Foreign weddings catching on in Punjab

Jewel themes, royal Victorian themes, sunset, sunrise, underwater, mid-air and many other themes are much for weddings these days""especially for the non-resident Indians (NRIs), who are ready to go to Jaipur, Hyderabad and even to favorite bollywood locales like the Mauritius, Malaysia and many more, and that too at any cost. Destination weddings are taking the lead over traditional weddings these days.

And ready to cash in on this trend is Tourism Malaysia, Singapore Tourism Board, Indian Wedding Planners and many more at the ongoing Wedding Asia-06 exhibition at hotel Majestic Park Plaza, Ferozepur Road, Ludhiana.

Speaking to Business Standard, Bhupesh Kumar, marketing manager of Tourism Malayasia, said India was the ninth largest contributor to arrivals into Malaysia from all over the in the year 2005 and twelfth largest in terms of revenue generating country for tourism in year 2004.

"Punjab contributes 22 to 25 per cent to the Indian arrivals from north and east India. We have already organised two Indian weddings in Malaysia and now we are geared up to tap this Rs 70,000 crore wedding industry further. Two inquiries from Punjab are likely to materialise soon," said Kumar.

"Five Indian states have been identified for promoting weddings in Malaysia, with Punjab being at the top of the list. The board is also planning to promote the idea on television""through high television rating point (TRP) serials where characters get wedded in Malaysia. Talks are already on with a few production houses," added Bhupesh.

Chief Executive Officer of Shaadi Online Jai Raj Gupta said they had been in this business for last six years and had seen the market change.

"These days people are really interested to wed in style. They want that everyone should remember their marriage forever. Malaysia is the most favored destination amongst people because a marriage there is cheaper than a marriage in Goa. Even the five star hotels there are far cheaper than their Indian counterparts," said Gupta.

R K Harjai, CEO of New Delhi based Indian Wedding Planners, explained how a Jalandhar-based NRI would be getting married this year at Jaipur with a total budget of Rs 2 crore.

"The theme is a royal wedding, which will be in palaces and lakes. In addition, another family settled in Nigeria, is opting for a wedding at the 2,500-acre film city at Hyderabad. There will be four themes"" Wild West theme, Bollywood theme, Royal theme and Village theme," said Harjai.

"Beach weddings have been performed at Goa and even one underwater, in a swimming pool of a Goa hotel, where the bride, groom and the priest had stayed underwater for 17 minutes.

For this underwater ceremony, they had to hold practice sessions for 15 days. People also get married specifically at the sunrise and sunset and we have performed such weddings on beaches," he said.