Amritha Kamakar and Rohit Seshadri at Hampi, Karnataka

About us
“I am a practicing architect and Rohit works for a finance advisory firm. Both of us work in Mumbai. Our common friend Mohit Gaba acted as Cupid! He said that since we both are South Indians and single, we should meet up. So Rohit messaged me but for a year or so it was pretty random and we never really got around to meeting each other. One day, he messaged me saying ‘Let’s break the jinx – Meet up tomorrow?’ and I agreed to do so. When I met him, I asked him if he ate non-vegetarian food and he said he did. He asked me if I drank, and I said I did. Funnily enough, those were the deciding factors for us!”

Wedding Venue
“We got married in the historical village of Hampi in Karnataka. Rohit’s family is very religious, and since we were going to have a traditional wedding, I decided it should be held in a temple with a beautiful setting. I’ve visited Hampi many times and knew I wanted to get married there but it was a challenge to convince everyone. Not many people had heard of Hampi and it’s not the easiest destination to reach. People cannot get married in historical temples that come under the UNESCO Heritage category. Plus, there are few temples there that allow fire ‘havans’ at weddings. Fortunately, we found an old village temple away from the main city which allowed intimate weddings with a traditional ‘havan’ fire setup. I took Rohit and my in-laws to the temple and they were fine with my choice.”

Wedding Planning
“The wedding was a small and intimate celebration with around 200 guests. We began planning the logistics six months prior to the event and hired a Bangalore- based wedding planning company called The Fairytale Wedding. Our main point of contact there was Sushma and she was just amazing! She made this wedding come through perfectly in all aspects, from the food and the décor to managing every little need for us. In terms of accommodation, we had our guests staying at the Hyatt Place Hampi. The hotel staff, along with event manager went out of their way to help us organise an amazing wedding.”

Wedding Functions

Mehndi
“My first mehndi was held at my residence in Mumbai, and I had called a mehndi artist from Gujarat as he is excellent and does one-of-a-kind designs. The South-Indian mela-themed mehndi was held at the hotel’s poolside. I wore a yellow floral lehenga by Anita Dongre and Rohit donned a yellow kurta with a white jacket by Jagruti Design Studio in Mumbai.”

“For the décor, we had huge Kathakali face posters, cut-outs of South Indian icons such as Quick Gun Murugan, Rajnikanth and other actors. We even had a South Indian tarot card reader and a funky photobooth which had vernacular captions like ‘Rascala’, ‘Mind Eet’, ‘Tanga Bali’ and the like. Alcohol was served in different forms such as ‘pani puri shots’ and Indian cocktails were blended with ‘aam panna’ and other delicious drinks. The hotel surprised us by organising a traditional ‘dholu konita’ dance/band which is a folk art form from Karnataka. It involved a group of men and small kids clad in tiger print attire drumming and performing stunts – and this was a real showstopper!”

Wedding Ceremony
“The wedding ceremony was held the next day at 6.30am in a temple given that it was a traditional South Indian ceremony. Our wedding planner had easy transit for guests from the hotel to the venue. One fear we had about our Hampi wedding was the weather. Many people had dissuaded us from having the wedding in June there due to the heat. To our luck, it started raining that morning. At first we were scared, but it all worked out to our benefit. The rains cooled everything down and the sky looked gorgeous!”

“Breakfast was served for the morning function at the temple. The catering was done by a local person who does breakfasts for events such as the Hampi Marathon. Traditional treats such as idli chatni, mirchi pakoda and sweet Pongal were served on banana leaves alongside mint juice and hot beverages.”

“The dress code for the wedding ceremony was South Indian Kanjeevaram sarees for the ladies and ‘mundu’ (white dhoti with gold trimmings) and ‘veshti’ (small shoulder cloth) for the men. As the women entered, we gave them fresh ‘maligee’ flowers (it’s like ‘mogra’ flowers but more fragrant) to put on their hair. I too wore a golden Kanjeevaram saree, with pink and white bilandi necklace and earrings. The main attraction of my attire was the typical South Indian headgear and ‘kamarpatta’. Rohit was dressed in the South Indian ‘mundu’ and ‘veshti’.

“In terms of décor, we wanted to keep things very simple as the temple complex was so beautiful. We just used yellow and orange marigold flowers, white blooms and banana leaves to add a lush effect. We had a bullock cart as a photo booth, and specially made parrots were part of the hanging floral chandelier piece above our ‘phera’ venue. There were also bells intertwined with strands of marigold which hung from the temple ceilings. A picturesque swing was also installed in the trees inside the temple complex for one of the rituals.”

“After the wedding ceremony, we hosted a lunch at the hotel which included typical treats served on banana leaves. The hotel again surprised us with a performance by musicians called ‘nadaswarams’ as guests were welcomed to the hotel. The female hotel staff serving guests were dressed in white and gold sarees, and the male staff in ‘mundus’.”

Cocktail Party
“The following evening we had DJ Sandy from Mumbai spinning his tracks at our cocktail party. The theme here was glamour so the men came in suits and women in gowns and dresses. I chose a fitted red gown with gold bodice by Monisha J Singh, and Rohit complemented me in a white tuxedo with black accents by Jagruti Design Studio.”

“The cocktail decor included red, gold and black accents and we had the hall filled with red balloons. We had the Hampi stones kept for guests to write their messages for us, and we gifted Nandi stone-carved statues to our guests.”

Advice for other to-be wed couples
“Don’t be pressured by people – do what your heart says. I convinced the naysayers and had my dream wedding in one of my favourite places.”

The Wedding Makers

Location: Hyatt Place Hampi, Karnataka

Wedding Planner: The Fairytale Wedding, Bangalore

Bridal Trousseau: Anita Dongre (Mehndi), Monisha J Singh (Cocktail Party)

Groom’s Trousseau: Jagruti Design Studio, Mumbai

Make-up & Hair: Enhance, Mumbai

Music: DJ Sandy, Mumbai

Photography: Atul Pratap Chauhan

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