Wedding Diaries

This wedding in Kerala was inspired by Raja Ravi Varma's paintings and was reachable only by boat

Natasha Sumant and Lucien Dumas's wedding was an ode to old Kerala

Photographed by Khusboo Gupta

Natasha Sumant likes to joke that she warned Lucien Dumas the night she met him that she did not believe in commitment. Five years later, the Paris-based fashion designer and founder of Gundi Studios is married to Dumas, an architect and founder of Matera-Matang. She laughs. “I moved from New York to Paris for him. I’m learning French, he’s learning Hindi.”

Dumas proposed at Suryagarh in Jaisalmer. The wedding in Kerala, however, was always a part of Sumant's plan. “I spent many winters of my childhood in Kumarakom,” says Sumant. “This place holds so many memories of my parents and growing up.” For Dumas, who spent time in India studying traditional architecture and Kerala’s woodwork in particular, Kumarakom Lake Resort felt equally meaningful. Built from hundreds of restored Kerala homes, the property spoke to both their design sensibilities. The ceremony itself took place across the water at Vembanad House, a small, intimate home reachable only by boat.

The moodboard was based around vintage Kerala. “We looked at old photographs of my grandmother's wedding in Kerala, in our ancestral home,” Sumant says. Raja Ravi Varma's paintings informed the styling, colour palette and silhouettes. Local flowers and materials were non-negotiable. “It’s a value we carry in our work as well—working with what’s local," shares Sumant.

The mehendi was held on the Taukada lawn at Kumarakom Lake Resort, an afternoon by the water with drinks, a sitar player and a tabla artist setting the tone. Guests mingled, sat by the lake and got their mehendi done as live classical music drifted through the air. Sumant wore a custom Raw Mango kurta that she convinced the team to turn into a mini dress. “An ode to my personal style,” she says. She layered a matching odhani over it, stacked green glass bangles with heirloom gold pieces. “Girls need pockets,” she adds, grateful she didn’t need a bag. Her ear stack was Estaa Gems, with jewellery from Krishnaih Chetty and Sons. Dumas wore a Divyam Mehta kurta set with sandals by Rajesh Pratap Singh.

For the sangeet that evening, Sumant chose a one-of-a-kind Anita Dongre lehenga. “Bless women designers,” she laughs, noting the pockets again. She carried a beaded bag from Khan Market and wore another pair of Prada slingbacks, this time styled with heritage polki jewellery from Estaa Gems. Dumas stayed with Divyam Mehta for the evening, pairing his kurta and pant set with Rajesh Pratap Singh sandals.

On the wedding day at Vembanad House, classical vocalist Vidushi Priya Purushothaman led the ceremony, accompanied by Pandit Milind on tabla, Pandit Sarfaraz Khan on sarangi and Acharya Shruti Shastri. “We opened with a Ganesh shloka, then a Bhadrakali shloka—Bhadrakali is my ancestral deity—and a Durga shloka,” says Sumant. The couple had woven music into specific moments of the ceremony to deepen their vows. Sumant wore a Raw Mango Benarasi brocade sari, styled traditionally with jasmine woven into her hair and kaleeras made of tuberose. She paired the look with green Manolo Blahnik Hangisi flats. Dumas wore a Divyam Mehta kurta with a traditional silk mundu from Kerala.

The reception returned to Kumarakom Lake Resort but shifted continents in mood. “We wanted it to feel like a traditional French wedding—long dinner, speeches and dancing,” says Sumant. They flew in a six-piece jazz band to set the tone before handing the night over to DJ friends for the after-party. Sumant wore a Gundi Studios dress from her Spring/Summer 2026 collection. Originally shown in butter yellow in Paris, she remade it in white “as a nod to both our bridal traditions.” Naturally, it had pockets. She wore cream ankle-strap Maison Margiela Tabi shoes, adding gold payals for a personal touch. Her earrings were custom-made by Estaa Gems. Dumas wore a custom Raw Mango mundu and suit set with his now-signature Rajesh Pratap Singh sandals.

One of the most emotional moments came not during the ceremony, but on the dance floor. “My parents dedicated a dance to us,” says Sumant. They chose Stumblin’ In by Chris Norman and Suzi Quatro. “They had me very young, and it was like a dedication to their first child. The entire audience cried.”