Indian weddings travel heavy. Outfits for five events, jewellery, decor, gifts for the other family, ritual items, and often a suitcase of things nobody can quite explain. Most of it crosses borders without difficulty. A predictable minority causes problems, and it is worth knowing which is which before you are standing at a secondary inspection desk.
Almost always organic material. Mexico and most Caribbean countries restrict agricultural imports, and declaring these honestly usually means surrendering them at the border.
Undeclared organic material is the fastest way to turn a routine arrival into a two-hour inspection, and the items are confiscated regardless. Declare everything, expect to lose the perishables, and have the local sourcing already arranged. The fine for non-declaration is considerably worse than the inconvenience of losing a bag of rice.
Shipping decor ahead sounds sensible and is usually more expensive and more fragile than it looks. Commercial shipments attract customs duty, may require a local customs broker, and can sit in clearance past your wedding date. Several families have paid twice, once to ship and once to replace locally, because the pallet did not clear in time.
The approach that works is to split the list. Carry the durable, personal and high-value items in checked and hand baggage. Source the perishable items locally through the resort or a local vendor, sending them the list six to eight weeks out. Any property with an established South Asian programme has a supplier for exactly this and will not find the request unusual.
