Many Indonesians see marriage as a burden, with more young adults opting to pursue a career, an education or socializing and traveling, according to Kompas.

JAKARTA — The wedding industry is feeling the pinch of demographic change as the number of marriages in Indonesia has plummeted in recent years.

Last year, the archipelago only saw 1.57 million couples tying the knot, according to Statistics Indonesia (BPS), a fall from over 2 million in 2018.

Meanwhile, the share of young married individuals has continued to shrink to 30.61 per cent last year from 44.45 per cent recorded a decade ago, BPS data shows. Meanwhile, the share of unmarried young individuals has risen over the past years to 68.29 per cent in 2023 from 54.11 per cent in 2014.

Yunarsih, who chairs the Indonesian Wedding Organiser Association (Hastana), said that fewer marriages over the past years have taken a toll on the industry.

“Hotels and wedding organisers for the middle to upper scale were affected [by this trend],” she told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday, adding that in past years organizers would see a peak season around year-end, but this year it has been slow.

Many Indonesians see marriage as a burden, with more young adults opting to pursue a career, an education or socialising and travelling, according to Kompas. Some young people also prefer not to have children, while others suggest one can live without being formally married.

Others pointed to the high cost of having a family, as the population finds itself with cost-of-living issues.

The average age of marriage in Indonesia has increased to 22.3 years last year from 20 years in 2012, according to BPS, which indicates that more people are postponing getting married.

Tutus Wahyu, a wedding organizer in Surabaya, East Java, said that the trend has been hurting his business and others in his region, adding that this year saw the lowest performance compared to previous post-pandemic years.

Shifting trends and lifestyle choices among the young combined with a weakening economy in the country, Tutus said, have significantly influenced their reluctance to get married.

Established in 2016, his business, named Samakita Organizer, normally handles 150 clients per year, but it has seen a 30 per cent decline in bookings this year compared to the usual numbers.

However, this year, he also saw the highest cancellation numbers ever recorded, tallying to five to six clients.

Natasza Kurniawan, head of marketing at Bridestory, a wedding marketplace in Indonesia, said she remained optimistic that the wedding industry could still grow in the country amid the declining number of marriages.

Event visitors at Bridestory’s wedding exhibition have remained stable at 100,000 people, while its website and app platform averaged 1.4 million visits and 390,000 visits, respectively, during the first nine months of this year.

“Weddings in Indonesia are still considered sacred and important; thus, it remains anticipated and prioritized by grooms and their families,” she told the Post on Wednesday.

Some weddings still incorporate traditional settings wherein there are a series of events that involve family members, resulting in a big arrangement, she said.

However, the company noted that intimate weddings have consistently remained at the top of the list of concept trends preferred by married couples from the first to third quarter of this year.

Intimate weddings typically focus on quality over quantity, which requires less money. Natasza said that an intimate wedding is more personal with challenging details and adjustments to fit the customer’s preferences.

Tutus pointed out that the intimate wedding trend could affect the profit margin for wedding organizers, given the smaller budget required. However, he also perceived the trend as an opportunity to attract more young couples.

“Intimate weddings are more cost-efficient, so it can attract young couples that prioritize the value [of time spent] with their close ones,” he said.

Tutus believes that the market from young generations, including millennials – those who were born from 1981 to 1996 – could still give the industry an optimistic outlook.

“Approaches to millennials require creativity, efficiency and personal communication. Focus on creating added value through personalized services and relevant promotion based on their digital preferences. This will help wedding organizers stay competitive amid shifting market trends,” he concluded.

Tammy Vanya, a wedding organizer operating in the greater Jakarta area, Bandung, West Java and Bali, says the outlook for the industry remains bright.

Her business, Marteé Wedding Planner, has been operating for five years and remains resilient despite industry challenges. She told the Post on Thursday that the key to surviving comes from a personal and emotional approach to clients. — The Jakarta Post/ANN