A Big Fat Kongu Wedding With 7 Different Ceremonies

All weddings have stories before and after them. Kavyas and Raghuls wedding did too. After all the planning, everything fell perfectly into place like pieces in a puzzle. Recently we interviewed Kavya about her wedding function. She spoke on and on about all the delightful celebrations before and after the wedding ceremony. Here is an extract of the conversation that happened.

Being entrepreneurs, we have always been independent in our choices and had a good understanding of each other. We were good friends, we fell in love and then got married with our parents' consent. Our parents met. They found our families to be compatiable. Naturally as the next step we decided to get married.

We had not 2, not 3 but 7 different ceremonies! We had just 5 months to get everything ready and things were going well. Then came a problem with a bang. The best wedding halls in Chennai weren’t available for booking. We scrambled to find a suitable place and finally settled on a decent one.

To begin with, we had an Uruthi Varthai function. This is a meeting where families of the soon to be bride and groom exchange pleasantries and affirm the relationship.

Everything went beautifully as planned. Right from the start we had @vijay-eesam-photography# take care of the photography. They took the best photographs. That too for all our functions with such ease all the while being great fun to have around! Meenal Momaya and team were the make up artists for all events. It was such great fun getting ready with them.

Speaking of photography, planning for a wedding is no easy task. We did not even hire a wedding planner! Personally, customising each and every element of your wedding is a delightful experience. It was fun and exciting to be spending time with family and friends who helped me choose everything from wedding sarees to decor! Décor for events in Karur were by @shiga-petals#. Floral Hut took care of the stage decoration for events in Chennai.

Coming back to the functions, not long after we got engaged in a grand ceremony. The stage backdrop was predominantly yellow and green. I wore a pink and green silk saree with jewellery that matched while Raghul donned an ethnic costume. My mehendi gown was from @kay-the-fashion-bay#

I had always wanted both traditional and contemporary styles of events leading to my wedding. And boy did all my wishes come true! For the wedding, we got Kemp jewellery custom made with rubies, emeralds and uncut diamonds.

Post wedding we held a reception at ITC chennai. This was right before the floods in Chennai. Transportation, communication, everything was difficult. Clothes for all occasions for the groom, Raghul, my brother and my father (all the men in my life ;) ) were by Vivek Karunakaran. And all of them looked amazing. He managed to deliver all the clothes on time despite all the rains and floods that were happening at that time.

To every soon to be bride I just have one thing to say. Stay stress free. I know that planning for a wedding can get cumbersome at times. Keep your pre wedding jitters at bay. That is all you need to look beautiful at your wedding.

Vendor Details

The clothes for our pre-wedding photoshoot was from The LUX Studio, Chennai

1. Urudhi Vaarthai

Clothes: @kay-the-fashion-bay#, Chennai,

Jewellery: RM Jewellers and @vbj#, Chennai

2. Mehendi and Sangeeth

Clothes: Kay, Chennai

Jewellery: RM Jewellers, Chennai

3. Engagement

Sarees: @prakashsilksandsarees#, Kanchipuram

Jewellery: RM Jewellers and VBJ

4. Reception in Karur