Best Places for Destination Wedding in India

Many travel-related websites will list out plenty of wedding venues if you are looking for the best places for a destination wedding in India. Many places are popular tourist cities with famous resorts that you are already familiar with.

As a destination wedding photographer, I will help you out to explore destination wedding venues so that you can plan an exotic wedding in India with the help of auspicious wedding dates in 2024 as per astrology.

I have consciously not included many goto destination wedding locations like Udaivillas/Jagmandir in Udaipur or some goto resorts in Mussorie or Shimla. No, it is not because they are not good but they must be already on your hunting list.

The goal of this article is to visualize some other offbeat options where many beautiful destinations weddings happen every year but may miss your radar.

The destination wedding market may have dropped to 35% in 2020 from its pre-lockdown market share but things are looking up again from 2024. Be it intimate weddings or big fat weddings, there is a huge market for destination weddings.

When you start planning a destination wedding in India, you need to consider the style of the wedding. Broadly speaking, couples prefer royal fort weddings, beach destination weddings, or want to go somewhere up the hills. 

So based on that below are the recommended wedding destinations in India you should consider.

Rajasthan – For Royal Palace Weddings & Costing

Arguably, Rajasthan is the host of the best destination weddings in India. Udaipur, Jaipur, and Jodhpur share the chunk of many celebrity weddings and big fat weddings. Here is the list of famous wedding venues with key details.

Umaid Bhawan Palace, Jodhpur

• Number of rooms: 64
• Reach: Jodhpur Airport well connected from Delhi and Mumbai
• Guests capacity: up to 800
• Approx Umaid Bhawan Palace Wedding Cost: Rs.80 Lacs – Rs.1 Crore for 200 Guests

Taj Rambagh Palace, Jaipur

• Number of rooms: 78
• Distance from airport: 8 km from Jaipur International Airport
• Guests capacity: up to 450
• Approx Taj Rambagh Palace Wedding Cost: Rs.55 – Rs.60 Lacs for 200 Guests

Samode Palace, Jaipur

• Number of rooms: 43
• Distance from airport: 42 km from Jaipur
• Guests capacity: up to 300
• Approx Samode Palace Wedding Cost: Rs.45 – Rs.50 Lacs for 200 Guests

ITC Rajputana, Jaipur

• Number of rooms: 235
• Reach: Jaipur Airport and Jaipur-Delhi Expressway.
• Guests capacity: up to 600
• Approx ITC Rajputana, Jaipur Wedding Cost: Rs.45 Lacs for 200 Guests

Taj Lake Palace, Udaipur

• Number of rooms: 83
• Distance from airport: 24 km from Maharana Pratap airport
• Guests capacity: 60
• Approx Taj Lake Palace, Udaipur Wedding Cost: Rs.1 Crore for 60 Guests (it does not allow weddings with bigger guest count).

Suryagarh, Jaisalmer

• Number of rooms: 72
• Distance from airport: 28 km from Jaisalmer Airport
• Guests capacity: 100 to 1200
• Approx Suryagarh, Jaisalmer Wedding Cost: Rs.55 – Rs.60 Lacs for 200 Guests

Fairmont, Jaipur

• Number of rooms: 250
• Distance from airport: 27.7 km from Jaipur International Airport
• Guests capacity: 300 to 1000
• Approx Fairmont, Jaipur Wedding Cost: Rs.55 – Rs.60 Lacs for 200 Guests

Oberoi Udaivillas, Udaipur

• Number of rooms: 87 
• Cost of Room: Rs.45,000 or $620 USD per night.
• Cost of Food: Rs.6000 – Rs.12,000 per meal
• Distance from airport: 27.7 km from Jaipur International Airport
• Guests capacity: 300 to 1000
• Approx Oberoi Udaivillas, Udaipur Wedding Cost: 1 Crore to 1.5 Crore ($1,40,000 to $2,00,000 USD) for a guest count of 200 approx.

Now lets us look at two more venues in Rajasthan that you might miss or may not be recommended by wedding blogs.

Chomu Palace, Jaipur

A beautiful boutique heritage big haveli turned into a resort. It is approximately an hour away (or 35 km) from the maddening traffic of Jaipur. It has been a host of many Bollywood movies and web shows like Aarya starring Miss Universe Sushmita Sen.

It is also a venue for many destination weddings every wedding season so booking early is a must. Let us look at some other relevant details including costs if you are planning a wedding at Chomu Palace.

• Number of rooms: 72
• Reach: 35 km from Jaipur. Well connected by Jaipur Airport and Jaipur-Delhi Expressway.
• Guests capacity: up to 300
• Approx Chomu Palace Jaipur Cost: Rs.35 Lacs for 200 Guests

FatehGarh Heritage Hotel, Udaipur

FatehGarh Heritage Hotel is another property in Rajasthan to consider if you are looking for an offbeat palace wedding in Udaipur. It is relatively a newly built hotel at the top of a hill overlooking Fateh Sagar lake among the Aravali hills.

The hotel has a limited number of rooms but they have two more adjoining properties to accommodate more guests. This is a perfect combination of the wedding around the hills and a royal fort wedding. Checkout the Sindhi destination wedding at FatehGarh Udaipur for more pictures.

