Indian Wedding Dress

The wedding dress to an Indian is of prime importance. It is the core aspect of the entire auspicious occasion. The bride or the groom, their wedding ensemble steals the limelight.

The sari is the national dress of the Indian woman but it is not a mandatory bridal wear. The indian saree is a long rectangular cloth, normally 6 meters except for the 9-yard Maharashtrian sari. The indian designer saree is no longer worn like the days of yore with heavy embroidery. It is given a subtler yet extravagant look.

The ghaghra-choli is more commonly used besides the sari. The ghaghra is a long skirt and the choli is a short blouse that leaves the naval open. There is a long cloth rectangular in shape that is tucked in the right hand side of the skirt so that it falls from the right shoulder to cover the choli and to give a handsome look. This is the dupatta.

For the brides of North or the West there is the bright red ghaghra-choli. This richly embroidered red outfit is one of the most striking bridal wear. The nine-yard sari in bottle green is the wedding dress of the Maharashtrian. The Tamilians like the maroon and gold border called the koorap-podavi. The Sindhis have the gold or the white sari, which is similar to that of the Keralite.

Coming to the groom's attire, the shervani with a churidar are mostly worn by the North-Indian groom. They also like the bandha gala. The western 2-pice or 3-pieve suit is also commonly used. The Turban is a popular headgear in the North. The sehera is adjoined to the turban like a veil of flowers. The South-Indian groom wears the traditional veshti (dhoti) and jubba (kurta)

Although the traditional style of marriage is followed, it is being totally revamped. The traditional colours of the bride's dress of red and pink are being replaced by peach, wine and burgundy. Colours and fabrics that blend with the skin are given more importance. Stiff silks are fading away to give rise to softer fabrics like crepe, satin and chiffon.

The garments are tailored to give the bride a more feminine and slimmer look. Heavy embroidery is replaced with simple sequins like swarovski crystals and other glamorous stones that are merged with the garments.

Overall, the Indian wedding dress of the Indian is going through a metamorphosis stage. Simple style is replacing the heavy work to make the couple look the most beautiful on their most important day in life.