High-end cars, floral decor, 400 guests:  Kashmir set for `Made in Heaven’ style destination wedding 

Srinagar:  For a change, paradise is all set to witness `Made in Heaven’ style destination wedding this weekend.

Several top hotels have been fully booked for the big fat wedding. A hotelier said almost all luxury rooms had been booked in different hotels for the grand wedding.

“Around 300 to 400 rooms have been booked in different hotels including for this weekend in connection with a Wedding. The Grand Lalit and Taj by Vivanta are fully booked for the weekend and rooms have also been booked in the Vintage, ITC hotels, etc. A few rooms have been booked at the Radisson too. Though several destination weddings have taken place in Kashmir of late, the upcoming one is a big wedding and marks the return of destination weddings to Kashmir,”  he said.

He said holding fat destination weddings augured well for the tourism sector in Kashmir. “It is a good sign for the tourism sector that revived majorly this year. Kashmir has always remained the most preferred destination for domestic tourists and now the Valley is becoming the most preferred wedding destination in the country. This will add another feather in the cap of the tourism sector as the government too is focussing on attracting high-end tourists through a range of activities,” he said.

Almost all luxury taxis have been booked and orders for flowers have been placed. “This weekend we will see a bonus for all players. So many guests will visit, eat, and shop.  it’s a win-win for us,”  said a tourism department official,

A wedding planner said Kashmir is not only emerging as a perfect destination wedding location but also a go-to place for pre-wedding shoots.

“Kashmir has witnessed quite a few destination weddings of late. When such weddings are held, guests come too and for them, hotels are booked and they also go sightseeing. Usually, these destination weddings are high profile and bring high-end tourists. At the same time, so many couples come here for pre-wedding photo shoots,” he said.

He said the trend is going to increase in the coming days as these pre-wedding shoots are done by professional photographers, who are very popular on social media. “When they do pre-wedding shoots, they post photographs on social media and as a result, more couples get encouraged to come to Kashmir for these shoots,” he said.