Mandaps move home as Middle East tensions disrupt Indian destination weddings

wedding

The widening conflict involving Iran, Israel, and the United States is beginning to ripple through destination weddings.

As uncertainty clouds the region, many Indian couples are choosing to bring their big day back home -- turning a crisis overseas into an opportunity for India’s destination wedding industry.

Cancellation, venue shifts

Popular Middle Eastern wedding hotspots such as Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Bahrain are seeing cancellations and last-minute venue shifts as Indian families grow wary of hosting large celebrations in a region gripped by geopolitical tensions.

“Around 15–20 weddings have already been cancelled or shifted due to the current situation,” said Satish Ramnani, Director of Veydaa Events, citing industry conversations. “Families are becoming cautious about travel and large gatherings in the region.”

One such example involved a large wedding scheduled at Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi, which had to be relocated to India at the last minute. The wedding was originally planned for March 7–9, but the decision to shift venues was taken on March 3, leaving planners with barely a few days to reorganise the event.

While the wedding eventually took place in India, the scale had to be reduced from 600 guests to around 300, mainly because hotels could not accommodate such a large group on short notice.

Ramnani said another client’s Bahrain wedding scheduled for early May has already been cancelled, highlighting the uncertainty families are facing while planning international celebrations.

Uncertainty hits destination wedding planning

The geopolitical tensions are complicating the planning cycle for international weddings, which typically requires months of preparation.

“Unlike holidays, weddings require extensive planning, site visits, vendor bookings and contracts,” said Parthip Thyagarajan, CEO of WeddingSutra.com. “The period between April and July is when families usually plan weddings for the last quarter of the year and early next year. But when the situation overseas is uncertain, families hesitate to sign contracts.”

Rising airfares due to disruptions in international travel are also making overseas weddings less attractive. “If air travel becomes expensive or unpredictable, families naturally rethink international destination weddings, even beyond the Middle East,” Thyagarajan said.

Middle East’s loss becomes India’s gain

Most weddings are not being cancelled altogether; they are simply being relocated to India.

“While the situation is stressful for weddings planned in the Middle East, it is not a major loss for the industry overall,” Ramnani said. “Most weddings will still happen, they are just shifting back to India.”

Thyagarajan echoed the view. “Families that had weddings planned in the Middle East later this year are now exploring destination India instead.”

In recent years, the Indian government has also encouraged wealthy families to celebrate weddings within the country.

In 2023, Prime Minister Narendra Modi called for a ‘Wed in India’ movement, urging affluent families to host destination weddings domestically rather than abroad. He had even said that if wedding celebrations continued within India for several years in states like Uttarakhand, then such locations could emerge as global wedding destinations.

Several Indian states are already positioning themselves to capture this demand.

Kerala hosted more than 1,000 destination weddings in 2024, while states such as Rajasthan, Goa and Uttarakhand continue to market themselves as luxury wedding destinations.

In Goa, the Travel and Tourism Association of Goa has urged the government to introduce a single-window ‘Wed-in-Goa’ policy to simplify permissions for weddings and large events. Meanwhile, the Delhi government is exploring ways to simplify approvals for hosting weddings at heritage sites.

Challenges in shifting weddings at short notice

However, currently moving large weddings back to India at the last minute is far from easy.

“It’s not just about booking a hotel,” Ramnani said. “You have to ensure your planner, decorators, artists, photographers and other vendors are all available on the same dates.”

In one ongoing case, his team is searching across India and even Thailand to accommodate a wedding requiring around 300 hotel rooms.

“Sometimes rooms are available but the venue isn’t. In other cases, the venue is available but there aren’t enough rooms,” he said.

Even when venues are available, other challenges arise. For example, Udaipur, a popular wedding destination, sees temperatures rise to 42°C in May, forcing planners to install expensive air-conditioned—dramatically increasing costs.

“Clients may have already budgeted a certain amount for décor and infrastructure, but shifting venues often pushes costs up significantly,” Ramnani said.

Why the Middle East became a wedding hotspot

Industry players say the Middle East became a favourite destination for Indian weddings due to its world-class hospitality infrastructure.

“The region marketed itself extremely well—from Dubai and Abu Dhabi to Oman, Bahrain and Doha,” Thyagarajan said.

Luxury hotels in the Gulf often have 250-plus rooms, making them ideal for large Indian weddings that bring together extended families and guests from multiple countries.

Connectivity also played a major role.

“For Indian families travelling with elderly relatives, destinations that are four hours away by flight are extremely convenient,” Thyagarajan said. “That’s where the Middle East had a strong advantage: hospitality, food, and connectivity.”

Wedding planners say once geopolitical tensions ease, the Middle East could regain its appeal for large Indian celebrations.