The usual band, baaja, baraat was all there but brands made the biggest noise at quick commerce brand Zepto’s great Indian fake shaadi party held at a luxe farmhouse in the Capital on Friday evening.
If Britannia’s Pure Magic ushered in the baraat with a fake groom on a pink cycle rickshaw, there was Nivea greeting the guests with a dab of cream instead of the traditional tika, while skincare brand Minimalist’s inflatable mascot shook a leg with the baraatis.
There was ITC’s Bingo! entrancing everyone with a nine-minute flash mob dance to its viral Tedhe Medhe Bhojpuri number, even as cosmetics brand SUGAR’s mirror-lined kiosk provided the perfect place for guests to do a quick make-up refresh.
Nearby, Close-Up got everyone to smile wide as it handed out sparkling keychains and a newly launched stain removing dental spray.
The wedding season officially begins on November 2 after Dev Uthani Ekadashi, but Zepto ambushed it, riding on the latest cultural trend to hit the country — fake marriage parties.
Saying ‘I do’
“We got the idea two months ago after seeing a fake wedding party in Bengaluru,” says Zepto’s ebullient chief brand officer Chandan Mendiratta.
He then invited rishtas over a post on LinkedIn. “We got 2,000 applications,” he says. He got the party going by tying the knot with Britannia as the title sponsor. A host of brands ranging from Manforce’s Epic condoms, Fabelle, Hersheys, Wildstone, Rebound to Haldirams joined in. All had attention grabbing taglines and instagrammable spots at the venue. And, of course, there was shaadi.com, complete with a fortune telling parrot and an astrologer, urging the guests to match horoscopes and do asli shaadi, even as on the big screen, a funny digital roast of its founder Anupam Mittal played out!
Over 200 influencers and creators were invited by Zepto and partnering brands to the fake shaadi put together by wedding planning company Meragi. There was certainly enough and more quirky content at the party that went on till the wee hours to keep the creators on their toes.
Two broad thoughts led Zepto to host the party, said Mendiratta.
More on cards
“First, the fact that Gen Zs are doing fake shaadis. We felt this is a cultural wave we must ride. Second, we wanted to host the first wedding of the season, before November 2, in order to build the memory structure. We want to build an association that shaadi equals Zepto and that if you want ethnic wear, footwear, mithai, skincare, shagun envelopes… anything related to weddings.. we are there to give it in 10 minutes.”
Mendiratta said this is only the first party, and there will be more. “We are going to keep talking about shaadi, perhaps do films, so that the association is strengthened,” he promises.
Published on November 1, 2025