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FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 2009
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India Mega Weddings Go Global

Families spend millions bringing traditional ceremonies to exotic locations

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(Newser) – India's wealthy elite have started taking their famously lavish wedding ceremonies on the road. Luxury hotels in locations like Macau, Thailand, and France compete fiercely to host the giant weddings, which often involve hundreds of guests and support staff flown in for a ceremony and celebrations that can last up to 5 days. One recent Indian wedding in Macau cost $5 million and required 60 chefs.

"It is not keeping up with the Joneses but keeping ahead of them—'Eat your heart out, Joneses, you pretenders!'" an Indian author tells the Wall Street Journal. One traditional trapping of an Indian wedding that families struggle to find abroad is an elephant for the groom to ride in on. The Macau party eventually settled for a horse after being told that only circuses were allowed to import elephants.

Models display creations by designer Raj Mehtani during the Marriage-n-Vouge wedding collection fashion show in Calcutta, India.
Models display creations by designer Raj Mehtani during the Marriage-n-Vouge wedding collection fashion show in Calcutta, India.   (AP Photo/Bikas Das)
An elephant is painted for a tradition Indian wedding.
An elephant is painted for a tradition Indian wedding.   (©mbostock)
The groom and the bride meet on the dais for the first time in a traditional Indian wedding ceremony.
The groom and the bride meet on the dais for the first time in a traditional Indian wedding ceremony.   (Shutter Stock)
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If there was a large enough rocket and spaceship, you can be sure that the first big wedding in space will be an Indian one. - Indian author Sudhir Kaka

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4 comments
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riffran
Sep 25, 09 2:15 AM CDT
uhhhh nice hat dude..lol Reply
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radnip
Sep 25, 09 2:16 AM CDT
Good to know the megarich/poor dichotomy exists not just in the U.S. (Just noticing the contrast this makes with those kids in Slumdog Millionaire) Reply
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IN RESPONSE:
2-bits
Sep 25, 09 8:29 AM CDT
True, but Indians tend to spend more on weddings because they tend to get married only once. I think the divorce rate there is something like 1%.
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IN RESPONSE:
Mr.C
Sep 27, 09 8:30 PM CDT
US still has the biggest gap.
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