The scenic beauty of Rajasthan has always appealed to couples and lovebirds all over the world. Regal palaces, archaeological forts, embellished courtyards and lush green gardens make Rajasthan an excellent destination for royal weddings. Over the years, several celebrity couples like Priya Sachdev and Vikram Chatwal, Guy Ritchie and Madonna, Liz Hurley and Arun Nayar, Russell Brand and Katy Perry, Raveena Tandon and Anil Thadani have booked local venues for their fairytale nuptials in Rajasthan.
Nevertheless, this winter, all the ‘fat’ had been trimmed down from big, royal weddings in Rajasthan. The recent currency crunch in the market resulting from demonetisation had discouraged the wedding planners from planning lavish events this month. The wedding managers claimed that the record of this year’s winter weddings was worst than last 10 years.
Since most of the royal weddings are usually scheduled for November to December, they were either downsized, postponed or cancelled in the light of cash crisis. Mohit Sand, a Jaipur-based wedding planner shared his frustration in this regard,
“We’d already booked forts, palaces, wedding planners in Jaipur and other wedding venues for hosting 10 different NRI weddings. Nevertheless, due to demonetisation, the clients had to postpone their weddings to the summer months. In this situation, the advanced payments made to various decorators, hotels, caterers and transport companies had to be forfeited.
How’re Royal Weddings of Rajasthan Like?
It’s customary for clients to demand a royal wedding that lasts for 3 days. It usually ropes in all the major functions like Sangeet, Mehendi, Wedding rituals, Photoshoot, Cocktail, Bachelor’s/Bachelorette’s party and reception. Some clients request for camels, elephants, marriage band and traditional folk performers at their reception. Even disc jockeys, firecrackers and buggies are mandatory wedding demands.
Generally, a gathering of about 1,000 to 2,000 people assemble in Rajasthan. The dinner menu comprises of 50 to 100 local, exotic and regional cuisines. This time, the numbers trimmed down to 300-500 people and 30-40 items on the menu.
In short, it was not a happy season for local businesses involved in events and weddings. On a positive note, the PM’s demonetisation move discouraged people from spending a big, fat amount on lavish weddings this time. Hopefully, they can use this money for a constructive purpose. The local businesses, on the other hand, look forward to organising lavish summer weddings as most of their appointments have been postponed to the summers.
