Lucknow, Feb 12 : The bridegroom rode in on a 'Rath', wearing a golden crown instead of the traditional headgear and sherwani was replaced by dhoti-kurta.

The new chartbuster 'Ram aayenge' played in the background, giving the Bollywood chartbusters a miss.

The bride, for a change, covered her face with a long 'ghoonghat' and most guests thought they had entered a wrong venue until realisation struck - they were attending a Ram-themed wedding.

After the opening of the Ram temple in Ayodhya last month, this wedding season is marked by a huge demand for 'Treta Yug' weddings.

"We had anticipated something like this but not at this scale. Almost every third wedding is based on the Ram theme. People want weddings to be a pious and spiritual event instead of a boisterous celebration," said Pihu Kohil, a wedding planner.

Explaining the 'new look' weddings, she said, "The decor has a royal feel and the stage is usually set up like a palace, illuminated with diyas, where the modern 'swayamvar' (exchange of garlands) takes place. Statuettes and temple models dominate the venue while the groom and the bride also wear traditional attire.'

Exotic flowers like orchids are replaced with traditional marigold strings and the gifts exchanged during the wedding ceremonies are mostly gold and silver coins, embossed with images of Ram and Sita.

Wedding invitations politely mention the dress code as "traditional" which means that off-shoulder gowns and backless dresses should be avoided.

The waiters, serving at the wedding, are made to wear dhoti-kurta with a prominent "tilak".

The food, expectedly, is vegetarian and carbonated drinks are replaced with 'sherbats that are infused with dry fruits and saffron to ward off the cold weather.

The wedding planner, however, said that this craze for Ram-themed weddings had not taken the fun away from weddings completely.

"People are also simultaneously having pre-wedding cocktails, bachelor parties and post wedding celebrations where the guest can savour a wide range of cuisines and get high," she said.

/IANS