This Telugu-Kodava Wedding Had Standout Decor & An Air Of Elegance!
BY Sakshi | 07 Nov, 2023 | 489 views | 8 min read
Seldom do we come across weddings where the couples put so much thought and feeling into every aspect of the wedding. Sanjana and Praveen's wedding was a unique Kodava-Telugu affair, which took place in picturesque Coorg. With two ceremonies and decor to match, we loved the vibe of this wedding, which was extremely elegant. The decor by Bling It On was splendid, with a very natural yet modern vibe to it. Take a look.
Meet Sanjana and Praveen
It's the story of how a person who loves mountains and a person who loves beaches, fell in love on a beach and got married in the mountains!
Pemm & I used to work together, which is when we 1st met each other. I always had the illusion of Pemm painted by everyone there, but rarely had I formed my own opinion of him. And by the time I did, I already felt like I had known him forever! He was home to by then, and has continued to remain so, 6 years later.
For the largest part, I believe that everything in the Universe conspired for us to be together - for all the number of hurdles that we've oddly and in the most animated way overcome, amazes me to date!
Mehendi
Haldi & Mehendi - Given that were short on time, we decided to mix the Haldi and Mehendi into a brunch event for a small group of ~100 odd people. Which basically meant that decor had to do justice to 2 themes - the yellows for Haldi and the colorful hues for the Mehendi. Natasha managed to pull this off in a way I wouldn't have comprehended (frankly, I was the most doubtful of how this would turn it). The colorful diwans, the urlis, the entire seat-up under the trees was quite reminiscent of a typical tropical brunch!
Oorkudo
The Oorkudo - a traditional Kodava wedding ceremony, which loosely translates to a reception in the standard Indian weddding, is the pre-cursor to the main wedding in the Kodava culture. It's a beautiful fusion of a night of music (Valaga), lights and delicatable food. We wanted to really use 3 elements here - we wanted lights all over the the walk-in+driveway into the venue, we wanted bamboo lights for the entrance towards to the stage and we wanted a vibrant mandap. As I walked in, and to this day, everyone who attended, praised these exact 3 things of the many other things. And I think that is quite reflective of how well Natasha understood what we wanted and delivered on the same.
Telugu Muhuratham
The Telugu Wedding - this was an early am wedding and we decided to use the lake side for this event. The simplicity of the decor did the most beautiful justice to the grace that the venue exuded. The lush trees one side and water on the other. The walkway to the mandap, the mandap itself and the entire set-up was simply wholesome.
Kodava Muhuratham
The Kodava Muhurtham and the Ganga Puja were to run in short succession of each other with the former being for 500+ people and the latter being for a smaller group of 100. This meant that the decor would largely have to be preserved unto the night but would still have to have something different that stood out. The entire set-up exuded vibrance - the reds, the gold and whites - standard to the outfits on the Kodava bride and groom, reflected widely across the Mandap, the entrance of the venue and the other set-up. The one I missed noticing but did look into while browing the photos was the fabulous job that Natasha had done with the well for the Ganga Puja. Given its significance in the event, it stood out beautifully well!
From The Bride:
Our wedding took place on April 23, 2023. Pemm is a Kodava and I'm a Telugite, which meant that the spectrum to begin planning the event was quite huge. We of course wanted a lot of things that stood unique to each of our cultures but decidedly added the Haldi & Mehendi, more in the interest of started the wedding festivities by reigning in the fun with just our friends and close family.
From the outset of it, we knew that there were 3 things we really wanted our wedding to reflect - culture, nature and fun. We wanted to get married in Coorg because it was home for Pemm but it also allowed us to have a different destination to plan our wedding - one away from the chaos of the city, and picked Capitol from the lot. Capitol gave us a beautiful canvas to imagine our wedding. The coffee estates, the forest, the lakeside.
We started the wedding with all the events that involved just our family in friends, namely the welcome dinner, the Haldi and the Mehendi. All of these were held in the verandah area which was quite symbolically in the shape of a circle - which we in retrospect imagined represented our close circle of people! For the Haldi and Mehendi, we were short on time since the entire festivities were over the weekend. We decided to mix the Haldi and Mehendi into a brunch event for a small group of ~100 odd people with the decor being a blend of yellows for Haldi and the colorful hues for the Mehendi. This turned about to be the perfect tropical brunch that we had hoped for - full of colors, music, laughter and dance! The sprawled diwans, hanging pots of flowers under the trees and flower bunches everywhere were all that we imagined it to be.
For the traditional Kodava ceremonies, which included the Oorkudo and the Kodava Muhurtham, we wanted the customs and culture native to the Kodava tribe to stand out. For the ceremony in the night, we hoped for it to be grand - given that it was the 1st of the ceremonies. We wanted to really use 3 elements here - we wanted lights all over the the walk-in+driveway into the venue, we wanted bamboo lights for the entrance towards to the stage and we wanted a vibrant but traditional mandap. For the Kodava Muhurtham, we wanted to use the colors that were similar to the traditional Kodava outfits - the reds, the golds and the whites. We continued this theme into the last event of the night - which is the Ganga Puja. For this, traditionally, the bride draws water from the well and makes way unto the mandap while the grooms family dances around and restricts her pace. Here, the focus was largely on the well - which was neatly decorated with flowers.
Lastly, the Telugu Muhurtham was supposed to be by the lakeside. Since it was an early am wedding, we assumed the dew by the water would do justice to the set-up, which it did! We wanted the pathway that led to the lakeside and the mandap to be the highlights here. The entire set-up was exuding simplicity but was beautiful given that we focused more on the backdrop here - the trees on one side and the water+sunrise on the other!
Vendor Reviews
Decor: Bling It On
When we started thinking of our wedding, we were certain of a few things - we wanted someone who understood us, could work well with a canvas such as Capitol and most importantly, someone who understood the Kodava customs. Here's where WMG was super helpful as it allowed us to browse and shortlist vendors quite easily. Natasha ticked all our boxes and was the natural go to person for us. Coming from 2 different cultures, Pemm & I were certain that aspects of both of our cultures reflected in our wedding. That meant, 2 days of a packed agenda - Task 1 that Natasha absolutely aced. The seamless transition in the decor between events was flawless. We barely had a gap between the events but she and the team pulled through and delivered.
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Venue: Capitol Village Resorts, Madikeri
We couldn't have found a more magical place to get married at. The place beams nature and peace - 2 things that we believed were an absolute essential at our wedding. I've always been a beach person and for the longest time, I've dreamt of marrying on the beach - and while I didn't get a beach wedding, I got a beautiful lake wedding thanks to Capitol! The walk under canopied trees as you enter, the coffee estates around and the absolute chaos of birds everywhere - it's nothing short of magical! Oh, and the early morning dew is just the sprinkle of fairy dust you need as you start your big day. Also, the food catered by Capitol was phenomenal - especially the local Kodava cuisine was amazing.
Makeup Artists: Pallavi & Puja Poovanna
Pallavi did a beautiful job with my make-up, especially given the different events we had. The highlight that I'm super thankful for is that the make-up she had done at 10 am for the Kodava Muhurtham stayed the same until late in the night for the Ganga Puja!
Vendors: Photography: Wedding Theory | Venue: Capitol Village Resorts, Madikeri | Makeup Artists: Hair and Makeup by Pallavi Poovanna | Decor: Bling It On | Bridal Outfits: Mysore Saree Udyog (Mehendi & Haldi), Advaya collection at Angadi Silks (Oorkudo, the Telugu and Kodava Muhurtham) | Bridal Jewellery: Orra, Malabar and Tanishq
