Vanakkam for a
Tam-Brahm Wedding?
Left: An animated Save the date that was sent via whatsapp and facebook to friends.
Right: A stop-motion of the actual invite that was mailed to friends and family.
The initial idea was to create an invite that would cater to both the parents and our (Bride & Groom's) friends. The main card is a no-nonsense, informative piece with the details of the venue, timings of each event and the names of our grandparents. Basically, all things traditional and we stuck with it.
Usually an envelope is just a boring sleeve that carries the address of the guest and the addressee. Why not make that a canvas to showcase the distinctive features of our wedding custom? Thence the fold-in envelope with the QR for the tech-savvy mamas and mamis so they don't get lost! :)
Preliminary sketches for the envelope. A funny take on the customs and rituals of a typical Tamil Brahmin Wedding.
From Top-left: The Oonjal is the swing process during the wedding; Mid-left: a pun on the three course tamil meal where the third (course) is Thayir chaam (curd rice); Bottom-left: Elai chapaadu, the hightlight of a Tam-Brahm wedding is the meal served on banana leaf and next to it is Kutti - A conical structure filled wih sweet somethings; Top-right: The funny take on the Kashi Yatra where the groom decides to leave and take up a life of hermitage instead, but nonetheless comes back after the persuasion of the Bride's father; Mid-right: Kanya Daanam - In Tamil brahmin weddings, the bride sits on her father's lap throughout the process of the actual wedding. Botom-right: The seeing of the Star named Arundthati, the funny thing is that this is done in the day and you don't see anything anyways; next is gossipping aunties who need no introduction!
The theme of the wedding was yellows, gold and sikku-kolam (a traditional pattern that is used to ornate Tamil households). The bride's saree was also chosen to bring-in the same theme subtly.
A ritual cheat sheet was created for the non-tamil guests so that they can understand just what is happening! You can view a few more illustrations from the booklet below:
From Top Left: Janavasam/ Welcoming the groom, Nichayadartham, Kashi Yatrai, Laaja Homam,
& Finally for the return gifts bags were designed with the same calligraphic names and tagged with thank-you cards!