The Velvet Knot Journal
Wedding planning,
demystified.
Honest guides on cost, timelines, traditions, and what really happens behind a well-planned Indian wedding.
Mayian and Vatna Ceremony: The Punjabi Turmeric Ritual Explained by Planners
By Team Velvet Knot · Reviewed by senior planners · Updated for 2026 Mayian is the Punjabi pre-wedding rite held at both the bride’s and the groom’s homes, usually one or two days before the wedding. Its central act is vatna, a paste of turmeric, mustard oil and gram flour rubbed on by married female […]
Read article
Syrian Christian Wedding Traditions of Kerala: Minnu, Manthrakodi and the Nasrani Rite Explained
By Team Velvet Knot · Reviewed by senior planners · Updated for 2026 A Kerala Syrian Christian wedding runs as a church liturgy, not a fire ritual. The groom ties a leaf shaped gold minnu marked with a cross, drapes the manthrakodi sari over the bride’s head, receives the priest’s nuptial blessing, then takes the […]
Read article
Tulu and Bunt Wedding Traditions: The Dhare Ceremony, Bari Rules and Coastal Karnataka Customs
By Team Velvet Knot · Reviewed by senior planners · Updated for 2026 A Tulu Bunt wedding turns on the dhare, where water is poured from a dhare vessel over the couple’s joined hands holding a coconut and betel. Who may marry whom is decided by bari, the mother’s clan. The tradition belongs to Dakshina […]
Read article
Nepali Wedding Traditions: The Complete Ritual Guide for Nepal, Sikkim and Darjeeling Families
By Team Velvet Knot · Reviewed by senior planners · Updated for 2026 A Nepali Hindu wedding runs on an astrologically fixed sait, a formal supari proposal, the swayambar garland exchange, the groom’s jaanti procession, kanyadaan and saptapadi at the fire, sindoor halne, and the pote and tilhari necklace. It closes with the janti bhoj […]
Read article
Chettiar Wedding Traditions: Inside a Nagarathar Wedding in Chettinad, From Kovil Clan to Thali
By Team Velvet Knot · Reviewed by senior planners · Updated for 2026 A Nagarathar Chettiar wedding is a multi-day event held in an ancestral Chettinad mansion, governed by the family’s clan temple, anchored by a betrothal with betel leaves, a panthal ceremony, the tying of a distinctive thali at the muhurtham hour, a vast […]
Read article
Kayastha Wedding Traditions: Dawat Puja, Kohbar and Every Ritual Explained
By Team Velvet Knot · Reviewed by senior planners · Updated for 2026 A Kayastha wedding follows the broad north Indian Hindu sequence of tilak, haldi, baraat, jaimala, kanyadaan, pheras and sindoor daan, but adds community markers: reverence for Chitragupta, the pen and inkpot honoured in Dawat Puja, the soil-gathering matkor rite, the painted kohbar […]
Read article
Rajput Wedding Traditions: Rituals, Attire and Customs Explained
By Team Velvet Knot · Reviewed by senior planners · Updated for 2026 A Rajput wedding runs across several days of clan-specific rites: tilak at the groom’s home, ganpati sthapana, pithi and mahira dastoor, a baraat where the groom rides armed, the toran struck at the bride’s threshold, paanigrahan and pheras, playful games like aeki-beki, […]
Read article
Ashirbaad: The Bengali Blessing Ceremony Before the Wedding
By Team Velvet Knot · Reviewed by senior planners · Updated for 2026 Ashirbaad is the Bengali ceremony in which elders from each family visit the other’s home and bless the bride and groom with husked paddy and durba grass, along with gold. It is a blessing rather than a negotiation, which is what distinguishes […]
Read article
Pag Phera: When the Bride Returns to Her Parents’ Home
By Team Velvet Knot · Reviewed by senior planners · Updated for 2026 Pag phera is the North Indian custom in which the bride returns to her parents’ home a few days after the wedding, fetched by her brother. It is the deliberate counterweight to the vidaai, and it exists to prove that the separation […]
Read article
Chunni Chadhana: The Moment a Punjabi Family Accepts the Bride
By Team Velvet Knot · Reviewed by senior planners · Updated for 2026 Chunni chadhana is the Punjabi ceremony in which the groom’s mother drapes a red chunni over the bride’s head and gives her jewellery, formally receiving her into the family. It usually takes place at the engagement, and it is the groom’s family’s […]
Read article