Indian luxury weddings are increasingly centering destination venues and immersive guest experiences, according to media reports. Couples are spending more on venues, hospitality, and multi-day celebrations that allow guests to explore local culture and create lasting memories.
Destination weddings now represent a significant percentage of weddings. Goa, Rajasthan, and Kerala lead wedding destinations in India, while Thailand and Bali are the top overseas choices. A report mentioned that Sri Lanka has emerged as the fastest-growing wedding destination in 2025.
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Indian wedding bookings to Sri Lanka are projected to grow 20-25 per cent annually over the next few years, as per the report. Shangri-La (Hambantota), Shangri-La (Colombo), Amaya Hills (Kandy), The Grand Hotel (Nuwara Eliya), and Jetwing Lagoon (Negombo) were the top-booked properties in Sri Lanka in 2025. Thailand, on the other hand, was the most popular destination.
According to WedMeGood, Vietnam and Malaysia were also prominent venues for destination weddings. In Europe, Italy, France, Greece, Spain, and Portugal were the most prominent destinations. Within India, Dehradun, Mussoorie, Rishikesh, Shimla, and Jim Corbett were the top-5 destinations for weddings, followed by Udaipur, Jaipur, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, and Goa.
Mehak Shahani, co-Founder of WedMeGood, said, “Indian weddings are undergoing a transformation. Couples today are investing not just in celebrations, but in creating meaningful experiences that bring family and friends together. Wedding budgets continue to evolve alongside these expectations.”
Yashwini Naik, global sales director at Shangri-La Group, said that couples no longer “aim to fill every waking hour with back-to-back events.”
“They’ve adopted a slow-travel mindset, where each experience is designed for atmosphere and connection rather than volume,” she added.
Reports also said the conflict in the Middle East has reshaped destination wedding plans for many Indian couples. International travel was affected after the U.S. and Israel’s attack on Iran on Feb. 28 and the retaliatory strikes that followed. Airlines, impacted by longer routes and surging aviation turbine fuel (ATF) rates, hiked fares, further impacting travel. However, according to experts, couples will continue to travel abroad despite these headwinds with some alterations in plans.
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“While West Asia has traditionally been an attractive market for Indian destination weddings, concerns around regional stability have shifted conversations towards destinations that offer greater certainty, easier logistics and a seamless guest experience,” said Shashank Gupta of Tailor Made Experiences — a luxury wedding consulting and experience design company.
“While there is no consolidated industry data yet on the number of weddings that have shifted from the Middle East, we are witnessing a clear increase in enquiries and site visits from Indian families evaluating Sri Lanka as an alternative,” Gupta added.