Gone are the days when decorators created mirror images of exotic locales as wedding venues. The artificial does not attract anymore. The great Indian wedding has begun crossing seas and geographical boundaries to achieve the real effect.
From the lush gardens of Ooty to the snowy mountain ranges, from sandy sea beaches to the forts and palaces of bygone maharajas, adventurous couples are raring to say 'I do', but only in exotic locales.
Statistics alone point to the phenomenal rise in craze for such destination weddings. Insiders peg the domestic destination wedding industry at Rs 500 crore. This is further growing by over 50 percent every year.
What are the reasons behind this surge in fancy, out-of-this-world weddings? For once, the purchasing power of couples has increased and so has their desire to experiment. According to a source in Shaadionline, today's youth want to make their wedding an affair to remember and to achieve this, they are ready to adopt any innovative idea.
Another reason is mushrooming number of wedding planners who are experts at executing the whole affair with finesse. From accommodation, gourmet spread, decoration and themes, everything is taken care of by them.
So which places are the hot favourites? A source in Regal-Weddings said jungles, private islands, beaches of Goa and Kerala and even the Taj Mahal are most preferred as wedding destinations. NRIs, on the other hand, choose religious places like Rishikesh and Haridwar to tie the knot. Palaces in Rajasthan also feature on their list of locales.
Yet another theme gaining popularity among couples is cruise wedding. Though only 6-8 cruise weddings were organized last year, its growth jog is a robust 100 percent.
So if you are the lucky one getting married this year, take out your writing pad and start making a list of places to choose from. And the leave the rest to the wedding planners!
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