(13 February 2007 7:50 pm)

MUMBAI: It is the 'Big Fat Asian wedding' and if the British Telecommunications (BT) survey is anything to go by the wedding industry is just about to get richer.

British Telecommunications has launched its calling card packages in South Asian countries like India, Pakistan and Bangladesh recently.

Many of its survey findings have helped understand the telecom giant's South Asian clientele better. For many young British Asians, large-scale weddings cost more than 30,000 pounds according to the biggest annual survey into British Asian relationships and weddings.

The survey results compiled by BT Together International have been released in conjunction with the Asian Wedding Exhibition 2007 from a poll of over 1,000 Hindu, Muslim and Sikh men and women.

The survey shows that on an average over 300 guests are invited for 72 percent of the Asian weddings. Between 10 to 20 per cent of these invited guests live overseas. It is information of this nature that has helped BT Together International zero in on new cheap calls package to South Asia.

Some other findings by the survey revealed a contrast between the Asian community's more traditional values towards romance compared to the general British population. The nationwide average age for marriage is 31 years for men and 29 years for women yet not a single Asian respondent thought it was ideal for a woman to marry in her thirties.

Only 56 per cent of Asians would cohabit with their partner before getting married and almost two-thirds (64 per cent) said they would live with their in-laws after tying the knot. Attitudes on living with a partner outside of marriage also differed significantly from the national average.