Weddings & honeymoons in Kerala

country:	India
location:	Kerala
departures:	This honeymoon can be tailormade at a time to suit you and adapted to suit your budget and requirements
price:	From £5600 (3 days) excluding flights. Price covers accommodation for up to ten guests and the ceremony. We can arrange flights from the UK

Weddings abroad

Kerala holidays here India holidays

the amazing things you'll be doing

A wedding feast on banana leaves, a decorated elephant to bring the groom, a performance of classical Indian music and dance, decorating of hands and feet of the bride with Henna, silk sari for the bride and dhoti and white shirt for the groom.

Our weddings follow our philosophy – simplicity, quality, culture and style. All our weddings are based on local traditions and are customized to meet your needs. We can also arrange your honeymoon.

Note: that weddings are non legal (we recommend that you register in the UK to avoid complicated bureaucracy).

Your hosts: Tharavad is a 200-year old ancestral house owned by Mr Bhagwaldas. It lies within paddy fields, in the east of Kerala. Five generations of the eminent Hindu family have lived here.

The house is constructed primarily of mud and teak, with an emphasis on cool and airy public areas. Architecturally it is beautiful - bulbous pillars are carved in the form of elephants, snakes, fishes and dragons. The floor is covered in natural dyed tiles of ochre, terracotta and blue.

At this wonderful and historic home you can select a wedding ceremony - Hindu or Christian - that is tailored to your needs. You may want a simple ceremony among friends, or something more flamboyant (local feasts on banana leaves, elephants, dance and music, and Hindu rites).

There is plenty to keep guests entertained - cycling tours, cooking lessons, walking, fishing, yoga, meditation - to name a few. (This wedding is suitable from July to February only)

What the wedding includes:

4 double and 1 single room for three nights full board (you will be booking the whole house and meals will be prepared for you)
Clothes for bride (silk sari and costume jewellery) and the groom (dhoti and white shirt, with white shawl) and help with makeup and dressing
Pandal (tent) decorated with flowers (Mandapam), the ceremony, live Indian music and a wedding feast on banana leaves
Performance of classical India dance from the Kalamandalam dance school on the evening of the wedding
Decorated elephant to bring the groom. (Additional elephants can be arranged at an additional cost. For auspicious reasons elephants should be in odd numbers in a procession.)
Live classical music performances in the evenings
CD/video/photography and wine and beer during stay (not hard liquor or champagne)

Important note: The wedding follows Hindu traditions and the setting is in an Indian village, not accustomed to western tourism – hence you and your guests would need to be sensitive to local customs.

day-by-day itinerary

Day 1:	Arrive by noon for lunch and the 'exchange of invitations' - Bridal Mehndi ceremony. The hands and feet of the bride are decorated with Henna. You can take a walk through the paddy fields or to the village tea (chai) shop. Live evening performance of South India classical music during dinner.
Day 2:	Breakfast. By 9am, the groom's family is taken to the Siva temple to get the Nuptial Chain blessed. Make your way on the decorated elephant, with family members and Panchavadyam musicians in tow. The bride's family will receive them at the gate with Thalies, garlands and floral showers. The Thalies are exchanged and the groom and family are taken to the decorated pandal for the rituals over the Homakudam (fire as witness) with the Hindu priest (Pujari). Garlands are exchanged by the couple and the nuptial chain tied. This signifies their sacred union as husband and wife. Wedding sadhya (feast) on banana leaves follows. Afternoon at leisure. Evening: 6:00 - 7:30 Performance by Kalamandalam dance troupe showing the classical dance forms of Kerala.( Kalamandalam is the most famed classical dance organisation in Kerala) Dinner with live classical music.
Day 3:	Visits to the local area. Evening walk through the paddy fields to the basket weavers colony. Dinner with live classical music.

how this holiday makes a difference

Our aim is to provide a wedding or honeymoon that gives you the opportunity to spend time with local people, absorb yourself in their cultures, and visit their homes. We want to provide a memorable stay that supports specific projects in India - homestays, conservation projects, community managed co-operatives - providing people with respect for their culture, and an income that helps support it.

When you take a holidiay with us, around 60% of your money stays in India – supporting the social/environmental work of our partners and the projects they support. Hotels and homestays are owned by local people. We only use local guides and drivers, with local hosts providing personal insight into a specific area (for example, when trekking in forest we aim to use indigenous trekkers).

Our tours are listed in the Ethical Travel Guide, published by Tourism Concern. We charge carbon tax to our guests for their flights according to the rates given by Climate Care and pay Climate Care yearly.

Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people.

We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel.

'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left).

We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays.

We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism.

This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards.