Destination · October 2026
Destination Wedding Abroad vs India: What 200 Guests Really Cost, Side by Side
In short
At the venue it can be: two days with 100 rooms and four meals runs about ₹30 lakh–1.3 crore in Vietnam and Thailand and ₹25–70 lakh in Bali, against ₹1.6–3.5 crore at Udaipur's palace hotels and ₹65 lakh–1.2 crore at Jaipur's heritage palaces. Add return flights for every guest, ₹50 lakh–1 crore for 200, and the gap closes. Abroad wins on price only with a short list.
The question families ask most when they look abroad is whether it will cost less than Udaipur or Goa. The honest answer is that the venue often does and the wedding usually does not, and the reason is arithmetic rather than opinion. This piece compares the same wedding, 200 guests with 100 rooms over two days, using the quotes resorts sent our team in September 2026 and the figures we have already published for India.
The venue
The venue first. In Vietnam, two days with 100 rooms and four meals ran about ₹30 lakh–1.9 crore across nine resorts, with Da Nang's city hotels at the low end. Thailand's five-stars ran ₹50 lakh–1.3 crore, Bali's resorts ₹25–70 lakh, Dubai's ₹70 lakh–1.5 crore. In India, the same two days run ₹65 lakh–1.2 crore at Jaipur's heritage palaces, ₹1.25–2.2 crore at its big palace hotels and ₹1.6–3.5 crore at Udaipur's lake palaces. On rooms and plates, south-east Asia is cheaper than Rajasthan and roughly level with Goa.
| Where | Venue range |
|---|---|
| Vietnam | ₹30 lakh–1.9 crore |
| Bali | ₹25–70 lakh |
| Thailand | ₹50 lakh–1.3 crore |
| Dubai and the UAE | ₹70 lakh–1.5 crore |
| Jaipur heritage palaces | ₹65 lakh–1.2 crore |
| Jaipur palace hotels | ₹1.25–2.2 crore |
| Udaipur lake palaces | ₹1.6–3.5 crore |
The flights
Then the flights, the line an Indian wedding never carries. Two hundred guests to Phuket is about ₹60–70 lakh of return fares; to Bali, where there is no non-stop, about ₹95 lakh–1 crore; to Dubai ₹63–84 lakh; to Colombo ₹50–70 lakh. Even where the family pays only for close relatives and the rest buy their own tickets, the host usually ends up covering more than planned, and every guest who cannot afford the fare is a guest who does not come.
The extras
The extras move the number more than the venue does. From published vendor prices, Indian catering where the hotel kitchen cannot do a wedding, mandap and décor, pandit, DJ and sound, the bar, coaches and visas run roughly ₹80 lakh–2.4 crore in Thailand, ₹50 lakh–1.6 crore in Vietnam, ₹75 lakh–1.75 crore in Bali and ₹1–3 crore in Dubai for 200 guests over two days. In Udaipur or Jaipur, the same lines come from Indian vendors who drive in, and a flown-in crew of 10–15 people costs ₹10–45 lakh abroad before they lift a flower.
The tax
Tax decides the last tenth. Hotel quotes abroad carry their own stack: about 17.7% in Thailand, 21% in Bali, 15% in Vietnam, 5% VAT plus municipality and service fees in Dubai, and about 34% in Sri Lanka, often marked ++ and left off the headline. From India, an overseas tour package carries 2% tax collected at source since April 2026, refundable in the return but locked up until then, and GST on the planner's fee is charged in India: 5% billed as a tour package, 18% as event services, a ₹13 lakh difference on a ₹1 crore wedding.
So when is abroad cheaper?
So when is abroad cheaper? With a short list. Eighty guests in Da Nang or Phuket, with the family covering flights for forty, can cost less than 200 at a Jaipur palace, and the weekend feels like a holiday. At 200 guests with every fare paid, Thailand and Vietnam roughly match a Jaipur heritage palace and undercut Udaipur; Dubai, Italy and Mauritius cost more than almost anywhere in India. The guest list, not the country, is the lever.
Common questions
Is a destination wedding abroad cheaper than in India?+
At the venue it can be: two days with 100 rooms and four meals runs about ₹30 lakh–1.3 crore in Vietnam and Thailand and ₹25–70 lakh in Bali, against ₹1.6–3.5 crore at Udaipur's palace hotels and ₹65 lakh–1.2 crore at Jaipur's heritage palaces. Add return flights for every guest, ₹50 lakh–1 crore for 200, and the gap closes. Abroad wins on price only with a short list.
How much does a destination wedding abroad cost for 200 guests?+
From resorts' quotes to our team and published vendor prices: the venue ₹30 lakh–2 crore depending on the country, extras ₹50 lakh–3 crore, flights ₹50 lakh–1.9 crore. Planners publish ₹50 lakh–1.4 crore all-in for Thailand and ₹1.2–3 crore for Dubai at 150–250 guests.
Which costs appear abroad that an Indian wedding never has?+
Flights for every guest, visas, an Indian kitchen or a flown-in chef where the hotel cannot cook for a wedding, the crew's travel (₹10–45 lakh for a 10–15-person Indian team), currency movement between the quote and the day, and 2% tax collected at source on the package. Décor is dearer where Indian décor companies do not operate.
Which costs are lower abroad?+
Rooms and plates in Vietnam, Thailand, Bali and Malaysia, where five-star buffets run ₹2,500–3,500 a head and rooms ₹4,000–12,000 a night, below Udaipur's palace hotels. Alcohol is cheaper in Thailand and Vietnam than at an Indian five-star, and venue hire is often waived with a room block.
What about tax?+
Abroad: the hotel's own stack, about 17.7% in Thailand, 21% in Bali, 15% in Vietnam, 5% VAT plus fees in the UAE, 34% in Sri Lanka. From India: 2% TCS on an overseas tour package since April 2026, refundable against income tax, and GST on the planner's fee charged in India at 5% as a tour package or 18% as event services.
