a wedding is no longer hiring a florist, finding a great dress, or a spectacular reception hall. Lately, the latest trend is to hire a private investigator to check on you prospective bride or groom!

This has created a wealth of business in India as most marriages are either arranged between families or through personal adds. As a result, the partner-to-be has his or her prospective partner investigated to assure that they are who they claim to be. Although there has been an increase in wealth and modern conveniences in India, it remains very traditional. Many of the marriages that occur in India are not love matches but arranged marriages. People are finding that many of the ads do not disclose the number of divorces or affairs one may have had.

Typical ads will state that a woman is decent, pure, homely, and god fearing which are all good characteristics in Indian culture and mean that the woman will be good in the home. A man’s ad may state that they are religious, warm and caring, and a member of a wealthy family. This would translate to mean that they would be a good provider for the family. Investigators are finding that some people are the exact opposite of their ads.

As the India economy continues to grow it will be interesting to see if this trends grows with it as modern growth and deep rooted traditional beliefs collide.