Tamil Brahmin wedding
Meenakshi & Karthik
A backwater wedding with a sadya for every guest
A muhurtham at sunrise to the sound of the nadaswaram, an oonjal by the water and a 26-dish sadya on banana leaves.
- Location
- Kumarakom, Kerala
- Venue
- A lakeside resort on the Vembanad backwaters
- Celebrated
- January 2026
- Guests
- 220 guests
Their story
Meenakshi and Karthik wanted a wedding their grandparents would recognise and their friends from Bengaluru would never forget. The backwaters of Kerala gave us both.
Rituals in the right order
We sat with the family vadhyar to map every ritual, from the vratham and the kashi yatra to the oonjal and the muhurtham, into a timeline that left the families room to breathe between ceremonies.
A sadya for everyone
Lunch was a 26-dish sadya served on banana leaves in three sittings by cooks from Palakkad. Every guest found a small card at their seat explaining the dishes in Tamil, Malayalam and English.
The homecoming
The day ended with a slow houseboat ride across the lake for the couple and their closest family, past a shoreline lit with hundreds of brass lamps.
They understood our rituals better than some of our relatives, and they made sure every elder had a seat with a view.
