Who doesn’t crave the big fat destination wedding? Yet with the busy schedules and the many other organisational and financial woes, the dream remains mostly un-affordable. Worry not, as city-based youngsters are spotting and revealing the finest of places to add the aura of another destination, while getting married within the city! With the wedding season is almost upon us, one of the primary concerns apart from finding the right guy or girl is of course to find the right venue for the wedding itself.
Why let your wedding day be just another dinner party, when you could do it regally at a dreamy venue? “I’ve always been a big fan of the royal aura of Rajasthan, with its glorious sunsets and riverside venues. With the current work schedule, it’s neither possible, not financially a practical idea to relocate an entire wedding crowd somewhere else. Luckily, there are heritage hotels such as Jayamahal Palace within the city. Acres of land and a poolside lawn perfect for a wedding brunch just add the right amount of panache if you want the quintessential Udaipur wedding from Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani,” laughs Reetika M, an investment banker.
For the more hipster-aesthetic inclined – the ones who want to tie the knot under the stars, the city offers starlit rooms with fairy lights for a canopy. “Being a fan of Wes Anderson flicks, pastel colours and a bright canopy is something that gets me going,” enthuses Devika Mukherjee, a city-based beautician. “It was a lifelong dream to marry under the Northern Lights or by the Sea of Stars. They were brought closer by the open banquet halls within the city, which use the sky as a ceiling and the garden for décor; leaving you the choice of a mandap, a stage or just a floating reception.”
Be it the craving for an authentic old world charm, or just the need for an eco-friendly wedding that is inspired by greenery and sustainability – Bengaluru has it all sorted for its theme-obsessed populace. “It is very important for a minimalist like me to not cause a wedding that becomes an inconvenience disguised as a huge pomp and show, which is probably why I always wanted to get married in my ancestral town, surrounded by greenery,” explains 31-year-old graphic designer, Srikanth Reddy. “My wife and I wanted to keep it non-mainstream, which is exactly what drew up to discover the Courtyard House as a prospect.” Nestled in the lap of nature, surrounded by the charms of red bricks, city-based courtyard venues are the perfect location for a mehendi ceremony that rolls into a sangeet, allowing the crowd the luxury of being cut from reality for a while.
From pre-wedding shoots to the actual big day, a floating stage, a palace hotel, a heritage bungalow and skylit gazebo are just the many options now available to tie the knot at, within the city, making people ditch the formal star hotels and traditional weddings halls for their special day. Just as city-based professional wedding photographer Manvi Gandotra rightly says, “Bengaluru now represents more geographies, nationalities and occupations than I have ever encountered before. It is a privilege to experience the diversity and cultural translation!”
