BusinessWire India
Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], October 6: WeddingSutra today released findings from its Annual Luxury and Destination Weddings Survey 2026, conducted in September 2026 among 1,045 luxury and destination wedding planners and influencers across 32 cities in India and 8 overseas destination wedding hotspots popular with Indians.
The headline finding: Udaipur’s top palace properties have become unaffordable for many HNIs during peak season, and are now largely accessible only to UHNIs.
Rajasthan continues to lead as India’s most preferred destination wedding market, with Goa and Kerala also remaining among the top choices. Within Rajasthan, Udaipur commands a steep premium at peak, while Jaipur is seen as more cost-effective in the non-peak season with many options across the city.
Key Findings:
- Hometown and near-metro weddings on the rise: Destination-style hometown celebrations and intimate weddings near metros are gaining traction — Mahabalipuram near Chennai, resorts near Bengaluru airport, Alibag, Karjat, Lonavala and Khandala near Mumbai, and Jaipur for the Delhi market.
- Tier-2 and Tier-3 surge: Kochi, Bekal, Coorg, Amritsar, Rishikesh, Mussoorie, Dehradun, Ramnagar (Jim Corbett), Agra, Jaisalmer and Sawai Madhopur (Ranthambore) are seeing sustained growth, driven by improved air and road connectivity and new 4- and 5-star hotels.
- New luxury supply: Fairmont Agra (200+ keys, vegetarian positioning) and an upcoming 300+ keys vegetarian resort in Karjat are set to address demand for large-inventory luxury venues closer to metros. Among boutique openings, Leela Jaisalmer is generating strong interest.
- UHNI vs HNI adoption: 50% of UHNIs are opting for destination celebrations in India or overseas for at least pre/post events, if not the main wedding — compared to only 12% of HNIs, highlighting significant headroom for growth.
- Hotel demand: In the luxury segment, the strongest demand for 250-key hotels is from business families.
- Wedding spends: HNI wedding budgets (excluding clothing, jewellery, travel and gifting to immediate family) range between Rs 1 crore and Rs 5 crore. Business families with a combined net worth of Rs 300-400 crore have moved from Rs 2-4 crore pre-COVID to Rs 5-10 crore now.
- Intimate weddings are the future for non-business families: The slim and smart format is gaining strong appeal among non-business families and is expected to define the future of this segment.
- Growth engine: The biggest growth is coming not from metros, but from business families in Tier-2 and Tier-3 towns.
- Other trends: NRI and foreign weddings in India have been impacted by the Middle East conflict and rising palace costs; demand for wedding content creators has surged in 2026, with many social media-savvy young men and women from metros and Tier-2/3 towns pursuing it as a freelance career; Thailand remains the top international destination for Indian weddings.
Commenting on the findings, Parthip Thyagarajan, CEO and Co-founder, WeddingSutra, said: “India is a vast country with diverse traditions and wedding formats. While luxury destination weddings account for less than 1% by volume of all weddings hosted by Indian families, by value they are disproportionately large — several multiples higher in spends. These weddings set the benchmark for artistry and standards that define the industry.”
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