• Number of rooms: 70
• Reach: 30 km from Udaipur Airport and 7kms from Udaipur city.
• Guests capacity: up to 200
• Approx FatehGarh Hotel Wedding Cost: Rs.40 Lacs for 200 Guests

Beach Destination Weddings

For anyone planning a beach destination wedding, probably Goa as a wedding destination will be the first place that will come to their mind. And why not it has some very serene beaches and the vast majority of properties to cater to all kinds of weddings.

I will bring your attention to two wedding venues if you are planning a beach wedding with a difference. There is one from Goa and another hidden gem from the beaches of Kerala. I have shot multiple weddings at both locations and the scope of designing a beautiful creative wedding is immense.

Taj Holiday Village Resort, Candolim Goa

What I liked while shooting a sunset destination wedding at Taj Holiday Village Resort Goa was the lush green 28 acres expansive Indo-Portuguese style property with multiple venues, beautiful rooms, and exotic villas. And add to that beachside property.

The property may not be best for indoor events but is perfect for an eye-catchy sunset wedding or outdoor events. Famous 300-year-old banyan tree for a candlelit dinner, Moondeck lawn, Sunset lawn, and Golf lawn are favorite among the couples and wedding planners.

For indoor events or to enhance the scope of planning to another level, Taj has another adjacent property – Taj Fort Aguada Resort. Yes, you heard it right, these two properties can be exploited to your advantage to plan an exquisite wedding experience for you and your guests.

• Number of rooms: 142
• Reach: 15 km from Goa Airport and 2kms from Goa city.
• Guests capacity: up to 2500
• Approx Taj Holiday Village Wedding Cost: Rs.50 Lacs for 200 Guests

The Raviz Kovalam (formerly known as Leela Kovalam)

Arguably one of the most beautiful 5-star wedding location on a hilltop overlooking the Arabian sea. The property has four venues to host your events but Chess park stands out for its beautiful sunset views.

But the most scenic down the hill venue for exotic beach wedding or sangeet. Check out the pictures of the Raviz Kovalam wedding I shot for a virtual tour.

• Number of rooms: 183
• Reach: 13 km from Trivandrum Airport. Trivandrum has good air connectivity from Chennai, Delhi, and Mumbai.
• Guests capacity: up to 3000.
• Approx Raviz Kovalam Wedding Cost: Rs.60 – Rs.70 Lacs for 200 Guests

Hill Station Destination Weddings

Hill station destination weddings have picked in the last 4 years in India. People no longer want just another destination wedding. They want something unique at their wedding. Every wedding you see on Instagram almost looks similar. 

Average wedding photography is one of the key reasons but also the same old venues with the same setups being repeated wedding after wedding.

With many hill stations, weddings still being planned in the northern part of the country, and Delhi is the most well-connected city for all those destinations. Here is one if Mumbai is the most convenient city for you and your guests.

Hilton Shillim Estate Retreat & Spa, Lonavala near Mumbai

Lonavala may not be a surprise for people of Pune and Mumbai but for others, it is a small hill station around 60kms from Pune and 90kms from Mumbai airport.

Hilton Shilim is a popular weekend getaway as well as a wedding venue surrounded by tall lush green Sahyadri mountains. It is situated at the most peaceful corner of Lonavala as, like Shimla, Lonavala is thronged by tourists and is jampacked during the weekends. Checkout a pre-wedding photoshoot at Hilton Shillim Lonavala for more pictures.

Here is Hilton Shilim?s wedding brochure for some more details.

• Number of rooms: 98
• Reach: 90 km from Mumbai Airport.
• Guests capacity: up to 300
• Approx Hilton Shilim Wedding Cost: Rs.25 Lacs for 200 Guests

Offbeat Destination Wedding Venues near Mumbai

Sula Vineyard, Nashik near Mumbai

Sula may be India?s finest wine but do you know Sula Vineyard in Nashik where this wine is made is a fine offbeat wedding location?

It is also famous for its SulaFest music festival in February every year, probably the only time when you cannot plan your wedding. It is around 4hrs a drive from Mumbai airport and is a good option for an intimate wedding or a pre-wedding at Sula Vineyards, far away from the city chaos.

The vineyard has its own resorts around the vineyard for your comfortable stay and you can host a beautiful outdoor wedding at the vineyard?s amphitheater.

• Number of rooms: 51
• Reach: 170 km from Mumbai Airport.
• Guests capacity: up to 1500
• Approx Sula Vineyards Wedding Cost: Rs.15 – Rs.20 Lacs for 200 Guests

Fort JadhavGADH | Heritage Resort, near Pune

Fort JadhavGadh is another offbeat wedding venue option for someone who is looking for a royal wedding at a fort but not keen on going to Rajasthan.

Fort JadhavGadh is situated in Saswad around 30kms from Pune best destination wedding places in Maharashtra. Checkout Fort JadhavGadh wedding for more ideas and location pictures.

• Number of rooms: 58
• Reach: 30 km from Pune and 200 km from Mumbai Airport.
• Guests capacity: up to 1500
• Check Approx Fort JadhavGadh Wedding Cost