You deff should check Malani Jewelers (they’re in Dallas and ATL) — they carry a few Kerala styles, not exact traditional but you can find plain gold chains in similar weights. My sister did this and swapped it out after the India trip later!

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Same issue here. My achan’s jeweler wouldn’t ship, so we ended up using a plain 22k chain from @malabargoldanddiamonds_usa (IG). Not perfect, but they overnighted it & it looked right in pics. Then we got the “real” one blessed later and switched it out for anniversaries.

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@Rachel ooh thank you!! I’ve heard of Malabar USA but didn’t realize they might carry Kerala-style chains. Do you remember if they had palakka or something similar?

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@Anjali they had one that was sort of palakka-inspired but more neutral. No green/red stones. Still looked really elegant! I'd recommend calling ahead—they’re helpful on the phone.

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I had this exact same issue with my thali chain (though Maharashtrian style). We ended up doing a symbolic blessing with a placeholder gold chain sourced here, and then quietly switched it after our honeymoon when my cousin visited from India with the real one. Not ideal, but customs was too risky 😞

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I’ve also seen couples write in a small note in their ceremony program explaining it’s a “stand-in” thali chain due to shipping restrictions, so elders don’t get confused or upset. Could be worth doing if your guests are observant!

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@Radhika YES same. Honestly the customs rules are a mess right now. The last thing you need is for something that sentimental to get stuck or worse, lost.

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i know it's not traditional for keralites but some brides on budget threads have used mangalsutra styles from amazon as placeholder. not ideal but might work if u just need a basic chain for the ceremony & plan to swap later

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Thanks everyone — really appreciate these ideas! I think we’ll look into a local chain for now and bring in the family one for a later event. Might even make it part of our first anniversary puja 🥹

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bookmarking this 🙏🏼

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