The Big Day by Chai

The wedding planning checklist, twelve months to the muhurtham.

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In short

A month-by-month Telugu wedding planning checklist, from fixing the muhurtham and venue to the wedding-week runsheet, and what families most often forget.

What to book, when, and in what order, counted back from the one minute that cannot move.

Every Telugu wedding is planned backwards from one minute: the muhurtham. Once it is fixed, everything else has an order. Here it is, month by month.

Twelve months before: the three decisions everything waits on

  1. Fix the muhurtham with your purohit. Every date below is counted back from this minute.
  2. Agree a total budget both families can say out loud. It is easier to split a number once it has been said.
  3. Book the venue. Good muhurthams go a year ahead. The venue decides your guest count, catering and decor.
  4. Decide the events. Pellikoduku and Pellikuthuru at home? A sangeet?

Nine months before: the bookings that sell out

  1. Book photography and film. On a good muhurtham date, the teams you want are the first to go.
  2. Book decor. Show them the venue before they quote; a mandapam is priced by the room it sits in.
  3. Book catering. Ask for a tasting date now, not later.
  4. Get a rough guest count from both families. Round up. Nobody has ever had fewer guests than they planned.

Six months before: clothes, invitations and the people who touch the bride

  1. Order the wedding clothes. Pattu sarees, the sherwani, the blouses. Tailoring takes longer than anyone tells you.
  2. Design and print the invitation. Digital first, paper for the elders.
  3. Book the makeup artist and hairstylist. Book the trial for three months before while you are at it.
  4. Fix the pre-wedding shoot dates. The film can then play on an LED wall at the wedding.
  5. Block hotel rooms for family travelling in.

Three months before: music, food, gifts and travel

  1. Book the mehendi artist, sangeet choreographer and band or DJ.
  2. Do the final menu tasting. Take both mothers.
  3. Choose and order the return gifts.
  4. Book train and flight tickets for family travelling in.
  5. Finalise the jewellery. Insure borrowed pieces, and collect new ones well before the last week.

One month before: hand things over

  1. Share an event-by-event timeline with every vendor. Start from the jeelakarra bellam minute and work backwards.
  2. Do the makeup and hair trial. In the actual saree, in daylight and under a lamp.
  3. Finish blouse fittings and final alterations.
  4. Close the guest list, and the reception seating if there is one.
  5. Name one point person from each family. Vendors call them on the day, not you.

Wedding week: print, pack, sleep

  1. Print the runsheet and hand it to both point persons.
  2. List every vendor balance in one place. Who is paid, who is owed, and who collects on the day.
  3. Pack an emergency bag. Safety pins, medicines, chargers, a spare blouse and cash.
  4. Sleep, and eat before the muhurtham day. It is a fourteen-hour day, and nobody remembers to eat.

On the day: three rules

  1. Your phone lives with someone else.
  2. Follow the timeline, not the crowd.
  3. Don't rush the talambralu. Most purohits will let it run as long as you like.

What families most often forget

The drive to the groom's home for the Grihapravesham, which is the ritual most often photographed by nobody. The aisle on the bride's way to the mandapam, which is the most common delay before the muhurtham.

Common questions

When should we start planning a Telugu wedding?
About twelve months before the wedding. Fix the muhurtham, agree a budget, book the venue and decide which events you will hold. Everything else follows from those four decisions.
How early should we book the wedding venue?
About a year before. Good muhurtham dates are popular, and the venue decides your guest count, catering and decor.
When should we book a wedding photographer?
About nine months before the wedding. Photography and film teams book up first on good muhurtham dates.
What should be done one month before the wedding?
Share an event-by-event timeline with every vendor, finish the makeup trial and final fittings, close the guest list and name one point person from each family for vendors to call on the day.
What should we pack in a wedding emergency bag?
Safety pins, medicines, chargers, a spare blouse and cash.