2-Day vs 3-Day Destination Wedding Itinerary – Planning Multi-Day Celebrations

The 3-Day Destination Wedding Itinerary

A three-day celebration is the true destination wedding experience. It gives each ceremony breathing room, allows guests to bond over shared activities, and creates a vacation atmosphere that elevates the entire event. This format works best at venues with on-site accommodation and is ideal for guest counts of 200-600.

Day 1: Arrival + Mehendi

• 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM: Guest arrivals and room check-in. Stagger arrival windows and have a welcome desk with hampers, property maps, and event schedules.
• 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM: Welcome lunch. Casual buffet to let guests settle in and meet each other.
• 4:00 PM - 7:00 PM: Mehendi ceremony. Relaxed afternoon format with mehendi artists, music, refreshments, and photo booths. This is the ice-breaker event where both families mingle for the first time at the venue.
• 7:30 PM - 10:00 PM: Welcome dinner. Informal sit-down or buffet dinner. Some families add a bonfire session or acoustic music night as a low-key Day 1 closer.

Day 2: Haldi + Sangeet

• 8:00 AM - 9:30 AM: Breakfast buffet for all guests.
• 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM: Haldi ceremony. Typically held on the lawn or poolside (at Wedcation). Playful, colourful, and photogenic. Have towels, change of clothes, and cleanup stations ready.
• 12:30 PM - 2:00 PM: Lunch and rest. Post-haldi cleanup for the bride and groom.
• 2:00 PM - 5:00 PM: Free time and activities. This is the destination wedding advantage. Options include: pool activities at Wedcation, guided walks of the heritage property at Heritage Palace, spa sessions, cricket matches, board games in the lounge, or a quiet siesta.
• 5:30 PM - 6:30 PM: Getting ready for sangeet. Hair, makeup, and outfit changes.
• 7:00 PM - 11:30 PM: Sangeet night. Full production: choreographed performances, professional emcee, DJ, cocktail service, and dinner. This is typically the highest-energy event of the wedding and benefits enormously from having its own dedicated evening.

Day 3: Wedding + Reception + Vidaai

• 7:00 AM - 9:00 AM: Breakfast. Final preparations and last-minute coordination.
• 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM: Bridal and groom getting-ready sessions. Photography team in both suites.
• 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM: Baraat procession and milni ceremony.
• 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM: Wedding ceremony with pheras and traditional rituals.
• 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM: Wedding lunch. Grand buffet with live counters, dessert stations, and paan counter.
• 4:30 PM - 6:30 PM: Rest period. Some guests begin departing. Couple rests before the evening.
• 7:00 PM - 11:00 PM: Reception dinner. Cocktails, couple's entrance, cake cutting, speeches, dinner service, and dancing. The closing celebration.
• 11:00 PM onwards: Vidaai ceremony (if scheduled for the evening). Alternatively, vidaai can happen the next morning with a farewell breakfast.

Best Venues for 3-Day Format

Tivoli Heritage Palace is purpose-built for three-day celebrations. Its 40+ heritage rooms keep guests on-site, the multiple event spaces (courtyards, banquet hall, lawns, terraces) allow unique settings for each ceremony, and the palace environment gives guests a living destination experience between events. Wedcation by Tivoli in Ambala is equally suited, adding pool activities and spa sessions as natural Day 2 fillers that make the resort experience integral to the wedding.

Managing Guest Fatigue and Logistics

Multi-day celebrations require careful pacing. The most common mistake is over-scheduling: filling every hour with an event leaves guests exhausted by Day 2 and disengaged by Day 3. Here are the logistics principles Tivoli's event coordinators follow.

Rest Periods Are Non-Negotiable

Build a minimum 2-hour gap between daytime and evening events. For a three-day wedding, the afternoon of Day 2 should be entirely free. Guests who want to socialise can use the pool or lounge; those who need rest can nap in their rooms. This pause recharges energy for the sangeet evening and the wedding day that follows.

Meal Planning Across Multiple Days

Meal fatigue is real when guests eat buffet-style three times a day for three days. Vary the format: Day 1 lunch can be a casual thali, Day 1 dinner a sit-down plated meal, Day 2 lunch a light salad-and-sandwich buffet, and the sangeet dinner a grand spread with live counters. Save the most elaborate menu for the wedding lunch or reception dinner. Breakfast should be consistent and generous but not overwhelming, a standard hotel-style spread with eggs, parathas, juice, and tea.

Transport Coordination

For venues outside Delhi, arrange dedicated transport. At Heritage Palace (90 km from Delhi), charter buses that depart from a central Delhi location on Day 1 morning and return after the reception on the final day. At Wedcation (200 km from Delhi), the longer drive means most guests will need to arrive the evening before Day 1, so plan a pre-arrival dinner or early check-in service. For Royal Palace Faridabad, most guests drive themselves, but arrange valet parking and a shuttle for elderly guests.

Activity Options Between Functions

For three-day weddings, Day 2 free time can include: a guided tour of the heritage property (Heritage Palace), poolside games and spa sessions (Wedcation), a cricket or badminton match on the lawn, a group cooking demonstration, board games and chai sessions, or a pre-wedding photoshoot for the couple. Having a few organised options, without making any mandatory, keeps guests engaged without adding fatigue.