A Wedding in Two Locations: How To Plan An Epic Saga

A Kochi bride, a Mumbai groom. A Jersey girl and Delhi boy. Different cities, landscapes, customs and traditions bonded together with everlasting vows. Sounds romantic, doesn’t it? But like every romantic story, there are twists and turns, especially when it comes to planning the wedding ceremony. Holding a wedding in two locations can be fun, exciting and taxing. But it doesn’t have to be. With a little planning and our suggestions, you can have the best of both worlds for your '2-States' wedding:

Planning A Wedding In Two Locations

Count the Accounts:

Planning a wedding in two locations needs solid, financial planning. The expenses that need to be taken into consideration before you finalise your budget would be:

• Travel and stay expenses
• Number of guests
• Wedding return gifts
• Wedding catering
• Wedding venue
• Wedding decor
• Wedding photography
• Bridal makeup artists & stylists
• All other required vendors

Discuss and decide amongst both the families on how you would share the expenses for a smoother ride. You could also take professional help and consult a wedding planner to simplify your task.  

Do your homework:

Read, browse and learn well about every detail about your wedding locations. That means deep research on the weather conditions, terrain and rain forecasts before you plan your wedding. Communicate clearly with the vendors about the availability of venues for wedding events. Know about the local cuisines and the best available wedding caterers available there. Make your wedding menu accordingly (for reference, here’s a plan for an Indian summer wedding). If the two locations have different climatic or altitude settings, make sure you convey your guests to come prepared accordingly.

Share the events:

Here’s an idea that almost halves your burden. Instead of repeating the events on both the places, how about you distribute them over the locations? Organise your Haldi and Mehndi at a beach-side resort and Roka, Sagaai and Sangeet at a homey cottage; Exotic cocktail party at the Vineyards; Get married at a houseboat in the backwaters and throw your reception and bachelor’s/bachelorette pool parties at a luxury resort in the suburbs. And then spread them across your two core locations. Make your wedding in two locations an epic story filled with diversified adventures.

Know the rites, norms and customs:

Planning a wedding in two locations could also mean knowing two different kinds of customs and rituals; especially if it’s an inter-regional wedding. Make sure you all understand each other and are on the same page. Sit with both the families and have an open discussion on each and every customs that are to be considered. Some of the important points to remember while discussing are:

• Muhurat/Muhurtha (the auspicious wedding date and time)
• Floral arrangements - For the decor and your jaimalas (You may consider different jaimala designs too)
• Return gifts or Trousseaus for the relatives
• The wedding pandit or priest who’d be solemnising your marriage
• Traditional wedding outfits and accessories for both the families
• Food and drinks-e.g. if alcohol or non-veg fare is permitted by both the families
• The number of wedding ceremonies and which ones. For example: Do you want your Mehndi and Sangeet separately, together or not at all
• Expenses to be incurred while hosting wedding events in both the locations

Destination Weddings in two different locations:

With the advent of destination weddings, many couples now decide to have an exotic wedding experience. That also means a limited guest list, as all of the people they might want to include, would not be able to come to the chosen site.

In this case, they decide to hold a few functions in their home city - it could be a Roka, an engagement, an after-party or a reception. This also involves planning for two different locations - planning the wedding budget, organisational aspects, deciding on your wedding guest list for both the locations and then ensuring that it’s executed smoothly. For more details read our piece on How To Plan A Destination Wedding.

Always remember

A marriage conjugates not just two people, but two families together in an eternal bond. And if you’re planning your wedding at two different places, you might just end up having twice as much fun. Exploit the chance of getting clicked in different regional wedding outfits and bridal jewellery; Dance to different kinds of tunes on your Sangeet for a refreshing change; Try out two different kinds of fun and playful customs with your sisters and brothers in law. Relax and Enjoy the Double fun in your wedding across two locations.

If you have had a wedding experience in two different locations (not just your own), the let us know about it in the comments below.