Atreyee Poddar
By the time your cousin’s best friend’s dog walker has tied the knot at the Lake Palace, the “destination wedding” idea has officially gone stale. Jaipur is over-booked, Goa is groaning under its own hashtags, and even Mussoorie is starting to look like a backdrop from Hum Saath Saath Hain. So, the smart couples are heading off the beaten baraat path. Here are five under-the-radar Indian destinations quietly rewriting the wedding rulebook.
Everyone runs to Darjeeling for their North eastern fix and ends up elbowing honeymooners for a window seat. Kalimpong is an hour away and infinitely calmer. It has crumbling colonial bungalows with better stories than your relatives, and a unhurried charm. Weddings here don’t need a hundred kilos of marigold, just a view of the Teesta curling below, and guests who can survive the hairpin drive up are enough.
A temple-studded coastline straight out of a historical fever dream. The stone carvings are older than most civilisations, but the vibe? Contemporary coastal luxe. Imagine pheras by the Shore Temple, sundowners on the beach, and a sea breeze that smells like salt and history. This isn’t Goa, it doesn't need to be.
If Manali has become the Las Vegas of hill weddings, Palampur is its poetic opposite with tea gardens, snow-dusted peaks, and a slower rhythm that makes romance believable again. The town still blushes at attention, which is exactly the point. A few boutique resorts have clocked on, but for now, it’s a place where weddings still feel personal.
You’ve seen the pink façades and palatial selfies. Kukas sits just 25 minutes away but feels like another century, minus the crowds. Heritage hotels here are all marble courtyards and candlelit lawns, but without the destination-tax markup of their city cousins. It’s for couples who want Rajasthan’s royal flair without elbowing another bridal party out of the lobby.
Part open-air museum, part fever dream, Mandawa’s painted havelis offer the kind of visual drama even your most jaded guests will post about. There’s colour, chaos, character — and crucially, space. The Shekhawati region hasn’t been hijacked by influencers yet, so you can actually hear your own vows echo through centuries of frescoes.