American couple ties knot in city of Taj

New Delhi, June 2 (IANS) When an American couple, in their 50s, decided to tie the knot after a decade-long wait, they chose to do so in traditional Indian style in Agra - the north Indian city of the Taj Mahal that is a global symbol of eternal love.

Conrad Roesky and Michelle Alexander of South Louisiana married Monday and their wedding was organised by the ITC Mughal, a press communique from the five-star hotel said here Tuesday.

'We were glad to have been chosen as the base for this wedding ceremony for this special couple,' ITC Mughal general manager Kuldeep Bhartee said.

The couple had been in love for a decade. Conrad nursed Michelle back to health when she was seriously ill and as soon as she recovered, he proposed to her.

When Michelle agreed, the couple decided that there could be no better place to marry than Agra - the city of the Taj.

They wrote to ITC Mughal asking if they could organise a traditional Indian wedding for them. The hotel rose to the occasion and planned a Hindu marriage.

It was solemnized under a flower-bedecked mandap - a wedding canopy - by a Hindu priest.

'It is a culmination of a dream. I always wanted to marry in the city of Taj,' the bride said after the wedding.

The ITC Mughal is a popular wedding venue and Agra is becoming a happening wedding tourism destination in the country, along with Goa and Kerala, drawing couples from all over the globe.

Weddings have become a multi-million dollar industry in India.