Elizabeth Hurley's Indian Wedding

Local reactions to the Elizabeth Hurley and Arun Nayar wedding this week in Jodhpur.

"Is it this old woman who's getting married?" asked Kastury Ghosh, a bridal shop manager in the west Indian city of Jodhpur, as she peered over her glasses at a picture of Elizabeth Hurley.

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But even if India is only just getting to know Hurley, she may endear herself with locals who understand the need for lavish, attention-grabbing wedding celebrations.

Marriage remains a fundamental rite of passage and symbol of a family's status in India. Even the humblest family will save up to make sure their children are paraded regally around the neighborhood by lantern-bearers and a brass band.

In India's fiercely hierarchical society, most people are expected to marry a partner from the same background, caste and religion, so Nayar's marriage to a white, non-Indian and non-Hindu woman has also attracted curious comment.

"An Anglo-Indian wedding has never happened here before," said Durgsingh Rathort, another bridal shop worker.

But no one thought to criticize the arrangement - in India, the rich can make their own rules.

"Liz who?" ask locals in Indian city