The Paisley Bride: Indian bridal wear

Saturday, January 2, 2010

Indian bridal wear - Celebrity style

Like any bride, I am dreaming about my bridal gown... and lucky for me, I get to pick a few outfits for all of the different events at our Indian wedding. In fact, I am planning to make a trip to India to do my wedding shopping. A few weeks ago, at my mother's prodding, I drove down to Artesia - aka Little India - with the fiance to have a first look at some Indian bridal dress options. Ideally I am looking for a lehenga for the reception and sari for the ceremony. I still haven't picked my color palette (eek!) so I thought the sky was the limit in terms of color options. However, I have since discovered from my mother and various helpful websites that it is most traditional and lucky for the North Indian bride to wear a red sari (or something in the red family like pink or burgundy).

From CitySaheli.com

The color red has deep rooted significance as it represents abundance and fertility. Today, many brides stick to this tradition and wear red on their wedding day, while some brides wear offshoots of red, such as pink or orange. You won’t, however, see a Hindu bride wear white, since white is the color of mourning in India.

I am not huge on ALL traditions but this is one I don't want to mess with. I'll take all the luck I can get my hands on! As far as design goes, there's a lot more flexibility. In my internet search for design ideas, I stumbled upon some photos of celebs donning beautiful wedding outfits. Check out Victoria Beckham, Heidi Klum and Liz Hurley (my favorite) all rocking the desi bridal duds.