Big fat Indian weddings travel to exotic locations abroad

MUMBAI: Casino Square is popular among Grand Prix fans for being the best spot in Monaco to drown in the adrenaline-boosting, collective roar ofFormula One racing cars. Horses and elephants are not the kind of four-legged beasts one expects to see on this track. Over here, the word 'horse' is always paired with 'power' to talk about car engines and not about the animal whose female species leads the traditional North Indian baraat.

But on a nippy day in March last year, Casino Square changed gear and the thunder of race cars was replaced by a cacophony of noises that came from a fat, slow-moving Indian baraat. Riding a white mare, the Indian groom, the CEO of a luxury company, led a procession of guests, backed up by two elephants, all making their way to a five-star hotel in Monaco for an even fatter, Rs 44 crore Indian wedding.

Monaco may have not seen anything quite like that, but there are quite a few destinations across the globe where Indian weddings are not a rare sight. In the last three to four years, Indian weddings have not only been exported to unusual venues like Formula One tracks, but also to places conventionally preferred by couples in the West, like beaches, mountains and jungle resorts (in this context, the term, Indian wedding refers to couples who reside in India, but fly abroad with their family and friends to get married). These weddings are multi-crore events and evidently so, it is a niche segment. That is probably the only reason why foreign tourism bodies that are otherwise meticulous in data collection have not yet culled statistics to monitor the growth of the Indian wedding market. But there is enough anecdotal evidence that suggests that the past few years have seen a rise in Indian weddings made in foreign locales.

Last week, tourism officials from Mauritius flew into Mumbai with itineraries that included meetings scheduled with wedding planners. "In the last three years, at least 13 to 14 big Indian weddings with 200-1,200 guests have been held in Mauritius,'' said Micheal Yeung Sik Yuen, Mauritius's tourism minister. Though there are flights between India and Mauritius, Air Mauritius operated about five charter aircraft during these years to ferry the wedding guests. Though Mauritius does not attract as many Indian tourists, it has turned into a favourite wedding destination for the desis. So much so that last year, a special committee was formed by Mauritius to exclusively handle the wedding segment.

Another favourite wedding destination is South Africa, which has made its appearance on quite a few invite cards.

Hanneli Slabber, country manager, SA Tourism, India, said, "We probably receive 10-15 Indian inquiries per year. However, not all these are from Indians living in India, but from Indian couples living around the world. They include multi-cultural weddings where one of the couple is Indian."

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For Wealthy Indians, Trip Down Aisle Often Requires a Passport

Margot Cohen is a Bangalore-based writer - Wall Street Journal

PUNE, India -- When Indian entrepreneur Suniel Mutha had his wedding, he tied the knot in his wife's hometown of Chennai, then known as Madras. The nuptials lasted three days and included more than 900 guests.

He and his wife wanted something different for their children. So when it came time for them to marry, the Muthas jumped on the latest trend sweeping India's bridal business: destination weddings. Son Sidaarrth, now 26, was married in a dazzling display in Macau last year; daughter Shweta, 27, was wed in a big bash in Bangkok in July. Each wedding stretched over five days, included hundreds of guests and had all the trappings of a traditional Indian wedding -- down to the team of 60 chefs and kitchen assistants flown in to prepare thousands of special meals, and a horse for the groom to sit astride for his grand entrance. The tab for the Macau wedding alone totaled $4 million to $5 million.

India has long been famous for its lavish weddings. For many, a wedding is a status symbol, and families often save for decades to host a big fat one. And while the global economic slowdown may have pinched incomes and reined in conspicuous consumption elsewhere, Indian weddings appear recession-proof, as wealthy families strive to host an unforgettable event. Now, the Indian wedding has hit the road as families try to outdo each other in far-flung locales like Dubai, Thailand, Macau and even France.

"If there was a large enough rocket and spaceship, you can be sure that the first big wedding in space will be an Indian one," says psychoanalyst and author Sudhir Kakar, who lives in Goa. "It is not keeping up with the Joneses but keeping ahead of them—'Eat your heart out, Joneses, you pretenders!'" more.......

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