West Asia conflict casts shadow on Gulf's glittering wedding season

Rising West Asia tensions disrupt Dubai's booming destination wedding season, leaving Indian families stranded and millions in bookings on hold

An Uttar Pradesh couple’s dream of a wedding photoshoot at the iconic Burj Khalifa has turned into an unexpected ordeal. The couple, along with five relatives, travelled to Dubai on February 27 and were to return on March 2. Their account, circulating on social media platforms, shows that instead, they now remain stranded amid the escalating conflict between Iran and Israel. 

They are not alone. 

With Gulf countries emerging as popular destinations for Indian weddings and pre-wedding shoots, the March-April season had seen a flurry of bookings. Now, uncertainty looms large. 

“I had two weddings planned in April in Dubai. But now, everyone is sceptical about it,” says Rajesh Satankar, founder of Mumbai-based wedding photography company Knottingbells. One of these weddings was scheduled for April 19-21 at the Emirates Palace. “The families, from Kolkata, have put those plans on hold.” 

For Dubai-based MGM Events, the immediate concern is guests who had already arrived. “The guests had come early, around February 27, with the intention of having a small vacation,” says Pawan Mirchandani, proprietor of MGM Events. The bride and groom were travelling on March 3 from Mumbai. “Now, the wedding is cancelled and the guests are stuck here.” 

Jardel Silva, CEO of Dubai-based Eventchic Designs, says the lack of clarity has stalled confirmed projects. 

“Unfortunately, all of our upcoming events have either been cancelled or postponed indefinitely,” he says. At this stage, the company has no clear visibility on when projects will resume as decisions are largely dependent on security developments and international travel advisories. 

Beyond Dubai and Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Doha, Muscat, and Fujairah, which have witnessed tremendous growth as wedding destinations in recent times, have also been impacted, the event management companies say. 

According to a study by Future Market Insights, the Gulf Cooperation Council destination wedding sector is projected to reach $9.5 billion by 2036, up from $4.0 billion in 2026, expanding at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.9 per cent. Industry players had attributed the boom to the expansion of five-star properties and relatively competitive pricing compared to destinations such as Italy, Greece and Vietnam. 

For now, all such projections are on hold. 

While some families have cancelled or put off the plans, others have shifted celebrations back home. A couple from Ludhiana, scheduled to wed in Dubai in the second week of March, is reported to have relocated the event to Chandigarh. Guests had already booked tickets and the hosts had arranged a two-day stay in Dubai. 

Mirchandani says his team is now exploring alternatives. “We are planning to travel to India to assess if the wedding can take place there,” he says, adding that flights are currently limited. Though Dubai and Abu Dhabi remain safe, visible fireworks have added to the anxiety, he adds. 

The financial impact is substantial. “Hotels are being cooperative and refunding some amount, but we had called artistes from other countries. Those payments were made by the families,” Mirchandani says. Satankar estimates that for March-April weddings, nearly 80 per cent of payments had already been made. In some late-April cases, guests have cancelled attendance. “The scepticism is not limited to the hosts. The guests are also cancelling their plans,” he says.

 

Silva says while enquiries continue, confirmations have stalled. “People are understandably hesitant to commit in such an unpredictable environment. This makes long-term planning challenging, particularly for destination weddings,” he adds.

 

Despite the disruption, wedding planners remain optimistic. “The March-April season will see the impact, but things should get normal by the next peak time in November. We have November weddings lined up from northern Dubai and Singapore,” says Mirchandani.

 

Walid Baz, founder of Dubai-based Bazevents, believes the setback is temporary. “Not only are we hosting Indian weddings in the coming months, we are also travelling to India for some weddings. Once travel opens up, a lot of the problems will be solved,” he says, adding that none of his commitments have been cancelled, though many have been postponed.

 

For now, however, the Gulf’s glittering wedding season remains in limbo, as the ripples of geopolitical tensions spread to one of India’s most celebration-driven industries.