Destination weddings in Kerala

With lifestyles changing, wedding venues are also going places - literally.

While weddings were traditionally conducted in places of worship, the trend now is for destination weddings. After all, what matters most is the exchanging of vows between two loving hearts and the blessings from the almighty above. A typical destination wedding is a mix of a rejuvenating vacation along with a wedding celebration.

Destination weddings work out well as most people don’t have the time or the inclination to arrange elaborate traditional weddings with a thousand or so guests. In a destination wedding, only a few close friends and family members need to be invited and the distant location makes it more of a fun vacation with the people who matter most. The newly-wedded couple won’t need to go off for their honeymoon either as they are already at their destination.

The inherent natural beauty of Kerala and its rich cultural heritage makes it one of the best wedding destinations. It has a long scenic coastline of over 500km with numerous pristine palm-fringed beaches in-between. Then there are the numerous tranquil backwater destinations that are made up of lakes, lagoons and sun-dappled water channels that offer such a wide variety of scenic splendour. And there is no dearth of hotels and resorts to host such weddings either.

Kollam city in Kerala has all that you could possibly need for a destination wedding as there are beaches, backwaters and an immense lake with islands. The breathtaking The Leela Ashtamudi, A Raviz Hotel, is located on the banks of this mesmerizing Ashtamudi Lake. You could stay over in any of their numerous guestrooms or their resplendent honeymoon suite. And if you are in the mood for privacy, they have lakeside cottages too. The experienced staff here can arrange the most elaborate weddings or small, exclusive ceremonies.

There are a variety of venues to choose from here. You could choose to have a wedding overlooking the splendid lake. Another choice is to host an exotic wedding on one of the lake islands where the staff at The Leela Ashtamudi, A Raviz Hotel can arrange everything right from transport to multi-cuisine feasts, flowers, venue arrangements and even a priest of your choice! Or you could host a wedding on their beautifully-decked out houseboat right in the middle of a cruise in the lake or backwaters. The choices are limitless and all you will need to do is sit back and enjoy yourself!

Accessing Kollam is easy via the excellent highway from Trivandrum airport located 71km away or the nearby Kollam railway station.