Wedding questions · 31 answers · updated 30 October 2026
Where to go, what it costs, flights and visas, and the law abroad.
No, not in total. A Delhi banquet is a ₹999–4,500 plate per function; a destination wedding is ₹60,000–80,000 a head, because the host buys rooms, two days of meals and transfers for everyone. Our rule of thumb is two to four times a home-city event. It only looks cheaper when the guest list shrinks.
A destination wedding is one held away from the couple's home city, with guests travelling in and staying for two to four days of functions at one venue, usually a resort or palace hotel. The host covers rooms and meals for every guest, so the list is smaller and the weekend feels like a holiday for everyone, not just the couple.
Pick the destination and date together, 14–18 months out for peak season, and confirm the planner and venue before anything else. Block rooms before décor, then book the photographer and sangeet entertainment. Send save-the-dates 8–10 months ahead with travel details, run one hospitality desk for transfers and rooms, and keep two or three days of functions at one venue so guests never move.
From the rate cards resorts sent us for a 200-guest Indian wedding, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia and Cambodia come out cheapest: two days of rooms and food from about ₹30–62 lakh, short flights and visa-free or e-visa entry. Bali's venues are cheap but flights double the bill. Singapore, Italy, Turkey's Antalya resorts, the UAE and Mauritius are the dearest, at ₹1.1–2 crore before décor and taxes.
For two days with every room: heritage hotels run about ₹25–80 lakh, the big Aravalli resorts ₹1.4–2.5 crore and the lake palaces ₹1.6–3.5 crore, before décor, artists and 18 percent GST. Our working all-in average across Udaipur weddings is about ₹68,000 a guest, so ₹1.4 crore for 200.
Two days with all the rooms: heritage palaces and resorts about ₹65 lakh–1.2 crore, usually with meals; the big palace hotels ₹1.25–2.2 crore; the grandest three ₹2.6–4 crore, before 18 percent GST, décor and artists. Two hundred guests need about 100 rooms, which is what those buyouts cover.
Two days with every room runs ₹1.6–4 crore at the grandest palace hotels, ₹65 lakh–1.2 crore at Jaipur's heritage palaces, and ₹21–80 lakh at heritage palaces in Jodhpur, Bikaner and Shekhawati, before décor, artists and 18 percent GST. Jodhpur and Shekhawati are where a palace wedding is cheapest.
On a 100-guest basis, ₹30 lakh buys a four-star boutique wedding, ₹50 lakh a mid-tier five-star (rooms ₹15,000–25,000, plates ₹2,500–4,000) and ₹75 lakh the luxury five-star band with ₹3–5 lakh of lawn hire. Our all-in working average is about ₹55,000 a guest, so ₹1.1 crore for 200.
A two-day Kerala destination wedding for 200 guests costs about ₹35 lakh to 1.3 crore, excluding jewellery and outfits. Four-star backwater and Wayanad buyouts sit at ₹35–55 lakh, Taj-tier resorts at ₹55–85 lakh, and Kumarakom Lake Resort or the Leela Kovalam at ₹90 lakh to 1.3 crore. Add 18 percent GST on hotel lines.
Kerala Destination Wedding Cost 2026: Backwaters, Beaches and the Hills, Priced for 200 Guests →
A two-day Uttarakhand destination wedding for 200 guests costs about ₹30 lakh to 1.2 crore, excluding jewellery and outfits. Bhimtal and Nainital lakeside resorts sit at ₹30–50 lakh, JW Marriott Mussoorie and the Dehradun five-stars at ₹50–90 lakh, and the Savoy or Hyatt Regency Dehradun with premium decor at ₹90 lakh to 1.2 crore, plus 18 percent GST on hotels.
Uttarakhand Destination Wedding Cost 2026: Mussoorie, Nainital, Dehradun and the Hills, Priced →
Planner-published 2025-26 bands put a modest 200-guest Corbett wedding at ₹70–80 lakh, luxurious formats at ₹90 lakh–1.2 crore and three-star weekends for 100–200 guests at ₹12–20 lakh. Premium rooms run ₹22,000–25,000 a night, and two resorts publish all-in packages at ₹30–33 lakh a day with rooms and meals.
Jim Corbett Destination Wedding Cost: The Weekend Wedding Six Hours From Delhi →
The temple part is modest. One couple told the Times of India in 2026 that registration, the pandit and the marriage certificate came to about ₹30,000, and their whole 20-guest wedding to ₹1.5 to 1.7 lakh. The Economic Times puts larger weddings at ₹4 to 8 lakh and luxury ones with helicopter transfers at ₹8 to 15 lakh or more.
Triyuginarayan Temple Wedding: Cost, Booking and How to Get There (2026) →
A full buyout of Rambagh Palace's 78 rooms for two days runs about ₹2.6–4 crore before 18 percent GST, décor and artists, with planners putting it at the ₹4 crore end; it is one of Jaipur's three costliest wedding venues with The Leela and Taj Amer. Two hundred guests fit the room count comfortably.
Umaid Bhawan Palace has 71 rooms and suites, with the whole hotel last reported at about ₹64 lakh a night for rooms alone, so roughly ₹1.3 crore for two nights before food, venues and 18 percent GST. Food is listed from ₹6,000 a plate and the Baradari Lawn takes 1,500 guests; a celebrity five-night wedding was reported near ₹4 crore.
Suryagarh lists about ₹1.97 crore a day for its 95 rooms with three meals and the venue, so roughly ₹3.9 crore for two days before 18 percent GST, décor and artists. Food is listed from ₹12,500 a plate. Nearby, two days at Jaisalmer Marriott or Storii by ITC run about ₹70 lakh and Taj Gorbandh ₹90 lakh.
