Australian weds American on Kerala houseboat

Kerala Connections was delighted to be asked to include a wedding celebration on a houseboat as part of the honeymoon package arranged for Jerry Dohnal and Chandra Wilson. This took place on 23 September 2011 and the press turned out in full. Below is the text that appeared in THE HINDU newspaper the following day. Jerry and Chandra also featured on two Kerala news channels.



Australian Jerry Dohnal and American Chandra Tameiko Wilson during their 'Kerala' wedding on a houseboat in Alappuzha on Friday.

Wedding dreams can be of different dimensions, but few get to play it out in their own way. Australian Jerry Dohnal and his fiancé Chandra Tameiko Wilson, a United States citizen, wanted to get married in true “Kerala style” after being enchanted with what they had heard about God’s Own Country.
Though the Kerala connection was missing when they actually exchanged vows in March last, the couple did not let go of the dream and five months later, when the circumstances came together, they headed down South. With Dohnal being a legal professional in Sydney and Chandra Tameiko being an airhostess, arranging affairs through the U.K.-based Kerala Connections travel agency and Companion Holidays was not a tough issue.

And on Friday, they lived the dream, tying the knot in ‘desi’ style in a ‘mandap’ set on a houseboat, floating along the placid waters of the Pampa River at Pallathuruthy here. The wedding, conducted as per Hindu rituals and customs, was at sharp 12.30 p.m. in the presence of a select few friends.

The couple will have a daylong houseboat cruise in Alappuzha on Saturday, before heading to Kovalam for a two-day halt before flying out of the country.