Destination Hindu Wedding Costs & Logistics Guide

When a resort holds rooms for your wedding dates, the contract includes an attrition clause — usually 75% to 80% occupancy. That means the family guarantees that 75–80% of the blocked rooms will actually be booked by guests. Every unbooked room night below that line becomes a bill the family pays, often at full rack rate, before the wedding even starts.

The risk is real because our guests book differently. Families wait for visa confirmations, school holidays, and — honestly — for the couple's parents to confirm dates out loud. If 40 rooms go unreserved and your attrition line is 80%, the shortfall is not the resort's problem. It is a line item on your final invoice.

Three strategies prevent that exposure:

• Start small, expand later. Sign a smaller guaranteed block and add rooms as RSVPs confirm. Adding rooms is almost always easier than removing liability.
• Get the cutoff and the numbers in writing. The cutoff date, the attrition percentage, the per-night penalty, and who collects guest deposits all belong in the proposal you sign — not in a sales call.
• Give guests one simple booking path. Most attrition shortfalls happen because guests booked elsewhere or waited too long. One shared booking link, one deadline, one reminder schedule.

The full mechanics — building assignments, elder-friendly floors, day passes — are covered in the Mexico room-block guide and the South Asian family room-block guide.

United States: shipments valued over $800 USD lose the personal exemption (Section 321) and pay import tariffs that typically run 6% to 18% depending on the fabric and construction — silk garments sit at the higher end, cotton and synthetics lower. The assessment is made by US Customs and Border Protection on the declared value and classification.

Canada: there is no low-value relief for wedding textiles. Shipments incur full GST/HST plus standard textile tariffs of up to 18% regardless of value, and brokerage fees stack on top. Budget the landed cost before you order, not after the courier texts you.

The country-specific breakdowns — including brokerage, GST/HST on Canadian deliveries, and realistic timelines — are in the US shipping and customs guide and the Canada service and customs overview.

Yes — with the resort's written approval and, in most cases, a fee. Outside vendor passes typically run $150 to $1,000 per vendor per day, depending on the property, the vendor type, and the event. A Maharaj attending one ceremony is a different cost than a photographer crew covering four days; get each one itemized.

Three rules keep this from becoming a surprise invoice:

• Every outside vendor goes on one written list — name, role, dates, and hours on site. Vendors on the property more than four hours often trigger vendor meal charges too.
• Ask about night-stay waivers directly. Some properties waive or reduce pass fees if the vendor books a room night; others discount for multi-day crews. None of it is offered unless you ask for it in writing.
• Confirm the Maharaj's requirements early. Ceremony timing, a small mandap space, and whether fire rituals are permitted outdoors are resort-policy questions — confirm them in the banquet documentation, and reconfirm at the tasting.

The vendor-by-vendor question list is in questions to ask Gujarati wedding vendors before you book.