Planning Dessert for an Indian Wedding: A Practical Checklist

Indian wedding catering is planned in enormous detail right up to the main course, and then dessert is often decided in the final week. This is a checklist for doing it properly.

Six to eight weeks out

• Decide which functions need dessert. Mehndi, sangeet, haldi, reception and the wedding lunch all have different energy. A live counter suits the ones where people are moving; a plated dessert suits a seated meal.
• Get a realistic guest count per function. Not the invite list — the expected attendance. Dessert vendors size equipment and staff from this number.
• Check the venue. Power point, covered area, service access, and whether outside vendors are permitted at all. Many hotels are not, and finding out late is expensive.

Four weeks out

• Fix the format. Live counter, cart, or delivered packs.
• Build the flavour line-up around the season and the menu. A heavy Punjabi dinner wants something tart afterwards; a lighter menu can carry a richer dessert.
• Plan for the older guests. Something not too cold, not too sweet, and easy to eat standing.
• Plan for the children. They will be the most enthusiastic queue at any dessert counter. Colour matters more than flavour.
• Confirm dietary needs. Vegan guests, lactose intolerance, nut allergies. Ask now, not on the day.

Two weeks out

• Confirm the timing slot. Dessert too early competes with dinner; too late and half the guests have gone.
• Confirm setup access. A live counter typically needs about two hours before service.
• Agree the space. Roughly eight by six feet for a full counter, positioned where a queue will not block a walkway.
• Share a contact for the day who is not the bride, groom or their parents.

On the day

• Vendor arrives and tests equipment before guests do.
• Someone confirms the power point actually works. This fails more often than anything else on the list.
• Signage or a crew member directs guests, or a well-placed counter still gets missed.
• Photographer is told the counter exists. It photographs well and is frequently overlooked.

Timing, by function

The mistakes we see most

1. Underestimating guest count. Dessert queues are longer than anybody expects.
2. Placing the counter badly. Tucked into a corner, it gets missed; in a walkway, it blocks the room.
3. Opening too early. Guests fill up before dinner and the caterer is left with food.
4. No cold-weather plan. A December outdoor wedding in Delhi is not the moment for frozen dessert alone.
5. Forgetting the staff. The people working the event are also people. Feed them.