Suryagarh Jaisalmer: Planning a Desert Wedding Like Kiara and Sidharth’s

Last updated: 1 November 2026 · By the TurtlePic Team

A Suryagarh Jaisalmer wedding means a sandstone hotel in the Thar Desert, a short drive from Jaisalmer city, and it is where Kiara Advani and Sidharth Malhotra got married in February 2023. Since then, many couples have asked the same thing: can we plan a desert wedding like that, and what will it really take?

Quick answer: Kiara Advani and Sidharth Malhotra married at Suryagarh, Jaisalmer, on 7 February 2023. Reported estimates for a full wedding there range from about ₹70 lakh to ₹1.5 crore or more for around 200 guests, so ask the venue for a current quote. The best months for a Jaisalmer wedding are November to February, when days are mild and flights run.

This guide covers what is publicly known about the wedding, then the useful part: costs, dates, rooms, travel, similar venues and a planning timeline you can follow.

Where did Kiara Advani get married?

Kiara Advani and Sidharth Malhotra married at Suryagarh in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, on Tuesday, 7 February 2023. The couple shared the news on Instagram after the ceremony. Earlier reports had named 6 February, but the wedding took place on the 7th. Two larger receptions followed later in Delhi and Mumbai.

Here is what was reported about the Kiara Advani wedding at the venue, according to WeddingSutra’s coverage of the Kiara–Sidharth wedding at Suryagarh:

• Two days of functions, each in a different part of the property: a welcome lunch in the courtyard, the sangeet on the Sunset Patio, haldi between the havelis, mehndi outdoors, the wedding at the Bawdi (a stepwell-style space) and a reception on the Celebration Lawns.
• Close friends and family only. Guests were asked to leave their phones in their rooms or with security during the ceremony.
• A professional team handled planning, decor, lighting, music and photography, with outfits by Manish Malhotra.

What a normal couple can take from this: one venue, many spaces. Moving each function to a new corner of the same property gives you variety without moving guests between hotels. That idea works at almost any budget.

What is Suryagarh Jaisalmer like?

Many people search for it as Suryagarh Palace Jaisalmer, but Suryagarh is a modern hotel built in the style of an old fort, in golden sandstone, on Sam Road at Kahala Phata, outside Jaisalmer city. It is not a historic palace. It was built to look like one.

Spaces you will hear about when you enquire (names from the hotel’s official website and wedding listings):

• Celebration Lawn / Celebration Garden: the largest outdoor space. One listing puts it at about 800 seated and 1,200 standing.
• Lakeside and Sunset Patio: mid-size outdoor spaces, listed at about 400 and 300 seated.
• The Bawdi: a stepwell-style courtyard, the kind of setting used for the pheras in 2023.
• Central Courtyard: used for dinners.
• Smaller spaces such as a hall and a garden for 100 or so, good for a mehndi or a family puja.

The hotel also offers experiences that work well as wedding add-ons, such as dinners on the dunes, a picnic at an oasis and sundowners at Kuldhara nearby. Ask whether these can be booked for a group.

Suryagarh Jaisalmer wedding cost: what has been reported

There is no public price list. The figures below come from news reports, a wedding listing and a planner’s blog. They disagree with each other, and several are from 2023, so treat them as a starting point only.

What this means: for a two-day wedding with most guests staying on site, expect to land at the upper end of these ranges, or above, once decor, entertainment, travel and photography are added. Prices change with the season, the day of the week and the menu. The only reliable number is a written quote from the venue for your dates and guest count.

Before you call, put your own numbers into a wedding budget calculator. It splits your budget by category and by function, and shows your cost per guest, so you know quickly whether a full buyout fits or a smaller venue makes more sense.

Questions to ask the venue for a quote

• Is the price per room per night, or a full-property buyout per day?
• How many nights is the minimum for a wedding booking?
• What is included: rooms, all meals, venue spaces, basic decor, airport transfers?
• What does each extra function cost (a dune dinner, a pool party, a late-night after-party)?
• Are outside decorators, caterers or DJs allowed, and is there a fee?
• What are the cancellation and date-change terms?

How many guests can a Suryagarh wedding hold?

The spaces can hold large crowds, but rooms are the real limit for a destination wedding.

Sources disagree on the room count: some say 83, one listing says 95. Ask the venue. Here is the simple math:

• About 83–95 rooms × 2 people per room = roughly 165–190 guests staying on site.
• Families with children, or rooms for elders who need their own space, bring that number down.
• If you invite 250 or more, book a second hotel in Jaisalmer for some guests and run shuttles. Put close family at the main venue and friends at the second hotel.

Keep a room list by family from day one. It decides your headcount more than the guest list does.

Best time for a Jaisalmer wedding

November to February is the season. Days are pleasant, roughly in the low to mid 20s °C in December and January, and rain is rare. Nights get cold, often around 9–13°C, so plan shawls, heaters and warm drinks for outdoor evening functions.

