The idea of tying the knot with one’s soulmate in a distant dreamy land with exotic foods and clothes decidedly has a certain charm. The place could be far from home, across the seven seas, or simply a few hours’ journey to another city or state in India.
As Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on his latest “Mann Ki Baat” radio broadcast, encouraged couples to opt for destination weddings within India, industry experts said the trend of getting married away from home is becoming increasingly popular, both internationally and within India.
“Many more weddings are happening in Rajasthan, Goa, Mahabalipuram, Kerala and a few other destination wedding hotspots in and around Mumbai and Delhi. So, 10 per cent of high net worth individuals are having destination weddings and out of those only 10-15 per cent are having it at international locations,” Thyagarajan told PTI.
In recent years, celebrity couples such as Virat Kohli-Anushka Sharma and Deepika Padukone-Ranveer Singh chose to fly to Italy for their special day while others such as Kiara Advani-Sidharth Malhotra and Katrina Kaif-Vicky Kaushal tied the knot in India, but away from home.
Kiara Advani-Sidharth Malhotra got married at Fort Barwara in Sawai Madhopur while Katrina Kaif-Vicky Kaushal chose Suryagarh Palace in Jaisalmer as the destination for their wedding.
“There are also some prominent places in different states of the country where destination weddings take place on a large scale such as Goa; Lonavala, Mahabaleshwar, Mumbai, Shirdi, Nashik, Nagpur in Maharashtra; Dwarka, Ahmedabad, Surat and Baroda in Gujarat; and Orchha, Gwalior, Ujjain, Bhopal, Indore in Madhya Pradesh,” Khandelwal said.
Cities such as Jaipur, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Jaisalmer and Pushkar in Rajasthan; and Mathura, Vrindavan, Agra and Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh are also some of the hot destinations.
With the trend to marry away from home, there is also an increase in the amount people are willing to spend on weddings.
On an average, the expenditure on weddings has increased over the years, according to WeddingWire Director and Head of Marketing Anam Zubair.
The online wedding vendor directory in its report for 2021 and 2022 recorded an increase of 14.6 per cent where the spends grew from an average of Rs 10 lakh to Rs 15 lakh.
“With this year drawing to a close, we estimate that this cost will stay close to the average cost of Rs 18 lakh. With inflation and the current economic status, this spike is negligible and has been the same post the pandemic,” Zubair told PTI.
She added that the top three destinations in India last year were Udaipur, Goa and Jaipur. For this year, the top three destinations will be Dehradun, Goa and Jaipur.
While people generally spend upwards of Rs 20 lakh to a few crores on domestic destination weddings, the amount goes up to crores when the ceremonies are conducted abroad.
“Costs for destination weddings can vary widely based on multiple factors like location, guest count, venue choice, services required, and duration of the celebration. In India, a destination wedding can range from anywhere between Rs 20 lakh to several crores, depending on whether it’s a luxurious affair at a premium location or a more budget-conscious celebration,” Zubair said.
