# Guides

Source: https://www.marryloom.com/guides

Publisher: MarryLoom (https://www.marryloom.com)
Updated: 2026-11-05

- [Getting married in India as a foreigner: your legal options](https://www.marryloom.com/guides/getting-married-in-india-as-a-foreigner): Foreigners can legally marry in India under the Special Marriage Act, but its two 30-day rules mean about two months there, so most couples marry at home first.
- [Fusion weddings in India: how to blend two cultures](https://www.marryloom.com/guides/fusion-weddings-in-india): You can combine Western and Indian wedding traditions in India. These are the Indian customs anyone can borrow, and how to include them with respect.
- [Planning a wedding in India from abroad: a 12-month timeline](https://www.marryloom.com/guides/planning-a-wedding-in-india-from-abroad): A month-by-month plan for a destination wedding in India when you live abroad, including when to book the venue and when guests need save-the-dates.
- [How much does a destination wedding in India cost?](https://www.marryloom.com/guides/destination-wedding-cost-in-india): What a destination wedding in India costs, by destination and guest count, and where you can spend less without it showing.
- [The best time for a wedding in India, region by region](https://www.marryloom.com/guides/best-time-for-a-wedding-in-india): When to get married in India, destination by destination, with what the monsoon means for your plans and which months cost less.
- [Your first Indian wedding: a guide for guests from abroad](https://www.marryloom.com/guides/indian-wedding-guest-guide): What to wear to an Indian wedding, and what to expect when you get there. Written for guests travelling to India for the first time.
- [What is a sadya? Kerala’s wedding feast on a banana leaf](https://www.marryloom.com/guides/what-is-a-sadya): What’s on a Kerala sadya leaf and how to eat it, and how we include a sadya at weddings with guests from abroad.
- [The Kerala Hindu wedding: the rituals and how the day runs](https://www.marryloom.com/guides/kerala-hindu-wedding): How a Kerala Hindu wedding usually runs, and what happens at each moment, including the muhurtham, thalikettu, pudavakoda and the sadya.
- [The Kerala Christian wedding: minnu, manthrakodi and the church](https://www.marryloom.com/guides/kerala-christian-wedding): How a Kerala Christian wedding runs, with the minnu and manthrakodi at the church ceremony, and the manasammatham and madhuram vekkal that come before it.
- [The Kerala Muslim wedding: nikah, mylanchi and the Malabar feast](https://www.marryloom.com/guides/kerala-muslim-wedding): How a Kerala Muslim wedding runs. The mylanchi henna night and oppana come first, then the nikah with its mahr, and the Malabar wedding feast.
- [How a wedding muhurtham is chosen: tithi, nakshatra and the calendar](https://www.marryloom.com/guides/how-to-choose-a-muhurtham): How Hindu families choose an auspicious wedding date and time from the panchangam, and which days and months Kerala and North Indian families avoid.

## Kerala Hindu, Christian and Muslim weddings compared

| | Hindu | Christian | Muslim |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| **The ceremony** | The groom ties the thali around the bride’s neck at the muhurtham, the auspicious time | Vows in church, then the groom ties the minnu and drapes the manthrakodi over the bride | The nikah: a marriage contract agreed before an officiant and witnesses, with the mahr gift to the bride |
| **Where** | A temple, kalyana mandapam, family home or resort | A church, with the reception at a hall or resort | A mosque or family venue, with the reception after |
| **Before the day** | No days of rituals in most communities | Manasammatham (betrothal in church) and madhuram vekkal (sweets) | Mylanchi, the henna night, often with oppana songs |
| **The feast** | A vegetarian sadya on banana leaves | Often meat and fish, such as appam with stew, or biriyani | Malabar biriyani; the groom’s family hosts the walima |
| **Usually avoided** | The month of Karkidakam, in many families | Lent, in most churches | Ramadan |

Customs vary between communities and families. MarryLoom also plans [interfaith and fusion weddings](https://www.marryloom.com/guides/fusion-weddings-in-india) and [civil weddings under the Special Marriage Act](https://www.marryloom.com/guides/getting-married-in-india-as-a-foreigner).