Celebrity Weddings

From A Glittering Punjabi Ceremony In Mombasa To A Do-It-Yourself Affair On A Secluded Beach In Goa, Aarti Kapur Finds That Celebrity Destination Weddings Are Not What You Imagined

- Aarti Kapur

Neil Nitin Mukesh & Rukmini Sahay Udaipur, February 9, 2017

Legendary designer Gianni Versace once remarked, “Royalty comes from what you do.” Perhaps this is what Neil Nitin Mukesh had in mind when he set out to fulfil his fiancé Rukmini’s wedding fantasy. And what better place to choose for the four-day-long festivities than Udaipur, that bastion of the Rajputs, that Venice of the East.

Though he would have preferred a simple civil ceremony, Neil gave in to the general family sentiment of a big celebration. “At first we thought that the venue would be Mumbai, considering Rukmini and I are both from there. In any case, I wanted a relaxed and close-knit affair. It so happened that my dad [the singer Nitin Mukesh] was performing in Udaipur and he saw the Radisson Blu there. He called me over from Delhi and said that this was the only place where a destination wedding could happen.”

Emphasising the mélange of culture, history and traditions that exists in Udaipur, Neil says, “I have always believed that while traditions must not be forgotten, it is fine to be influenced by Western culture. That was perhaps why I was not in favour of just another beach wedding. The idea was to have a big party for three days, and have all the guests together in a relaxed, holiday mood. Udaipur was also the best possible venue considering I have friends and family there. If I were to have a destination wedding, it just had to be royal. And what better venue than in the city of the royals.” The wedding guests that came into Udaipur (all 500 of them) stayed under one roof —the Radisson Blu Palace Resort & Spa—during the four-day party that was Neil’s wedding.