Rajasthan sees a surge of weddings in November after summer delays

Extreme heat in the summer had Rajasthan’s people deferring weddings to winter – a spill over that has had thousands tying the knot in November.

 

On November 12 there were more than 2,200 weddings in Jaipur and some 25,000 across the state. Weddings in winter have increased by 25 per cent due to the postponement in summer, according to event organisers.

 

Bhawani Shankar Mali, general secretary of All Wedding Industries Federation, Rajasthan, said the weather department’s forecast of extreme heat came true in April, May and June and people deferred their plans to winter. The so-called marriage gardens clock 60-75 per cent bookings for weddings on “auspicious days” in winter but for the first time it has been 90-95 percent in November, he said.

 

Some 150,000 to 200,000 weddings are held in Rajasthan every year. Of these, 50 per cent of weddings are tagged medium budget (costs of up to Rs 10 lakh), 20 per cent are high budget (up to Rs 50 lakh) and 5-7 per cent cost between Rs 50 lakh and Rs 3 crore. At some destination weddings, the expenditure may be Rs 5-10 crore.

 

“In such a situation, if efforts are made by the tourism industry and state government collectively, I feel the state can be promoted as a wedding destination and with this, I see an increase of around 5-10 per cent in destination weddings,” said Mali.

 

The Rajasthan government is planning to market the state as a wedding destination and in a new tourism policy, which is likely to be announced soon, it is expected to announce sops to the industry engaged in the sector.