Deepika-Ranveer has done it, so has Anushka-Virat Kohli; and the list is getting longer. For celebrities, getting married in exotic locales abroad has become a trend in the last few years. And perhaps taking a cue from them, most people with moneybags plan their special day abroad, spending billions on super luxury hotels, top notch decorations, the best food and liquor and what not.
But now Prime Minister Narendra Modi has questioned the necessity of holding weddings abroad, with the huge spending benefitting the host countries. So will desi couples stop looking beyond the borders for destination weddings?
Why not marry in India?
While there is no dearth of exotic locales across India, what makes Indians look overseas for settings that will make their big day even bigger? Parthip Thyagarajan, CEO, WeddingSutra.com, says one of the reasons why people choose to get married abroad is the weather. “So, when it comes to Europe, a summer wedding is obviously a good choice. But as you know, not everybody can afford a Europe wedding. When the weather is not great in India, it may be good in Turkey,” he points out.
Talking of the number of people opting for international destination weddings, he says “It could be about 600-700, whereas there are 10 times more who are having a destination wedding in India.”
Post covid, only 10% of the affluent segment is opting for a destination wedding today, he claims, adding, “Even if it grows to 15%, it will not be easy to get room inventory in India on preferred dates such as February 14th.”
And therefore, he feels that the Prime Minister’s appeal will not be honoured by everyone. “It could strike a chord with some folks, but due to the demand-supply factor and the weather factor, among other aspects like the ease of travel for international guests, international destination weddings will continue to do as well as they have done in 2023,” says Parthip, adding that though they may not grow at a significant pace, they will continue to be popular.
The CEO of Weddingsutra.com says, the international destinations really value Indian weddings because guests, specially the very wealthy ones, go back to talk about it on their private networks. “So international destinations, especially Qatar, Thailand and Turkey are spending on engaging with the luxury wedding planners to promote their fabulous properties.”
He however, says the domestic destinations will grow at a faster pace because of operational and logistics reasons. “It may be more convenient to do a wedding within India than abroad,” he notes.
There are around 50 to 100 luxury wedding planners in India who specialise country-wise and community-wise and have clients in India and abroad. For some of their clients, Indian weddings may work while some would prefer international events.
When it comes to destination weddings in India, Jaipur is one of the most popular locations, followed by Udaipur, Jodhpur and Jaisalmer in Rajasthan. Then there is Goa and Mahabalipuram near Chennai. “There are a lot of destinations near Mumbai too, like Alibaug, Lonavala, Karjhat and Siliguri that have done fairly well post-COVID. Kerala is also taking a lot of effort to market themselves. Coorg is slowly doing more destination weddings too,” Parthip reveals.
