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IT was far from a simple wedding. In fact, the ceremonies of Vikram Chatwal, a jet-setting hotelier and actor, and Priya Sachdev, a model and actress and former investment banker, lasted 10 days and was spread across three cities in India. It was a multimillion-dollar celebration, during which 600 guests from 26 countries were ferried around on chartered jets.
"A lot of my friends had never been there so I really wanted to show them the country," Mr. Chatwal, 34, said. "So we started in Bombay, which is called the gateway to India, and then we moved to Udaipur and then on to Delhi."
It was only fitting that Mr. Chatwal, a son of Sant Singh Chatwal who founded the Bombay Palace restaurants and the Hampshire Hotels and Resorts chain, would have a fabulous blowout, one that was attended by boldfaced American names like Bill Clinton, the model Patricia Velasquez and a coterie of Indian dignitaries and the spiritual guru Deepak Chopra.
Mr. Chatwal, who has been referred to in The New York Observer and other publications as the "turban cowboy" (Sikh tradition requires that hair be covered), has been a permanent fixture on the New York nightlife scene, attending the city's hottest events and dating catwalkers like Gisele Bundchen. (Mr. Chatwal has a letter "G" tattooed on one arm, which he said he did, in part, for her.)
He admits he was a playboy. "I was just enjoying life and friends and, well, being a bit of a hedonist," he said.
But that all changed three years ago when Mr. Chatwal met Ms. Sachdev, a graduate of the London School of Economics, at a dinner in India organized by Queenie Dhody, a socialite there. Ms. Dhody's husband, Raja Dhody, spotted her at a party and was convinced that Ms. Sachdev, who hails from a prominent family with holdings that include an automobile dealership and an apparel export company, and Mr. Chatwal would make a perfect couple.
"She has the perfect mix of modern and traditional values," Ms. Dhody said of Ms. Sachdev. "She's not from a hick town. She's well-educated."
It wasn't love at first sight, said Mr. Chatwal, who starred in a film called "One Dollar Curry," "but there was an instant chemical reaction that night. I was taken by her voice, which is very soft, and I love her laugh. When she laughs it just makes me laugh."
That evening the two exchanged numbers, and Mr. Chatwal invited Ms. Sachdev, who is the eldest of four and dabbles in painting and sculpture, out for dinner the following evening at Olives, a popular nouveau continental restaurant in Mumbai. She said yes. "There was definitely a spark at that dinner," she said, giggling.
He returned to the United States, to oversee the development of his Midtown hotels, Dream and Time, and she remained in India, modeling in the Indian editions of Cosmopolitan and Elle magazines and appearing in her first Bollywood film, "Neal 'n' Nikki." Despite their hectic schedules, the two stayed in constant contact. Text messages led to extensive e-mail exchanges, which led to even more extensive phone conversations. "We spoke everyday," Mr. Chatwal said, "sometimes for two or three hours." Ms. Sachdev said, "I started falling for him over the phone, which was nice because I feel like I really got to know him."
The couple soon began accumulating frequent flier miles. "We would meet in London," Ms. Sachdev said. "It was so exciting."
Even though the two had been dating for only a few months, once their parents discovered the burgeoning relationship, the pressure began to mount, Mr. Chatwal said.
"My father is quite conservative and religious, and he's been wanting me to get married since I was 15," he said of his parents' desire to see him settled in an arranged marriage.
"It was a big deal for them," Ms. Sachdev said, referring to Mr. Chatwal's parents' reaction to their relationship, "because up until that point Vikram hadn't really dated any Indian girls."
Despite their families' eagerness, the couple continued to move at their own pace. Then, in December 2004, Mr. Chatwal, who was in India for a film festival, asked Ms. Sachdev to marry him. "He proposed to me at a temple, so I couldn't go crazy," she said. "I couldn't scream or jump and hug him because I had to be composed. There were priests around."
The couple's multicity celebration finally took them to New Delhi, where on Feb. 18, Mr. Chatwal climbed on a white horse and led a half-mile procession to the Taj Palace Hotel. There he was greeted by the bride's family in a traditional welcoming ceremony.
The next day in New Delhi, they were married in a Sikh ceremony before a group of guests, that included India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of India.
The Sunday wedding date was chose