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I am absolutely disgusted. An elephant or a horse is not the same thing as an expensive car. An animal is a living being with feelings. Is anyone aware of what animals used for entertainment actually go through? Their lives are filled with unimaginable pain and suffering. Elephants in particular are routinely chained up in cramped filthy cargo cars and warehouses for weeks and months at a time, trained with bull hooks, abused,
neglected and discarded when no longer useful. Wake up people this is wrong! I advise people to do an online search, visit the ASPCA website- read about the major lawsuit against Ringling Bros. that is happening this fall. Be aware of the suffering of animals because of our selfish desires. The guest on the show this
morning said the elephants were rented at a nominal fee?...Atrocious.

Yes, they are traditional ceremonies for Indian wedding.
They are absolutely getting materialistic. You can be traditional but you do not need to show of the wealth.
I do think this outragious weddings expenditure can be saved by donating funds to charities

Queen Harish is so much more than a drag queen. :-) I saw him at a show a couple of weeks ago, and he is a really thrilling performer of Indian dance--excellent for weddings, I would think.

This segment is highlighting the worst of Indian-American culture.

It mirrors the horrific materialism that is bankrupting middle-class families in India.

It must stop.

For the record, Queen Harish is a totally traditional dancer, he just happens to perform in women's dress. He's a master of many forms of Indian classical and folkdance. I saw him first in the film "Gypsy Caravan", and then again live in New York a few weeks ago. He's amazing! Anyone who can hire him to perform at their wedding is very, very lucky!

did she just say SIX FIGURES??

call me when we return to planet earth.

Red is the color of weddings in India and China because it is symbolizes love which is timeless.

Love is timeless and everlasting. Weddings are so romantic. Any one whom claims to be romantic would know so and how to woo their bride with romance and all that goes with it.

I'm curious to know what's expected in the way of gifts at these weddings? Is this another area of competition or show of wealth where the couple is getting gifts as big as the elephant they rode in on.

Just FYI, there is a tradition in parts of India where a Hidjra (not sure if I am spelling that correctly), which is considered a third gender - though it is actually a man who has been castrated and dresses like a woman - comes to your wedding to bless the couple. I think they may also come to births. So the crossdresser at the Indian wedding isn't too far out there.

REALLY lucky couples get to have Mr. Met at their wedding!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDdDWXhCQOw

The Italians used to be the same way. Now my cousin is getting married in August and they're having a cash bar. Shameful!

I perform in a music groug called Red Baraat. We often perform at Punjabi and Gujarati weddings at the "baraat" portion of the wedding (the procession where the groom's family go to meet the bride's family and collect her for the wedding).

We did a baraat in New Jersey where the groom had hired a huge baraaat band (4-piece is typical, this was a 20-piece band). And, we were all looking forward to seeing the elephant that the groom was supposedly going to ride on during the baraat (a white horse is typical). But it turned out that there was a whole mess of red tape involved in getting an elephant up from Washington, D.C. to New Jersey for a baraat, and, unfortunately, the groom had to settle for a white horse.

I'm still waiting to be a part of a baraat with an elephant.

What the guest is failing to mention is that a lot of times these weddings are paid for with loans etc. All this to show off the fact that you have 'arrived' at a certain status in your community. I think it behooves the guest to touch upon the not so bright side of these extravagant weddings.

Big, Big Weddings costing $100k, how many of those couples are divorced in the first 5 years, speaking of all ethnic groups?

Sindhis do not have impeccable taste. In fact, they are known as having the worst taste in India. The guest should know that.

I think these weddings are such a waste of money. In fact, these are not weddings, they are shows, meant to display the wealth of the hosts. Quite pathetic in my books.

It should be mentioned that these weddings being described are not so much "Indian" Weddings as typical examples of conspicuous consumption of the sort we have been seeing not only among rich Indians in the US but also back in India. Working class Indian in the US as in India are not part of this story. Ultimately this is not something to be celebrated but to be ashamed of.

I want to know more about the 6th ave llamas!

Long ago, I figured that I would be the groom in an outrageous Indian wedding. My Indian-American wife grew up expecting such a thing, and her parents expected the same thing.

But when they found out that it was me -- not an Indian of any sort -- whom she would be marrying, they refused to so much as discuss a guest list.

I do not mean to imply that all Indians are such racists. Rather, I wish to point out that cultural traditions can be tied to ethnic homogeneity, and for some when that homogeneity is broken, the traditions -- or even obligations -- feel meaningless.

As a child of South Indian telegu parents, do the guests distinguish between the regional and caste traditions of Indian weddings?

From what I understand, Punjabi and Gujurati weddings are the most extravagant.

I would also think Sindhi weddings would be extravagant, due to the way they picked themselves up by their bootstraps after the economic trauma they experienced during partition.

I live in Jackson Heights,

were the highest concentration of of Indians are in the City...My experience is that they dont have much discretionary income and just enough for their basic needs.

These Opulent weddings that are being discussed does not reflect the reality of most Indians here!

Watch Victoria Beckham's "Bride and Prejudice" beautiful Indian movie. I love Indian weddings and all the colors of the saris. Much lovelier than our boring white wedding dresses that look like a frosted cake.

In India, the groom goes to the bride's house to get her and they proceed to the marriage ceremony together. That's beautiful.

Jackson Heights has the Largest concentration of Indians in the City,

and they dont have any descretionary income,

let alone income for the extravagent weddings that is claimed!

they seem to have just enough for the bare nececities,

they are not in the high income bracket that some are alluding too. I have first hand experience of this!!

in lots of countries here's how you calculate your wedding budget: your annual salary x 1000. guess indian salaries are rising...