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Wedding season 2026 starts after Dev Uthani Ekadashi on 20 November, with the first muhurat on 21 November and 11 auspicious dates in all until 12 December, according to dates published by Astrotalk and Aza Fashions. The trader body CAIT had not posted its 2026 estimate on its website when this article was published, but for last year’s season it estimated 46 lakh weddings and ₹6.5 lakh crore of spending, with 10 per cent of it going on apparel and sarees.

An Indian bride in a red lehenga sits on a decorated sofa

When does wedding season 2026 start, and how many dates are there?

Hindu weddings pause during Chaturmas, the four-month period that, according to Astrotalk, began on 25 July 2026 and ends with Dev Uthani Ekadashi on 20 November 2026. The first wedding date falls the very next day.

Astrotalk and fashion retailer Aza Fashions both list the same 11 dates for the rest of the year:

November: 21, 24, 25 and 26
December: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 11 and 12

Dates can vary by region and panchang.

The count matches what brokerage Motilal Oswal is working with. Its 8 November note on Vedant Fashions, the company behind Manyavar and Mohey, puts 11 wedding dates in the October–December quarter. The bigger story is next year: the same note counts 29 wedding dates in January–March 2027 against 20 a year earlier, and 96 dates across calendar 2027 against 60 in 2026. So the season is short before Christmas and busier after it.

How many weddings happen in the season, and how much do Indians spend?

The most-quoted figures come from the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), which surveys traders before each winter season. For the 1 November–14 December 2025 window, its research arm surveyed 75 cities between 15 and 25 October 2025 and projected 46 lakh weddings worth ₹6.5 lakh crore of business.

CAIT’s own year-by-year figures show spending rising faster than the number of weddings:

2022: 32 lakh weddings, ₹3.75 lakh crore
2023: 38 lakh weddings, ₹4.74 lakh crore
2024: 48 lakh weddings, ₹5.9 lakh crore
2025: 46 lakh weddings, ₹6.5 lakh crore

So 2025 had fewer weddings than 2024 but roughly 10 per cent more spending. CAIT put that down to higher spending per wedding, citing disposable incomes, precious-metal inflation and consumer confidence.

For fashion, the useful line is CAIT’s category split. Apparel and sarees made up 10 per cent of the 2025 total, which works out to about ₹65,000 crore. Jewellery was the single largest goods category at 15 per cent. CAIT does not list lehengas or menswear separately. CAIT also said more than 70 per cent of wedding-related purchases were Indian-made goods.

These are survey-based trade projections, not counts of actual weddings or audited sales.

What did fashion companies say about wedding demand in Q2?

Navratri began on 11 October this year, compared with 22 September in 2025, so much of the festive shopping slipped out of the quarter.

Vedant Fashions (Manyavar): According to Motilal Oswal, revenue grew about 2 per cent to ₹269.4 crore, profit was flat at ₹56.2 crore and same-store sales fell 5.8 per cent. The quarter had 5 wedding dates against none a year earlier, yet some wedding buying was pushed into October–December. Management said same-store sales would have been positive without the last 10 days of the quarter, which overlapped with Shraddh, and it expects demand to be concentrated between November 2026 and January 2027. The brokerage still calls the weakness largely structural.

Trent (Westside, Zudio): The value-fashion end held up. As covered in our report on Trent’s Q2 and Zudio’s 999 stores, revenue rose 22 per cent to ₹5,873 crore and profit 25 per cent to ₹468 crore, according to The Pioneer.

Aditya Birla Lifestyle Brands: The Louis Philippe and Van Heusen owner more than doubled its quarterly profit to ₹53 crore. Business Standard reported revenue up 11.17 per cent and like-to-like retail sales up 5.3 per cent “despite a shift in the festive calendar.”

Titan: Gold drives wedding budgets, and Titan’s domestic jewellery revenue rose 21 per cent to ₹16,343 crore, according to PTI. For its saree brand Taneira, Titan said growth “was driven by better same-store performance.” Our Titan Q2 analysis explains the one-off gain behind its headline profit.

How do gold prices and the calendar affect what young shoppers spend?

The World Gold Council expects India’s 2026 gold demand to fall to about 650 tonnes, the lowest since 2020, according to a Reuters report carried by investingLive on 4 November. Demand in the September quarter fell 29 per cent to about 160 tonnes, with jewellery buying down 20 per cent, mainly because of high prices. The council expects festival and wedding demand to lift the December quarter, though high prices are likely to cap the recovery.

CAIT itself listed precious-metal inflation as one reason per-wedding spending rose in 2025. In CAIT’s split, jewellery already takes a bigger share of wedding spending than clothes do, 15 per cent against 10.

For readers aged 18 to 40, shopping as guests, siblings or the couple, the calendar matters as much as price. Three of the November dates fall back to back (24–26 November) and five December dates run from 2 to 6 December, so several invitations can land in the same week. Aza Fashions advises guests to map which functions they are attending, restyle pieces they already own and order custom outfits early, noting that made-to-order pieces need six to eight weeks. For the November dates, that window has already closed.

Value-led Zudio grew while Manyavar’s same-store sales fell, but one quarter distorted by the festive shift is too little to call a lasting move towards cheaper wedding clothing.

Key numbers

11 wedding dates from 21 November to 12 December 2026 (Astrotalk, Aza Fashions)
96 wedding dates in calendar 2027, against 60 in 2026 (Motilal Oswal)
46 lakh weddings and ₹6.5 lakh crore of business in the 2025 season (CAIT)
10 per cent of that on apparel and sarees, 15 per cent on jewellery (CAIT)
-5.8 per cent same-store sales at Vedant Fashions in July–September 2026 (Motilal Oswal)
650 tonnes: expected 2026 Indian gold demand, a six-year low (World Gold Council via Reuters)

What to watch

CAIT’s 2026 estimate. Last year the trader body released its projection on 30 October, before the season began. With only 11 dates before mid-December, watch whether it shows fewer weddings than last year’s 46 lakh.

October–December results. When Vedant Fashions, Trent, Aditya Birla Lifestyle and Titan report in January and February, they will show whether the wedding and festive demand that slipped out of Q2 actually arrived.

Gold prices. The World Gold Council expects a December-quarter pickup in jewellery buying, but says high prices will limit it.

The 2027 rush. With 29 dates in January–March 2027 and 96 across the year, according to Motilal Oswal, a large share of this season’s outfit buying may happen after the new year.

Frequently asked questions

When does wedding season 2026 start?

After Dev Uthani Ekadashi on 20 November 2026. Astrotalk and Aza Fashions list 21 November as the first wedding date.

What are the wedding dates in November and December 2026?

According to Astrotalk and Aza Fashions: 21, 24, 25 and 26 November, and 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 11 and 12 December.

How many weddings will happen in the 2026 season?

CAIT had not posted its 2026 estimate on its website at the time of writing. For the 2025 season it projected 46 lakh weddings, down from 48 lakh in 2024.