• Peak dates: December, New Year week and the popular muhurat dates book out early, and rates rise. Start a year ahead.
• October and March: warmer but workable. Hold daytime functions indoors or in shade.
• April to June: very hot. Avoid an outdoor desert wedding.
• July to September: little rain, but still hot, and Jaisalmer airport has usually been closed in these months (see below).

How guests reach Suryagarh

Travel is the biggest planning job for a Jaisalmer wedding, because the city is far from the big metros.

• By air: Jaisalmer airport runs on a winter schedule, roughly October to March. In the 2025–26 season it had direct flights to Delhi, Mumbai, Jaipur, Bengaluru and Ahmedabad, then closed for about six months. Flights are limited and fill fast around peak wedding dates, so share flight options with guests early. Check current schedules with the airlines.
• Via Jodhpur: Jodhpur is about 285 km away, a 4–5 hour drive. It is a useful backup when Jaisalmer flights are full. Arrange cars or a coach.
• By train: Jaisalmer has a railway station, handy for guests who prefer overnight trains.
• To the venue: the drive from the airport is short, but distances quoted online vary. Ask the venue for transfer times and whether they arrange airport pickups.

Tip: make one travel sheet for guests: flight options, the Jodhpur road option, pickup times, weather and what to pack. An event website is a good home for it.

Typical desert wedding ideas you can borrow

You do not need a celebrity budget to make a desert wedding feel special. These ideas work at most Jaisalmer venues:

• Sangeet at sunset: time it so the music starts as the sun goes down over the dunes.
• A dune dinner or camel-ride arrival: ask your venue about permissions and safety for events on the sand.
• Stepwell or courtyard pheras: sandstone, diyas and marigold need very little extra decor.
• Folk music: Rajasthani folk musicians for the welcome lunch or a quiet evening.
• Colours that suit the setting: sandstone gold, dune beige, marigold, rani pink, ivory and a deep green.

• Warm comfort: blankets on chairs, bonfires and kahwa or masala chai for night functions.
• Phone-free ceremony: like the 2023 wedding, you can ask guests to put phones away for the pheras. Just make sure everyone still gets their photos afterwards (more on that below).

Similar desert and Rajasthan wedding venues at different budgets

Suryagarh is not the only choice. Here are real options to compare. Ask each for a quote, because published prices are scarce.

In and around Jaisalmer

• Jaisalmer Marriott Resort & Spa: a large resort in the city. Its official events page says it provides wedding services, and its biggest space, the Oasis courtyard, holds about 600.
• SUJÁN The Serai: a luxury tented camp on a private desert estate outside Jaisalmer. Best for a very small, private wedding. SUJÁN says it hosts marriages and private celebrations.

Elsewhere in Rajasthan

• Jaipur: palaces, havelis and big hotels, often easier to reach for guests. Browse palace and heritage wedding venues in Jaipur, including names like Samode Palace, Diggi Palace, ITC Rajputana and The Leela Palace Jaipur.
• Udaipur: lakes instead of dunes. See lake palace wedding venues in Udaipur.
• More destinations: compare beach, hill and heritage options in our list of destination wedding venues across India.

If you want help with a destination wedding in Rajasthan, start with wedding planners in Jaipur, many of whom work across the state.

A 12-month timeline for a Jaisalmer destination wedding

12 months before

• Pick two or three possible dates between November and February.
• Set your budget and guest count. Shortlist two or three venues and get written quotes.
• Book the venue and block rooms.

9 months before

• Book a planner, decorator and photographer. Ask if they have worked in Jaisalmer before.
• Plan the functions and which space each one uses.

6 months before

• Send save-the-dates with the dates and city.
• Share travel options: watch for the winter flight schedule and tell guests to book early.

3 months before

• Finalise the room list by family and the second hotel, if needed.
• Book cars, coaches and airport pickups.
• Confirm menus, music and any dune or outdoor permissions.

1 month before

• Final headcount to the venue. Send guests a packing note: warm layers, comfortable shoes for sand.
• Make a day-by-day plan for every function.

After the wedding

• Get the photos to every guest quickly, while the memories are fresh.

For every task, with due dates by month and by function, use our month-by-month wedding planning checklist.

Weather and logistics tips

• Cold nights: keep heaters and shawls ready for evening functions in December and January.
• Dust and wind: secure decor, cover food stations and keep a backup indoor space.
• Sun: for daytime events outdoors, give guests shade, water and sunglasses.
• Long travel days: plan a light welcome evening, not a big party, on arrival day.
• Phone signal: coverage may be weaker out in the desert. Share key details in advance, not on the day.
• Elders: ask for rooms close to the function spaces and arrange buggies if the property is spread out.

Sharing the photos with every guest

A destination wedding means 200 guests, several functions and thousands of photos. The usual way, a huge shared folder, means guests scroll for ages to find themselves.

With TurtlePic, your photographer uploads the photos from every function, and each guest takes a selfie to see only the photos they are in, through AI face search. It works well for a phone-free ceremony too: guests can relax during the pheras and still find every photo of themselves later. Read more on how to share wedding photos with guests. There is a Free Forever plan, no credit card needed.

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