Before you fall in love with a photograph
Guest numbers: the single biggest decision. An island terrace that is perfect for a small wedding is impossible for a very large one.
Dates: Hindu weddings follow auspicious dates set by a priest, and on the busiest of them every venue in Rajasthan is booked at once.
- Question one
- How many guests, honestly?
- Question two
- Which months, and which dates?
- Question three
- How far can your oldest guest travel?
- Question four
- Exclusive use, or shared with others?
- Travel time: a venue three hours from the airport means three hours for every aunt and grandparent, twice.
- Exclusive use: taking a whole property makes the guests feel at home. Sharing it in high season can mean another wedding next door.
- Rooms nearby: a grand venue with few rooms needs a second or third hotel close by, and transfers between them.
- Weather back-up: every outdoor event needs a covered alternative, even in the driest month.
- The full picture: our page on destination weddings covers ceremonies, legal rules and lead times.
Udaipur, the lake city
The City Palace complex
What it offers: courtyards and halls within the City Palace that can be booked for celebrations, above Lake Pichola.
- Stay beside it: Shiv Niwas Palace and Fateh Prakash Palace, whose Durbar Hall is one of the grandest rooms in Rajasthan.
- Bear in mind: a working palace and museum, with its own rules on decoration, lighting and timings.
Jag Mandir, the island
What it offers: the terraces and garden court of Jag Mandir, begun about 1620, reached only by boat.
- Best for: receptions, sangeets and smaller ceremonies with a view of the whole city.
- Bear in mind: every guest needs a boat, in both directions, and the evening breeze needs planning.
The lake hotels
Taj Lake Palace: the island palace of 1743 to 1746, intimate and unforgettable.
- The Oberoi Udaivilas and The Leela Palace Udaipur: modern palace-style hotels on the western shore, with gardens and views of the City Palace.
- Raffles Udaipur: a private island in Udai Sagar east of the city, for couples who want seclusion.
Around Udaipur
- RAAS Devigarh: a marble hill palace about 28 kilometres north-east of the city, superb for exclusive smaller weddings.
- Deogarh Mahal: a noble's painted palace about three hours north, for a personal celebration.
Jaipur, the garden palaces
Rambagh Palace
- What it offers: the former royal residence of Man Singh II and Gayatri Devi, a hotel since 1957, with Mughal gardens and lawns made for receptions.
- Best for: grand, classic weddings with royal history.
Jai Mahal Palace
- What it offers: an old residence of Jaipur's prime ministers in about eighteen acres of Mughal gardens.
- Best for: garden ceremonies and calmer celebrations a short drive from the old city.
The modern palaces
- Where: The Leela Palace Jaipur, Fairmont Jaipur and The Oberoi Rajvilas.
- Best for: large guest lists, easy logistics and good wet-weather back-up, with less history.
The old city havelis
- Where: Samode Haveli inside the walled city, and The Raj Palace just north of it.
- Best for: smaller weddings in painted and mirrored rooms full of character.
Jodhpur, the blue city
Umaid Bhawan Palace: built between 1929 and 1943, one of the last great palaces of princely India, with terraces and lawns facing the city. It has hosted some of the country's most celebrated weddings.
Mehrangarh: some courtyards of the fort can be arranged for private events through its trust, with the whole city lit below.
- Bal Samand Lake Palace: a seventeenth-century palace beside an older lake, in an estate of orchards north of the city. Lovely for garden celebrations.
- RAAS Jodhpur: a restored haveli below the fort, for intimate celebrations in the old city.
- Nearby forts: family-run houses such as Rohet Garh for a smaller wedding with horses and village life.
- Bear in mind: the old city lanes are narrow, so baraats and transfers need careful routing.
Jaisalmer and the Thar
Suryagarh: a modern fort hotel in Jaisalmer sandstone on the Sam road, built with celebrations in mind, with courtyards and pools.
The Serai: SUJAN's tented camp on a private estate east of Jaisalmer, for small weddings among dunes and scrub.
- The dunes themselves: a ceremony at sunset with a camp nearby, for adventurous couples and flexible guests.
