Stealing the Show

If you cruise down the road around dinnertime, it is easy to spot three, if not more, party venues decked up in ferry lights and with guests steering into the driveway. The latest to join the plush venues is Vista Delhi that opened its jumbo metallic doors last month and has been busy hosting a series of parties. Aya Nagar, close to Gurgaon border, got its first hotel-cum-convention centre with Claremont, followed by Lutyens on MG Road. While the officials at most of these posh venues insist that they are mostly booked for corporate events and product-launch parties, people, especially from south Delhi, have often donned their gold and glittering gems to attend wedding bashes there.

Sanam Ahuja of Vista Delhi says, 8220;With our proximity to south Delhi and Gurgaon, the bookings are a mix of events. A lot of private corporate events take place here, especially if the company plans to have over 100 guests.8221; Ahuja says the venue is booked for 15 days in November when the wedding season peaks. On offer are 20 rooms and a banquet hall so far. Within a month, a pub called Sundowner and a 24215;7 coffee shop called Fork It will be launched. 8220;There are over a lakh commuters that take the MG Road, so it is important to offer eating joints,8221; he adds.

Cappuccino may be affordable there, but hosting a party is not. If you choose from their pre-designed menus, the rates for a non-vegetarian meal varies between Rs 950 and Rs 1,200 per head. Add-ons come with extra charges. Also, if you want some drinks to go, the rates tend to vary between Rs 1,200 and Rs 5,500 per head for foreign brands to keep flowing for a three-hour serving. 8220;People prefer venues like ours because we offer well-appointed rooms, specialty restaurants and neatly landscaped gardens,8221; says Ahuja.

Apart from two banquet halls, the poolside at Claremont can easily accommodate 70 guests for a private party. A few blocks away, Tivoli Garden in Chhattarpur is booked for the next month. 8220;Hosts look for a venue where they can spend time with their relatives. Our banquets are packed between November 18 and 26, with three functions lined up everyday,8221; says Rohit Gupta, chairman, Tivoli Group. The Daffodils hotel, Tivoli8217;s another venture in the neighbourhood, too, is choc-a-bloc with sangeet, bachelor8217;s nights and reception parties, adds Gupta. 8220;There is a scarcity of wedding venues in the city. More and more people are opting for motels and convention halls in the suburbs,8221; he says. The unique selling points of the venue are the two rail coaches bought from the Railway Board. Now, experiments are under way to convert a double-decker bus into a double-occupancy room.

Well, as usual, the traffic might get nightmarish when the shehnai plays, but then Delhi pulls out all the stops when it comes to wedding in style.