Syrian Christian, Latin Catholic, Marthoma, Knanaya
Planning a Christian wedding in Kerala
A church wedding in Kerala is a morning event, and almost everything hard about planning one comes from that single fact.
The service is held in the morning, usually finishing between ten and half past eleven. That leaves you a reception in the middle of the day, in the hottest part of it, with guests who have already been sitting in a church for an hour. Where that reception happens, and how far it is from the church, is the decision that shapes the whole day.
Most families keep the two within twenty minutes of each other. In and around Kottayam, Thrissur and Ernakulam that is straightforward. It gets harder if the family church is inland and the reception venue is on the water at Kumarakom or Bolgatty, which is a common wish and a real logistical cost: you are moving several hundred people at midday, and the convoy sets the schedule for everything after it.
The date is not fully yours to pick. Kerala churches generally do not celebrate weddings through the fifty days of Lent before Easter, or the twenty-five day Nombu before Christmas. Both move against the Gregorian calendar, so they land on different weeks every year, and a date that is fine one year sits inside Lent three years later. Popular churches take bookings more than a year ahead, and the church diary, not the venue diary, is the one to fix first.
The meal is where Kerala Christian weddings part company with the rest of the state. A Syrian Christian reception is not a vegetarian sadya. Beef, duck, and appam turn up on the same leaf, and the kitchen you hire needs to be one that cooks that food properly rather than a hotel banquet team producing a generic buffet with a couple of local dishes bolted on. Ask any venue directly whether the wedding menu is cooked in-house or brought in, and taste it before you sign.
What a planner needs from you
Can you get married in a Kerala church during Lent?
Generally no. Kerala churches keep the fifty days of Lent before Easter and the twenty-five day Nombu before Christmas clear of weddings. Because both are tied to Easter and Christmas rather than to fixed dates, the blocked weeks move every year, so check the specific year with your parish before you hold a venue.
The venue side of this is in the venue book, and the catering ranges are on the cost page. If your date is not fixed yet, the calendar is the place to start.
Questions
Can you get married in a Kerala church during Lent?
Generally no. Kerala churches keep the fifty days of Lent before Easter and the twenty-five day Nombu before Christmas clear of weddings. Because both are tied to Easter and Christmas rather than to fixed dates, the blocked weeks move every year, so check the specific year with your parish before you hold a venue.
What time does a Kerala Christian wedding start?
The service is in the morning and usually ends between 10.00 and 11.30, with the reception following in the middle of the same day. This is the main scheduling difference from a Hindu Kerala wedding, where the ceremony time is set by a muhurtham that can fall very early.
Is a Kerala Christian wedding meal vegetarian?
No. A Syrian Christian wedding reception is non-vegetarian, and beef, duck and appam are core to it rather than optional extras. It is a different menu from the vegetarian sadya served at a Hindu Kerala wedding, and it needs a kitchen that cooks that food regularly.
How far ahead should you book the church?
Popular churches in Kottayam, Thrissur and Ernakulam take wedding bookings more than a year ahead. Fix the church date first and choose the venue around it, not the other way round.
Planning kerala christian wedding?
Dates, guest numbers, where the family is from. Enough to reply with something useful rather than a brochure.