- The music: Manganiyar and Langa singers from the Thar, whose families have sung at weddings for generations. See the Manganiyar singers.
- Bear in mind: winter nights are very cold, distances are long and flights are limited. Many guests come via Jodhpur.
- More: our guide to luxury desert camps.
Forts and palaces in the countryside
Samode Palace: an hour from Jaipur, with a painted Durbar Hall, a Sheesh Mahal and terraces above the village. The family still runs it.
Alila Fort Bishangarh: a warrior fort on a granite hill north of Jaipur, dramatic and private.
- Neemrana Fort-Palace: a terraced fort between Delhi and Jaipur, convenient for guests flying into Delhi.
- Castle Mandawa: the eighteenth-century fort at the heart of a painted town, for a wedding among frescoes.
- Khimsar Fort: a fort begun in 1523 with dunes nearby, between Jodhpur and Nagaur.
- Bear in mind: smaller properties have fewer rooms, so a large guest list may need two or three hotels nearby.
- Our guide: heritage hotels explained explains the different kinds of house.
For small and intimate weddings
An island evening: a small ceremony on a Jag Mandir terrace, with dinner afterwards under the stars.
A hill palace taken whole: RAAS Devigarh or Alila Fort Bishangarh, with every room filled by your own people.
- A family-run fort: Deogarh Mahal, Rohet Garh or Samode Palace, where the hosts treat the wedding party as house guests.
- A haveli in the old city: painted rooms and a rooftop in Jaipur, with the walled city as your backdrop.
- Why small works here: you can take over places that a large wedding never could, and every guest gets the best room.
- Read more: our journal on staying with a royal family describes the family-run houses.
Choosing the kind of venue
Palace hotels
- Pleasures: history, polished service and rooms for guests under one roof.
- Watch for: the best are booked very early, and in high season you may share them unless you take the whole property.
Heritage forts and havelis
- Pleasures: character, exclusive use and the feel of a family home.
- Watch for: fewer rooms, varied sizes and steep stairs for older guests.
Island and lakeside venues
- Pleasures: unmatched romance and views.
- Watch for: boats for every guest, careful timing and a plan for wind.
Royal courtyards that are not hotels
- Pleasures: a palace or fort courtyard for one unforgettable evening.
- Watch for: permissions, curfews and strict rules on decoration and fixings.
Modern luxury resorts
- Pleasures: the easiest logistics, large lawns and ballrooms and the best wet-weather back-up.
- Watch for: less history. We often add one evening at a heritage venue nearby.
Desert camps
- Pleasures: privacy, silence and stars.
- Watch for: limited numbers, cold winter nights and long transfers.
What we look at on a site visit
The walk from the car: how far, how many steps and how lit, for grandparents in the dark.
The kitchen: can it cook for your numbers, and can it cook Rajasthani food properly?
- The power and the generators: lights, sound and heaters on a winter night all depend on them.
- The neighbours: a palace in a residential lane has different noise limits from one in open country.
- The wet-weather plan: where the mandap goes if it rains, and how fast it can move.
- The baraat route: where the horse and the band can walk, and where the groom's family can dance.
- The quiet room: somewhere for older guests, small children and the bride to rest between ceremonies.
- The rules: candles, nails, fixings, fireworks, drones and closing times, in writing.
Using more than one venue
A classic Udaipur shape: mehndi in a palace courtyard, sangeet on Jag Mandir, the pheras on a lakeside lawn and a farewell brunch on a terrace.
A Jaipur shape: haldi in the gardens of your hotel, a reception at Rambagh and a last-night dinner at a fort in the hills.
- Why it works: each evening has its own mood, and guests see more of the city.
- Why it can fail: too many transfers. We keep to one move a day, and never for older guests late at night.
- The ceremonies themselves: our journal on Rajput weddings explained walks through pithi, mehndi, the baraat, the pheras and vidaai.
Rules every venue works within
Noise: many venues set curfews earlier than the law. We plan the loudest moments for the early evening and move late parties indoors.
Fireworks: we often suggest lamps, music and lights instead, which suit old buildings better anyway.
