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Karthik & Swetha
The Setting: A Garden Beneath a Monsoon Sky
The Thottam is less a venue than a living landscape. Banana leaves heavy with rain, old laterite walls softened by moss, and a modest cottage with a terracotta-tiled roof and deep green walls gave the days their texture. For the haldi, strings of marigold hung from the trees like golden rain of their own. For the wedding, the garden wore its finest – jasmine and marigold draped across the brass-studded wooden doors, tuberose garlands along the eaves of the tiled pavilions, and a long canopy of jasmine floating above the stone pathway like a cloud brought down to earth. Kathakali performers in painted faces and layered costumes greeted guests at the gate, a distinctly Kerala welcome that set the tone for everything that followed.
The Haldi: Gold in the Rain
Swetha arrived for the haldi in a classic white handloom saree, yellow blooms and baby's breath tucked into her curls, pearl and floral bands at her wrists. Karthik matched her in an ivory kurta with a finely embroidered yoke. Neither outfit stayed white for long. Elders led the way, bangled hands pressing turmeric onto foreheads and cheeks, Swetha's feet resting in a brass urli as the paste was applied. Then came the water, poured in generous arcs from a brass pot over Karthik's bowed head and then over Swetha's, sending petals flying and drawing the loudest laughter of the morning. When the rain returned, the couple simply made it part of the story – running hand in hand down the wet gravel path, dancing barefoot on the lawn, sharing a kiss beneath a clear umbrella with petals still clinging to their skin.
The Wedding Look: Vermilion and Ivory
On the wedding day, Swetha was breathtaking in a rich vermilion silk saree woven with gold, her hair braided with jasmine and her neck layered with heirloom temple jewellery. Stacks of deep green glass bangles, a delicate gold band across her forehead, and mehendi-darkened hands completed the picture of a classic South Indian bride. Karthik stood beside her in an ivory embroidered kurta and dhoti and a peach silk turban crowned with a single white plume – regal without being stiff, and unmistakably his.
The Entry and the Ceremony
Swetha's arrival was one of the most beautiful moments of the day. Veiled in an orange shawl, she walked the stone path beneath the cascading jasmine canopy, held aloft by the men of her family.Under the mandap, the rituals unfolded with warmth and reverence. A ceremonial thread was tied across Swetha's brow, and the couple exchanged thick jasmine garlands finished with pink lotus blooms. Elders sat close, guiding and blessing. Then came the frame we will never forget: Karthik gathering Swetha's face in his hands and pressing a kiss to her forehead, both of them smiling through it.
After the Vows: A Quieter Story in Pink and White
Once the rituals were complete, the couple slipped away with us into the green-walled rooms and rain-soaked lanes of the Thottam. Swetha changed into an ivory silk saree printed with soft pink florals, Karthik into a cream kurta with a beige stole, and the mood shifted from ceremony to intimacy. They sat together on a petal-strewn floor, hid behind ferns, and shared long, quiet looks against the moss-green walls. These portraits are where two days of joy settled into something calmer and more lasting.
From the Team at Wedding Bells
There is something wonderfully honest about a wedding that lets the rain in. Karthik and Swetha never once fought the weather, the turmeric, or the emotion of the moment; they simply let each day happen to them, and it made everything we photographed feel true. From the gold-stained laughter of the haldi to the vermilion hush of the mandap, this was a celebration built on family and ritual rather than spectacle, and it was all the richer for it.
To Karthik and Swetha, thank you for inviting us into both of these days. May the life you have begun beneath the jasmine be as bright as turmeric, as vibrant as vermilion, and as enduring as the old trees of the Thottam.
The idea of Wedding Bells was born with a vision to capture once-in-a-lifetime events.
Launched our company and started documenting raw, emotion-filled wedding moments.
We were honored to be Canon Maestro, which was a feather in our cap.
We have completed 2500 projects so far, keeping the memories alive for decades.