Six Senses Fort Barwara lists ₹70 lakh a day for all 48 suites with three meals and the venue, so about ₹1.4 crore for two days before 18 percent GST, with venue hire of ₹7 lakh a function and some spaces for full buyouts only. Forty-eight suites sleep about 100 guests; larger lists add nearby resorts.
Yes, with permission. Vows on the sand need a coastal (CRZ) permission, while resort lawns above the beach do not. Outdoor amplified music stops at 10 pm under Goa's noise rules, so the sangeet moves indoors late.
About ₹1.6 crore for two days before GST: 100 rooms for two nights at the lowest January 2027 rate, ₹58,746 a night, plus four meals for 200 at ₹5,500 a plate. Its beach lawns take 700 and the Sala Grande ballroom 500.
Two days for 200 guests with rooms and meals: about ₹17–54 lakh at the four-star resorts, ₹66 lakh at Bhagirathi in Haridwar, and ₹1.16–1.6 crore at The Westin and Taj Rishikesh, before GST. Décor, music and alcohol are extra.
Not in town. Non-veg food is restricted inside Rishikesh, Muni Ki Reti and Haridwar limits, and Aloha, Lemon Tree, Divine and Sattva are dry. Up the river road, Atali Ganga, Raga, jüSTa Rasa and DLS allow outside alcohol.
Goa, Udaipur and Jaipur, in that order on most lists, with Jodhpur, Rishikesh and Mussoorie next. Goa is easiest on flights and weather and about ₹55,000 a guest all-in; Udaipur has the backdrop at about ₹68,000 a guest; Jaipur has the most palaces under ₹1.2 crore. Jim Corbett and Kerala suit smaller weddings.
By venue cost, Jodhpur, Bikaner and Shekhawati for palaces, where two days with every room start near ₹21–45 lakh, and Jim Corbett, Rishikesh and the Goa four-star belt for resorts, where ₹12–30 lakh hosts 100–200 guests. Rajasthan's palace capitals and the lake palaces sit at the other end.
For 100–150 guests, ₹25–60 lakh is the typical planner-published band, rising to ₹27 lakh–1.05 crore in Jaipur or Goa and ₹37.5 lakh–3.75 crore in Udaipur by hotel tier; a 2025-26 industry survey puts the average destination wedding at ₹58 lakh. Budget two to four times an equivalent home-city wedding, plus 18 percent GST.
Yes, with a short list. ₹20 lakh hosts about 50–80 guests for two nights at a four-star resort in Goa, Jim Corbett or around Udaipur, where rooms run ₹8,000–15,000 and plates ₹1,800–2,800. It will not stretch to a heritage palace or 150 guests; the mid-range heritage tier starts around ₹40–50 lakh.
Destination Wedding in 50 Lakhs: What Your Budget Actually Buys in Udaipur and Goa →
At ₹60 lakh for 200–250 guests the realistic North Indian options are Jim Corbett (₹70–80 lakh is the published band for a modest 200, so negotiate hard or trim to 180), Rishikesh, Neemrana and Tijara forts, and Jaipur's heritage palaces under ₹70 lakh with food. Udaipur's heritage tier needs ₹1 crore at this size.
Destination Wedding in 50 Lakhs: What Your Budget Actually Buys in Udaipur and Goa →
Two hundred guests need about 100 rooms, which rules out the 50–87-room lake palaces unless you add a second hotel. The Aravalli resorts and city five-stars with 140–250 rooms fit in one block at ₹1.4–2.5 crore for two days; a mid-tier heritage hotel plus an overflow hotel keeps the total near ₹1.2–1.8 crore all-in.
A lot. Return fares for 200 guests run about ₹60–70 lakh to Phuket, ₹63–84 lakh to Dubai, ₹50–70 lakh to Colombo and ₹95 lakh–1 crore to Bali, with visas on top at roughly ₹2,000–5,000 a guest for Bali, Dubai or Vietnam; Thailand and Mauritius are visa-free. Flights alone can equal the venue.
Destination Wedding Abroad vs India: What 200 Guests Really Cost, Side by Side →
Thailand, where the big hotels have cooked hundreds of Indian weddings and quote an Indian buffet without being asked, then Dubai and Mauritius, which keep Indian cooks on staff. Bali relies on Indian restaurant groups catering at about ₹1,700–2,000 a head; Vietnam and Sri Lanka allow an outside Indian caterer for a fee.
Thailand is visa-free for 30 days, Mauritius visa-free, Sri Lanka and Bali give a visa on arrival or online (about ₹2,700–3,500 in Bali with the tourist levy), Vietnam an e-visa at US$25–50, Dubai a tourist visa at about ₹2,600–5,200, and Italy a Schengen visa at about €90 with weeks of lead time. Build it into the guest pack six weeks out.
Thailand for 200 guests: non-stop flights, no visa, hotels that quote Indian buffets, venues at ₹50 lakh–1.3 crore for two days. Bali for 80–120 guests where the setting matters more than the fare: venues ₹25–70 lakh but no non-stop flights, about ₹95 lakh–1 crore of airfare for 200. Vietnam sits between on price.
Thailand vs Bali vs Vietnam for an Indian Wedding: Venues, Flights, Visas and Which Wins →
Percentage planners quote 15–20 percent of the budget for weddings abroad, and published guides add a 15–25 percent premium over India for the logistics. Our fee stays fixed: the destination collections at ₹3,50,000, ₹5,50,000 and ₹8,50,000 plus GST for about 250 guests, with the crew's travel and stay on the client's account.
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