Hotel tycoon Lakshyaraj Singh Mewar rides an elephant to arrive at the wedding venue in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday. Picture by Sanjib Mukherjee

Bhubaneswar, Jan. 21: Royal splendour was on full display as Nivritti Kumari Singh Deo, the daughter of Maharaja of Patnagarh and state BJP chief K.V. Singh Deo, tied the knot with prince Lakshyaraj Singh Mewar of Udaipur at a glittering ceremony at Janata Maidan here today.

While the “baraat” consisted of traditionally attired royals sporting colourful headgears and swords, the groom, riding a caparisoned elephant followed by five white horses was the centre of attraction. Clad in royal robes, embellished with jewels and wielding a sword, Lakshyaraj arrived close to the marriage venue in a vintage Rolls Royce before mounting the elephant.

Orange and pink were the dominant colours with most of baratis sporting orange turbans. Even the women hired to carry lights wore matching pink sarees. Leading the marriage procession were the drummers, who worked up a lively rhythm.

It took around half-an-hour for the “baraat” to reach the gaily decked-up marriage pavilion resembling a royal palace with multiple gates. The mandap was aglow with red and yellow lights as the marriage procession made its way through the main gate of the venue, where even the trees had been festooned with colourful lights.

The baratis and guests, who arrived amid tight security at the venue, were treated to some royal delicacies, the spread, including among other things, especially prepared crabs. There were 36 kinds of sweets apart from other dishes, including “doshas”. As many as 360 cooks were hired for the occasion with the two chief chefs coming all the way from Delhi.

Around 4,000 guests, including VVIPs such as Union minister of state for power Jyotiraditya Scindia enjoyed the royal hospitality at the venue. Sources said food packets were also being sent to Puri where some of the royal guests for the wedding were putting up. Sources said most of the hotels in Bhubaneswar and Puri had been booked for the guests.

More guests are likely to arrive for tomorrow’s “bidai dinner” to be hosted at Janata Maidan. BJP national president Rajnath Singh, leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley, Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje and her Chhattisgarh counterpart Raman Singh are expected to attend tomorrow’s function.

The special wedding secretariat set up to ensure the comfort of guests and the smooth conduct of proceedings dealt with all the arrangements efficiently working almost round the clock even though the invites had come accompanied with a booklet that explained, among other things, the dress code, the gift protocol and the security arrangements during the wedding.

The newly-weds had met over two years ago at the wedding ceremony of the sister of Lakshyaraj who looks after the Historic Resort Hotels (HRH) Group founded by his grandfather, Bhagwat Singh Mewar. He is the executive director of the group.