- Amplified music
- Restricted late at night, usually from 10 pm
- Fireworks
- Need permission, banned near many heritage sites
- Alcohol
- Licence needed, not on dry days
- Drones
- Registration and permission required
- Protected monuments
- Strict rules, many not usable at all
- Alcohol: served through the venue's licence, never on government dry days, and not at all in holy towns such as Pushkar. See dry days and alcohol.
- Heritage fabric: palaces that host weddings have their own rules on candles, nails and fixings. They protect walls that are centuries old.
- Animals: we don't use elephants, camels as props or captive animal shows. Baraat horses come from handlers we know, and they are never worked in the heat.
- Legal marriage: foreign couples usually marry legally at home and celebrate here. Our destination weddings page explains why.
Seasons and dates
October to March: the wedding season, with warm days, cool evenings and golden light. November, December and February are the most popular.
December and January: cold nights, especially in the desert. Outdoor evenings need heaters, shawls and an indoor alternative.
- April to June: very hot. We suggest indoor celebrations, or the hills.
- The monsoon: July to September brings green hills, especially around Udaipur, and uncertain outdoor plans.
- Auspicious dates: a family priest sets the muhurat. Many families avoid the monsoon months until Dev Uthani Ekadashi in October or November, and a period around mid-December to mid-January.
- Busy weeks: Diwali, Christmas, New Year and the Pushkar fair push up demand for hotels and flights. See our best time to visit guide.
How far ahead to book
Eighteen to twelve months: choose the season, city and venue, confirm the dates and hold the main block of rooms.
Twelve to nine months: caterers, priests and officiants, photographers, musicians and decoration. Save-the-dates go out with travel guidance.
- Palace wedding
- Twelve to eighteen months
- Most weddings
- Nine to eighteen months
- Smaller weddings
- Sometimes six to nine months
- Invitations
- Four to six months before
- Six to four months: invitations, guest transfers and excursions, menus, outfits and fittings.
- The last two months: numbers, rooming lists and the run of each day, with every supplier confirmed again.
- Smaller weddings: up to about forty guests can sometimes come together in six to nine months, outside peak dates.
Making any venue feel Rajasthani
Flowers from the market: marigolds, roses and jasmine, strung by local flower sellers, rather than imported blooms.
Fabric, not plastic: bandhani and leheriya drapes, block-printed canopies and brass lamps, made by Rajasthani craftspeople.
- The feast: laal maas, dal baati churma, ker sangri, gatte and kachori, with a live counter of Jaipur or Jodhpur street food.
- The welcome: nagara drummers at the gate and a turban station where every man has a safa tied for the baraat.
- The music: Manganiyar singers, Kalbelia dancers and a brass band for the baraat. See folk music and dance.
- Leaving it better: local suppliers paid fairly and promptly, flowers composted or donated, and surplus food sent where it can be used safely. Our page on travelling responsibly explains.
Looking after the guests
Arrivals: most international guests fly into Delhi and connect to Udaipur, Jaipur or Jodhpur. Our airports and flights guide explains the routes.
A welcome: a note, a programme and a local sweet in every room.
- What to wear: a guide for each ceremony, with turban tying and sari dressing on the day. See turban tying.
- Between ceremonies: gentle outings, such as a boat on Pichola, a morning at Amber Fort or a cooking class.
- Older guests and children: rooms near the main venues, quiet spaces and cars waiting after every event. Our multi-generation journeys page explains.
- After the wedding: many guests stay on. We build short journeys for them, and a honeymoon for the two of you. See Rajasthan honeymoon ideas.
Which city suits which couple
Udaipur: for romance above all, and couples happy to plan around boats and a smaller guest list on the water.
Jaipur: for choice, easy flights and large guest lists, with palaces, gardens and modern hotels side by side.
- Jodhpur: for grandeur and drama, with one great palace and a fort above the city.
- The Thar: for adventure, silence and stars, with flexible guests.
- The countryside: for exclusive use and a three-day house party in a fort or painted palace.
- Still deciding?: our vow renewals page is for couples coming back years later, and our palace hotels guide compares the great houses.