The Complete Tamil Wedding Checklist (6 Months to Muhurtham)

A South Indian wedding is really three or four events stitched together — nichayathartham, mehendi or sangeet, muhurtham and reception. Working backwards from the muhurtham date is the only way to keep the calendar honest.

Six months out, lock the venue and the purohit. These two decide everything else: the ritual sequence, the mandap orientation, the earliest hour your decor crew can start building, and how many guests you can realistically host.

Four months out, finalise decor concept and catering. Ask for a tasting, and ask specifically about the sadhya items your family expects — that is where most complaints originate. Confirm the photography team in the same window, because good candid teams get booked early.

Two months out, print invitations, build the guest list into a spreadsheet with phone numbers, and block hotel rooms for out-of-town relatives. One month out, run a rehearsal of the reception stage flow with the anchor and the DJ.

In the final week, hand every vendor a single-page run sheet: build times, ritual timings, meal service windows and contact numbers. If one document exists that everyone follows, the day runs itself.